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Descriptors:
Thinking Skills; Class Activities; Learning Activities; Science Education; Science Instruction; Role of Education; Cognitive Development; Child Development; Cognitive Processes; Skill Development; Mathematical Concepts; Scientific Concepts; Cognitive Science; Cognitive Structures; Epistemology; STEM Education; Theory Practice Relationship; Learning Theories; Neurosciences; Discovery Learning; Athletics; Science Activities; Observation; Elementary School Science; Evolution; Inquiry; Engineering; Concept Formation

Abstract:
The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children. Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent tracks. A major exception to this trend is represented in the multifaceted work of David Klahr. His lifelong effort to integrate a detailed understanding of children's reasoning and skill acquisition with the role of education in influencing and facilitating scientific exploration has been essential to the growth of these fields. In this volume, a diverse group of stellar contributors follow Dr. Klahr's example in examining the practical implications of our insights into cognitive development for children in the classroom. Authors discuss such wide-ranging ideas as the evolution of "folk science" in young children and the mechanisms that underlie mathematical understanding, as well as mental models used by children in classroom activities. The volume's lessons will have profound implications for STEM education, and for the next generation of scientists. Contents include: (1) From Theory to Application and Back: Following in the Giant Footsteps of David Klahr (Robert S. Siegler); (2) The Learning of Science and the Science of Learning: The Role of Analogy (Zhe Chen); (3) Does Folk Science Develop? (Frank C. Keil); (4) The Evolved Mind and Scientific Discovery (David C. Geary); (5) Educational Neuroscience: Applying the Klahrian Method to Science Education (Kevin Niall Dunbar); (6) Is Development Domain Specific or Domain General? A Third Alternative (Annette Karmiloff-Smith); (7) Simulating Discovery and Education in a Soccer Science World (Jeff Shrager); (8) Moving Young "Scientists-in-Waiting" Onto Science Learning Pathways: Focus on Observation (Rochel Gelman and Kimberly Brenneman); (9) Supporting Inquiry About the Foundations of Evolutionary Thinking in the Elementary Grades (Richard Lehrer and Leona Schauble); (10) Engineering in and for Science Education (Christian D. Schunn, Eli M. Silk, and Xornam S. Apedoe); (11) To Teach or Not to Teach Through Inquiry (Erin Marie Furtak, Richard J. Shavelson, Jonathan T. Shemwell, and Maria Figueroa); (12) Epistemic Foundations for Conceptual Change (Richard A. Duschl and Maria Pilar Jimenez-Aleixandre); and (13) Patterns, Rules, and Discoveries in Life and in Science (David Klahr). Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Instructional Development; Cues; Web Based Instruction; Computer Assisted Instruction; Prior Learning; Program Effectiveness; Internet; Cognitive Processes; Difficulty Level; Educational Theories; Instructional Design; Comparative Analysis; Instructional Effectiveness; Schemata (Cognition); Cognitive Structures; Familiarity; Figurative Language; Computer Interfaces

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a metaphorical interface on germane cognitive load in Web-based instruction. Based on cognitive load theory, germane cognitive load is a cognitive investment for schema construction and automation. A new instrument developed in a previous study was used to measure students' mental activities of schema construction and automation supported by structural cues in a metaphorical interface environment. Eighty participants were randomly assigned to one of two types of instructional units with the same instructional content and different interface types (i.e., non-metaphorical interface and metaphorical interface). The results indicated that germane cognitive load positively affected learning performance while there was no relationship between germane cognitive load and students' prior knowledge. A metaphorical interface enhanced learners' germane cognitive load and learning performance, and both germane cognitive load and prior knowledge similarly contributed to learning performance. The findings provide implications for the advancement of cognitive load theory and the practice of instructional development. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Structures; Scientific Concepts; Concept Formation; Misconceptions; Experiential Learning; Informal Education; Prior Learning; Interviews; Climate; Epistemology; Grade 7; Grade 8; Middle School Students; Intellectual Development; Science Achievement

