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To investigate the use of mental-model reasoning about mechanisms in design, we had 12-13 year old students design a Mars Colony including physical, biological and social systems. Unlike previous research, we did not find significant gender...

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of Cognitive Flexibility Theory in the development of learning activities for use in online course in the domain of cognitive psychology. Cognitive Flexibility Theory emphasizes the flexible ...

We live in a world of complex relationships, united by a myriad of connections, existing in continuous granularities and multiple dimensions. Discovering truths in this complexity requires an ability to decipher causality amidst endless...

A novel web-based intelligent tutoring system called Teachable Agent Learning Environment (TALE) will be demonstrated. The goal of this research is the development of a teachable agent, situated in a multi-agent based educational gaming environment. ...

This study explores the potential for applying Object-oriented programming characteristics as constructivist aids to everyday cognition and learning beyond programming tasks. The theoretical approach in this study was to consider the characteristics ...

Abstract: The pilot study reported on in this paper investigates the efficacy of a Multiple Linked Representational System (MLR) system designed to teach middle school learning disabled students how to solve proportion word problems. The MLR system ...

As its name suggested, REflective Agent Learning environment (REAL) is developed to simulate the real problem-solving world as close as possible. REAL is a generic framework for building Intelligent Tutoring Systems that teach with adaptive, real...

For decades, research comparing the effectiveness of text and static illustrations with animation and narration to enhance learning has been inconclusive (Tversky et al., 2002). We argue that the failure to ascertain the benefits of animation in...

Developmental psychology and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) are two vast fields of research, with methodologies that have been widely developed. Standardized tests have been created to determine a child's developmental level and universal...

Mental models have been researched and explored as a construct for understanding how people think since Kenneth Craik first suggested that the mind constructs "small-scale models" of reality to reason and anticipate events (Craik, 1943). However,...

Our group REAL (REflective Agent Learning environment) attempts to investigate the impact of thinking in an object-oriented way, by developing a novel framework that allows students to model the real world, and thus learn to implicitly represent...

Abstract: Students viewed animations of a functioning re-circulation fish farm and made live networked video links to a telerobotic fish farm. In the classroom, students received a verbal explanation in parallel with the animations or visual...

The paper presents a study investigating how novices make transitions in understanding and developing appropriate mental models of robotics systems. In the course of a 9-week, after-school robotics club, 13 third and fourth grade students had the...

It is known that the key to understanding complex systems is to decompose it into smaller, manageable chunks and that the method of decomposition has an effect on the understanding of the system. This study seeks to explore the potential of an...

Understanding how humans perform mental rotations and develop internal representations of 3-D objects began with Shepard & Metzler's seminal study in 1971. With the advancement of new technologies, in particular, virtual reality programs that allow...

Abstract: Tests were conducted with a fish farm system simulation in combination with other activities in order to measure its effectiveness as an aid in teaching and learning about water chemistry and eco systems. Results support the dual coding...

Recent research in cognitive psychology and neurophysiology has identified a connection between embodied cognition and computer programming and mathematics instruction. This paper examines the notion of embodied cognition in the context of video...

Video games have gained much attention in recent years in education due to their ability to engage users. But, in most video games, the knowledge about how the systems work is not exposed for users to reflect upon. This is because, once all the...

This purpose of this study is to explore the role and potential of innovative teaching and learning methods, specifically direct embodiment and surrogate embodiment, in improving students’ understanding of abstract programming concepts. A case...

Recent discussions on video games and embodiment (Gee, 2008), studies on literacy comprehension augmented by physical and imagined manipulation (Glenberg, 2004), and research using two forms of Instructional Embodiment (Fadjo et al., 2009) have...