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Threads of Local Continuity between Centralized and Decentralized Causality: Transitional Explanations for the Behavior of a Complex System
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Barth-Cohen, Lauren – Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2018
One line of research on student understanding of complex systems has tended to emphasize discontinuities between common misconceptions and relatively more sophisticated understandings. Other work has focused on instruction while acknowledging the existence of other ways of understanding complex systems, but less emphasis has been on examining the…
Descriptors: Systems Approach, Misconceptions, Cognitive Structures, Logical Thinking
Systems Learning with a Conceptual Representation: A Quasi-Experimental Study
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Hmelo-Silver, Cindy E.; Jordan, Rebecca; Eberbach, Catherine; Sinha, Suparna – Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2017
In this paper, we share results from a classroom intervention that used a conceptual representation to support reasoning about ecosystems. Engaging students in modeling allows them to make their ideas visible while being malleable and available for discussion, which enables students to make meaning out of systems. Further, the…
Descriptors: Systems Approach, Thinking Skills, Ecology, Models
Recurring Patterns in the Development of High School Biology Students' System Thinking over Time
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Tripto, Jaklin; Assaraf, Orit Ben Zvi; Amit, Miriam – Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2018
The goal of this study was to identify and understand the mental models developed by 67 high school biology students as they learn about the human body as a complex system. Using concept maps, it sought to find an external way of representing how students organize their ideas about the human body system in their minds. We conducted a qualitative…
Descriptors: High School Students, Biology, Human Body, Cognitive Structures
The Mystery of Cognitive Structure and How We Can Detect It: Tracking the Development of Cognitive Structures over Time
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Ifenthaler, Dirk; Masduki, Iskandaria; Seel, Norbert M. – Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2011
Many research studies have clearly demonstrated the importance of cognitive structures as the building blocks of meaningful learning and retention of instructional materials. Identifying the learners' cognitive structures will help instructors to organize materials, identify knowledge gaps, and relate new materials to existing slots or anchors…
Descriptors: Cognitive Structures, Instructional Materials, Retention (Psychology), Cognitive Development
What and How Advanced Medical Students Learn from Reasoning through Multiple Cases
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Boshuizen, H. P. A.; van de Wiel, M. W. J.; Schmidt, H. G. – Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2012
The study reported in this article concerns the questions what and how fourth-year medical students can learn from a series of cases that have a similar underlying problem. This question is crucial in the theoretical sense as it looks at mechanisms of updating and improving knowledge structures, which are conjectured to consist of "illness…
Descriptors: Medical Students, Advanced Students, Learning, Cognitive Structures
Is Underestimation Less Detrimental than Overestimation? The Impact of Experts' Beliefs about a Layperson's Knowledge on Learning and Question Asking
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Wittwer, Jorg; Nuckles, Matthias; Renkl, Alexander – Instructional Science: An International Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2008
Although prior research has shown that experts tend to overestimate or underestimate what laypersons actually know, little is known about the specific consequences of biased estimations for communication. To investigate the impact of biased estimations of a layperson's knowledge on the effectiveness of experts' explanations, we conducted a…
Descriptors: Knowledge Level, Misconceptions, Lay People, Bias