Abstract:
This article is concerned with "commonsense science knowledge", the informally gained knowledge of the natural world that students possess prior to formal instruction in a scientific discipline. Although commonsense science has been the focus of substantial study for more than two decades, there are still profound disagreements about its nature and origin, and its role in science learning. What is the reason that it has been so difficult to reach consensus? We believe that the problems run deep; there are difficulties both with how the field has framed questions and the way that it has gone about seeking answers. In order to make progress, we believe it will be helpful to focus on one type of research instrument--the clinical interview--that is employed in the study of commonsense science. More specifically, we argue that we should seek to understand and model, on a moment-by-moment basis, student reasoning as it occurs in the interviews employed to study commonsense science. To illustrate and support this claim, we draw on a corpus of interviews with middle school students in which the students were asked questions pertaining to the seasons and climate phenomena. Our analysis of this corpus is based on what we call the "mode-node" framework. In this framework, student reasoning is seen as drawing on a set of knowledge elements we call "nodes", and this set produces temporary explanatory structures we call "dynamic mental constructs". Furthermore, the analysis of our corpus seeks to highlight certain patterns of student reasoning that occur during interviews, patterns in what we call "conceptual dynamics". These include patterns in which students can be seen to search through available knowledge (nodes), in which they assemble nodes into an explanation, and in which they converge on and shift among alternative explanations. (Contains 8 figures and 6 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Processes; Learning Theories; Cooperative Learning; Computer Assisted Instruction; Educational Technology; Educational Strategies; Cognitive Restructuring; Cognitive Structures; Technology Integration

Abstract:
The purpose of the present paper is to examine the socio-cultural foundations of technology-mediated collaborative learning. Toward that end, we discuss the role of artifacts in knowledge-creating inquiry, relying on the theoretical ideas of Carl Bereiter, Merlin Donald, Pierre Rabardel, Keith Sawyer and L. S. Vygotsky. We argue that epistemic mediation triggers expanded inquiry and plays a crucial role in knowledge creation; such mediation involves using CSCL technologies to create epistemic artifacts for crystallizing cognitive processes, re-mediating subsequent activity, and building an evolving body of knowledge. Productive integration of CSCL technologies as instruments of learning and instruction is a developmental process: it requires iterative efforts across extended periods of time. Going through such a process of instrumental genesis requires transforming a cognitive-cultural operating system of activity, thus "reformatting" the brain and the mind. Because of the required profound personal and social transformations, one sees that innovative knowledge-building practices emerge, socially, through extended expansive-learning cycles. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Structures; Concept Formation; Instruction; Misconceptions; Holistic Approach; Science Instruction

Abstract:
Prior research on conceptual change has identified multiple kinds of misconceptions at different levels of representational complexity including false beliefs, flawed mental models, and incorrect ontological categories. We hypothesized that conceptual change of a mental model requires change in the "system of relations" between the features of the prior model. To test this hypothesis, we compared instruction aimed at revising knowledge at the mental model level called "holistic confrontation"--in which the learner compares and contrasts a diagram of his or her flawed mental model to an expert model--to instruction aimed at revising knowledge at the false belief level--in which the learner is prompted to self-explain the expert model alone. We found evidence that participants who engaged in holistic confrontation were more likely to acquire a correct mental model, and a deeper understanding of the systems of relations in the model than those who were prompted to self-explain the expert model. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for science instruction. (Contains 4 figures and 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Research; Medical Education; Prior Learning; Active Learning; Cognitive Psychology; Neurology; Science Education; Schemata (Cognition); Brain; Neurological Organization; Cognitive Processes

