72,935 research outputs found
The Case for Dynamic Models of Learners' Ontologies in Physics
In a series of well-known papers, Chi and Slotta (Chi, 1992; Chi & Slotta,
1993; Chi, Slotta & de Leeuw, 1994; Slotta, Chi & Joram, 1995; Chi, 2005;
Slotta & Chi, 2006) have contended that a reason for students' difficulties in
learning physics is that they think about concepts as things rather than as
processes, and that there is a significant barrier between these two
ontological categories. We contest this view, arguing that expert and novice
reasoning often and productively traverses ontological categories. We cite
examples from everyday, classroom, and professional contexts to illustrate
this. We agree with Chi and Slotta that instruction should attend to learners'
ontologies; but we find these ontologies are better understood as dynamic and
context-dependent, rather than as static constraints. To promote one
ontological description in physics instruction, as suggested by Slotta and Chi,
could undermine novices' access to productive cognitive resources they bring to
their studies and inhibit their transition to the dynamic ontological
flexibility required of experts.Comment: The Journal of the Learning Sciences (In Press
A formal theory of conceptual modeling universals
Conceptual Modeling is a discipline of great relevance to several areas in Computer Science. In a series of papers [1,2,3] we have been using the General Ontological Language (GOL) and its underlying upper level ontology, proposed in [4,5], to evaluate the ontological correctness of conceptual models and to develop guidelines for how the constructs of a modeling language (UML) should be used in conceptual modeling. In this paper, we focus on the modeling metaconcepts of classifiers and objects from an ontological point of view. We use a philosophically and psychologically well-founded theory of universals to propose a UML profile for Ontology Representation and Conceptual Modeling. The formal semantics of the proposed modeling elements is presented in a language of modal logics with quantification restricted to Sortal universals
Using conceptual metaphor and functional grammar to explore how language used in physics affects student learning
This paper introduces a theory about the role of language in learning
physics. The theory is developed in the context of physics students' and
physicists' talking and writing about the subject of quantum mechanics. We
found that physicists' language encodes different varieties of analogical
models through the use of grammar and conceptual metaphor. We hypothesize that
students categorize concepts into ontological categories based on the
grammatical structure of physicists' language. We also hypothesize that
students over-extend and misapply conceptual metaphors in physicists' speech
and writing. Using our theory, we will show how, in some cases, we can explain
student difficulties in quantum mechanics as difficulties with language.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. ST:PE
An evaluation of pedagogically informed parameterised questions for self assessment
Self-assessment is a crucial component of learning. Learners can learn by asking themselves questions and attempting to answer them. However, creating effective questions is time-consuming because it may require considerable resources and the skill of critical thinking. Questions need careful construction to accurately represent the intended learning outcome and the subject matter involved. There are very few systems currently available which generate questions automatically, and these are confined to specific domains. This paper presents a system for automatically generating questions from a competency framework, based on a sound pedagogical and technological approach. This makes it possible to guide learners in developing questions for themselves, and to provide authoring templates which speed the creation of new questions for self-assessment. This novel design and implementation involves an ontological database that represents the intended learning outcome to be assessed across a number of dimensions, including level of cognitive ability and subject matter. The system generates a list of all the questions that are possible from a given learning outcome, which may then be used to test for understanding, and so could determine the degree to which learners actually acquire the desired knowledge. The way in which the system has been designed and evaluated is discussed, along with its educational benefits
Case-based analysis in user requirements modelling for knowledge construction
Context: Learning can be regarded as knowledge construction in which prior knowledge and experience
serve as basis for the learners to expand their knowledge base. Such a process of knowledge construction
has to take place continuously in order to enhance the learners’ competence in a competitive working
environment. As the information consumers, the individual users demand personalised information provision
which meets their own specific purposes, goals, and expectations.
Objectives: The current methods in requirements engineering are capable of modelling the common
user’s behaviour in the domain of knowledge construction. The users’ requirements can be represented
as a case in the defined structure which can be reasoned to enable the requirements analysis. Such analysis
needs to be enhanced so that personalised information provision can be tackled and modelled. However,
there is a lack of suitable modelling methods to achieve this end. This paper presents a new
ontological method for capturing individual user’s requirements and transforming the requirements onto
personalised information provision specifications. Hence the right information can be provided to the
right user for the right purpose.
Method: An experiment was conducted based on the qualitative method. A medium size of group of users
participated to validate the method and its techniques, i.e. articulates, maps, configures, and learning content.
The results were used as the feedback for the improvement.
Result: The research work has produced an ontology model with a set of techniques which support the
functions for profiling user’s requirements, reasoning requirements patterns, generating workflow from
norms, and formulating information provision specifications.
Conclusion: The current requirements engineering approaches provide the methodical capability for
developing solutions. Our research outcome, i.e. the ontology model with the techniques, can further
enhance the RE approaches for modelling the individual user’s needs and discovering the user’s
requirements
Towards a Conceptualization of Sociomaterial Entanglement
In knowledge representation, socio-technical systems can be modeled
as multiagent systems in which the local knowledge of each individual agent can
be seen as a context. In this paper we propose formal ontologies as a means to
describe the assumptions driving the construction of contexts as local theories and
to enable interoperability among them. In particular, we present two alternative
conceptualizations of the notion of sociomateriality (and entanglement), which
is central in the recent debates on socio-technical systems in the social sciences,
namely critical and agential realism.
We thus start by providing a model of entanglement according to the critical realist
view, representing it as a property of objects that are essentially dependent on
different modules of an already given ontology. We refine then our treatment by
proposing a taxonomy of sociomaterial entanglements that distinguishes between
ontological and epistemological entanglement. In the final section, we discuss the
second perspective, which is more challenging form the point of view of knowledge
representation, and we show that the very distinction of information into
modules can be at least in principle built out of the assumption of an entangled
reality
The Power, Structure, and Practice of Gratitude in Education: A Demonstration of Epistemology and Empirical Research Working Together
A growing body of philosophical, psychological, and educational research shows that gratitude has positive effects on mood, relationships, and learning. This paper explores the power of gratitude, investigates how the ontological (inward), teleological (forward), and metaphysical (upward) structure of gratitude can enhance learning, and then highlights a research study revealing teachers’ perspectives on the impact of practicing gratitude in the classroom environment. Four themes emerged from the empirical study that support the gratitude structure: two themes relate to the impact on teachers (enhanced well-being and calm amidst stress), and two themes relate to the impact on students (enhanced classroom environment and strengthened learning). Together, the epistemological framework and the empirical evidence demonstrate that using the structure and the practice of gratitude together in the context of the classroom environment bolsters educational pursuits
Framing student engagement in higher education
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Higher Education on 2011, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2011.598505Publishe
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