Describes a study that investigates the relationship between secondary students' written responses and the mathematical and cognitive processing used when solving a complex problem. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Discusses multiple representations and multimedia learning environments; describes a functional taxonomy of MERs (multiple external representations); and considers how MERs are used to support cognitive processes in learning and problem solving with computers. (Contains 41 references.) (Author/LRW)

Investigated whether fourth-graders' gestures convey knowledge self-recognizable in another context. Identified math problem-solving procedures conveyed gesturally and examined whether the procedures could be accessed by the same child on a task not involving gesture. Children rated higher those solutions derived from procedures they conveyed…

Explores high school students' collaborative efforts in solving qualitative physics problems and investigates how and whether confronting students with varying views improves problem solving skills. (Contains 22 references.) (DDR)

This research study focused on the knowledge structure of the domain of physics by describing the knowledge of experts, intermediates, and novices. In order to investigate these representations, a reiterative categorization task was employed using novice, intermediate, and expert subjects (N=27). The categories were classified as theory-, model-,…

Gareth Morgan's "Images of Organization" introduces readers to "holographic organization" and explores his concepts of connectivity and redundancy, simultaneous specialization and generalization, minimum critical specification, and self-organization. This paper attempts to put these concepts into operation successfully by using data, surveys,…

Argues that scientific knowledge in school is a social construct in which curriculum proposals are simply points of departure that are transformed by the social interaction that takes place within the classroom. Considers discourse as playing an important role in knowledge construction. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

The theoretical perspective outlined here offers an alternative to explanations of knowledge transfer that posit its source in the construction and application of abstract, context-independent knowledge structures. A case study analysis of an undergraduate student's attempt to solve a series of problems related to an elementary statistical…

A mental model is a knowledge structure composed of concepts and the relations between them. Mental models are distinct from declarative and procedural knowledge--they go beyond semantic relationships and skills acquisition and contain varied intellectual skills and knowledge. This study describes an initial investigation into the construct…

Instructional resources that employ multiple representations have become commonplace in mathematics classrooms. This study will present computer software, LaborScale which was designed to improve seventh grade students' word problem-solving skills through computer-based multiple representations including graphic, symbolic, and audio…

Demonstrates how teachers can move their students from the novice into the expert range of problem-solving strategies. Utilizes a problem-solving model that follows how such skills develop. (DDR)

Discusses the implications of a research study of more than 2000 students aged 11 to 15 that explored why the students interpret algebra in certain ways. Recommends strategies that can help teachers deal with prior knowledge that students may bring to their study of algebra. (DDR)

Proposes activities that promote students' awareness of the structure of the information involved in their everyday activities, and builds the concept of function from students' mental representations of phenomena. Recommends the use of spreadsheets to provide external representations of these functions. (DDR)

Discusses knowledge, organization, and the organization and representation of knowledge. Addresses the relevance of international auxiliary languages as problems of development and use of special sign systems. Argues that--for computer realization of intellectual processes by modeling, not imitation--the psychological mechanisms of human memory…

Examines quantitative models in school physics, looking particularly at the degree to which they match the real world. Explores the positive aspects of a mismatch between models and real world conditions. (DDR)