Abstract:
A major challenge in contemporary research is how to connect medical education and cognitive neuroscience and achieve synergy between these domains. Based on this starting point we discuss how this may result in a common language about learning, more educationally focused scientific inquiry, and multidisciplinary research projects. As the topic of prior knowledge in understanding plays a strategic role in both medical education and cognitive neuroscience it is used as a central element in our discussion. A critical condition for the acquisition of new knowledge is the existence of prior knowledge, which can be built in a mental model or "schema." Formation of "schemas" is a central event in student-centered active learning, by which mental models are constructed and reconstructed. These theoretical considerations from cognitive psychology foster scientific discussions that may lead to salient issues and questions for research with cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience attempts to understand how knowledge, insight and experience are established in the brain and to clarify their neural correlates. Recently, evidence has been obtained that new information processed by the hippocampus can be consolidated into a stable, neocortical network more rapidly if this new information fits readily into a "schema." Opportunities for medical education and medical education research can be created in a fruitful dialogue within an educational multidisciplinary platform. In this synergetic setting many questions can be raised by educational scholars interested in "evidence-based" education that may be highly relevant for integrative research and the further development of medical education. (Contains 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Medical Students; Concept Formation; Resistance to Change; Misconceptions; Human Body; Schemata (Cognition); Problem Based Learning; Pretests Posttests; Student Attitudes; Medical Education; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Medical students often have initial understanding concerning medical domains, such as the central cardiovascular system (CCVS), when they enter the study programme. These notions may to some extent be in conflict with scientific understanding, which can be seen as a challenge for medical teaching. Hence, the purpose of this study was to analyse what kind of initial mental models students have about the CCVS and how these models change after a course. Further, we were interested in how medical students evaluate the role of problem-based learning (PBL)-enriched conventional instruction in their learning of the CCVS. Pre- and posttests consisting of a drawing task were conducted with 60 Finnish medical students. Additionally, problem-based learning and course evaluation questionnaires were administered. Results show that one-third of the students had misconceptions such as single-loop concepts in understanding the CCVS before the course. Although the instruction seems to support conceptual change, 10% of the students did not reach a scientific model. In their evaluations of the learning environment, the students appreciated working in small groups in addition to lectures. Sixty-five percent of the students considered PBL an effective learning method, whereas the rest of the students found it ineffective. In sum, although most of the first-year medical students reached an adequate representation of the central cardiovascular system, too many seem to have resistant misconceptions. Hence, in developing learning environments that support students' conceptual change in the medical domain, students' prior knowledge and perceptions of learning environments need to be taken into account. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Prior Learning; Teaching Methods; Curriculum Design; Masters Degrees; Educational Research; Learning Theories; Educational Psychology; Teacher Leadership; Teacher Education Programs; Curriculum Implementation; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; Educational Theories; Instructional Design; Educational Technology; Computer Uses in Education

Abstract:
This article describes the design and implementation of the year 2 curriculum and student learning experiences in the Michigan State University Master of Arts in Educational Technology program. We discuss the ways that this second set of courses builds on the first year of the program that students encounter, and also describe the theoretical impetus and design-based implications for learning how to teach with technology in effective and creative ways. Students in this group usually come in with some prior knowledge of educational theory, as well as some experience of working with classroom technologies. We intentionally build upon this prior knowledge, to take it to the next level of a more sophisticated TPACK-oriented understanding of learning in technology-driven contexts. Our year 2 courses move classical educational psychology theories of learning, along with educational research issues, squarely into the modern context of educational technology and teacher leadership. Our curriculum design focuses centrally on making meaningful experiences for teachers around technology, and helping them develop the knowledge and skills to create such experiences for their students. Our goal is to develop teachers who see themselves as flexible designers of learning experiences through the creative re-purposing of existing technologies. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Structures; Models; Visualization; Schemata (Cognition); Theories; Data Analysis; Social Sciences; Preservice Teachers; Preservice Teacher Education; Concept Formation; Learning Processes; Cognitive Style; Intellectual Disciplines; Educational Practices

Abstract:
The authors examine conceptual change in preservice teachers through a synthesis and application of mental models theory. They analyzed longitudinal data in the form of lesson plans, interviews, and written rationales from eight, social science preservice teachers. Findings that illustrate how preservice teachers' mental models changed during their coursework are graphically presented. Preservice teachers' mental models developed from general to discipline-specific practices. However, their conceptions of how students learn continued to focus on learner types rather than learning processes, suggesting a need for an ontological shift. The authors discuss implications for mental models theory and future research in teacher education. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Concept Formation; Cognitive Processes; Logical Thinking; Information Transfer; Constructivism (Learning); Learning Theories; Correlation; Classification; Patternmaking; Geometry; Educational Strategies; Tutoring; Teaching Methods; Teaching Models; Perspective Taking; Curriculum; Educational Change; Problem Solving; Problem Based Learning; Context Effect

Abstract:
Many types of learning require the mapping of information across situations. The proposed organizational framework extends the cognitive study of mappings across problems to include mappings across representations, solutions, and sociocultural contexts. I apply one-to-one, one-to-many, and partial mappings to analyze representative cases that include ones studied within alternative frameworks that have extended the cognitive approach. My objective is to support readers in reflecting on how mappings influence learning through asking new questions and providing an approach for answering those questions. (Contains 5 figures and 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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