Navigation in hypermedia learning systems: Experts vs. novices

With the advancement of Web technology, hypermedia learning systems are becoming more widespread in educational settings. Hypermedia learning systems present course content with non-sequential formats, so students are required to develop learning paths by themselves. Yet, empirical evidence indicates that not all students can benefit from hypermedia learning. Research into individual differences suggests that prior knowledge has significant effects on student learning in hypermedia systems, with experts and novices showing different preferences to the use of hypermedia learning systems and requiring different levels of navigation support. It is therefore essential to develop a mechanism to help designers understand the needs of experts and novices. To address this issue, this paper presents a framework to illustrate the needs of students with different levels of prior knowledge by analyzing the findings of previous research. The overall aim of this framework is to integrate students’ prior knowledge into the design of hypermedia learning systems. Finally, implications for the design of hypermedia learning systems are discussed

Measuring Hacking Ability Using a Conceptual Expertise Task

Hackers pose a continuous and unrelenting threat to organizations. Industry and academic researchers alike can benefit from a greater understanding of how hackers engage in criminal behavior. A limiting factor of hacker research is the inability to verify that self-proclaimed hackers participating in research actually possess their purported knowledge and skills. This paper presents current work in developing and validating a conceptual-expertise based tool that can be used to discriminate between novice and expert hackers. The implications of this work are promising since behavioral information systems researchers operating in the information security space will directly benefit from the validation of this tool. Keywords: hacker ability, conceptual expertise, skill measuremen

Instructional strategies and tactics for the design of introductory computer programming courses in high school

This article offers an examination of instructional strategies and tactics for the design of introductory computer programming courses in high school. We distinguish the Expert, Spiral and Reading approach as groups of instructional strategies that mainly differ in their general design plan to control students' processing load. In order, they emphasize topdown program design, incremental learning, and program modification and amplification. In contrast, tactics are specific design plans that prescribe methods to reach desired learning outcomes under given circumstances. Based on ACT* (Anderson, 1983) and relevant research, we distinguish between declarative and procedural instruction and present six tactics which can be used both to design courses and to evaluate strategies. Three tactics for declarative instruction involve concrete computer models, programming plans and design diagrams; three tactics for procedural instruction involve worked-out examples, practice of basic cognitive skills and task variation. In our evaluation of groups of instructional strategies, the Reading approach has been found to be superior to the Expert and Spiral approaches

Variations in expertise: Implications for the design of assistance systems

International audienceThe paper presents an investigation of the differences between two experts in the same domain. The observed differences concern comparisons between domain objects, rule justifications (technical vs.pragmatic justifications, naïve physics reasoning), and categorical knowledge (logic, level, and extension of the categorization). Differences are attributed to the prior experience of the two experts (workshop vs.laboratory). Implications for knowledge elicitation and for the design of assistance tools are presented.Après une présentation critique des études sur l'expertise, cet article expose les résultats d'une étude sur les différences entre deux experts dans le même domaine (conception de procédures de fabrication de pièces). Les différences observées portent sur les comparaisons que les experts font entre des objets du domaine, leurs justifications des règles qu'ils adoptent (justifications techniques ou pragmatiques; explications de type "physique naïve") et leurs catégorisations (la logique de description des catégories, le niveau de leur description, et l'extension de leurs catégorisations). Les différences sont attribuées à l'expérience antérieure des deux experts (atelier vs. laboratoire). Des implications pour l'acquisition de connaissances et la conception d'outils d'assistance sont présentées

Mental imagery and software visualization in high-performance software development teams

This paper considers the relationship between mental imagery and software visualization in professional, high-performance software development. It presents overviews of four empirical studies of professional software developers in high-performing teams: (1) expert programmers' mental imagery, (2) how experts externalize their mental imagery as part of teamwork, (3) experts' use of commercially available visualization software, and (4) what tools experts build themselves, how they use the tools they build for themselves, and why they build tools for themselves. Through this series of studies, the paper provides insight into a relationship between how experts reason about and imagine solutions, and their use of and requirements for external representations and software visualization. In particular, it provides insight into how experts use visualization in reasoning about software design, and how their requirements for the support of design tasks differ from those for the support of other software development tasks. The paper draws on theory from other disciplines to explicate issues in this area, and it discusses implications for future work in this field

Sappiamo davvero come far apprendere? Credenza ed evidenza empirica.

“I ragazzi con più stimoli apprendono di più e meglio di quelli sottoposti a meno stimoli!”, “In questa scuola non possiamo fare didattica attiva perché non abbiamo i laboratori!”, “I ragazzi imparano meglio se li si lascia sperimentare e costruire i concetti da soli!”, “La lezione frontale? Ormai è una strategia didattica superata!”, “Se hai capito il concetto una volta, poi lo saprai applicare sempre!”, “I ragazzi imparano meglio quando fanno lavori di gruppo!”. Quante volte avete sentito insegnanti ed educatori pronunciare queste frasi? Ma cosa dice la ricerca in proposito? Queste sono solo credenze o hanno davvero un fondamento empirico? Il presente articolo intende fornire alcune evidenze per supportare, confutare, chiarire le condizioni di validità degli asserti suddetti. Le evidenze sono tratte dalla ricerca sul funzionamento della mente e dalle meta-analisi che si sono occupate di sintetizzare i principali studi empirici riguardanti l’impatto di varie strategie didattiche sull’apprendimento dei soggetti in formazione

Programlama Öğretimi için Bir Model Önerisi: Yedi Adımda Programlama

There are a number of studies in the literature revealing that programming instruction has positive effects on development of different cognitive skills. However, there are scarcely any studies suggesting pedagogical approaches to how programming should be done. Therefore, this study focused on how to do programming instruction that target developing students’ cognitive skills. In this study, it was aimed to suggest a model for teaching in order to develop various cognitive skills of students. Within the scope of the study, a programming instruction model was created, and it was called Programming in Seven Steps (PSS) model. As research design, special case study was used from qualitative research methods. The research team consisted of two groups: design team (1 faculty member from the department of Computer Education and Intructional Technologies (CEIT), 2 master’s degree students, and 2 PhD students) and a Design Evaluation Team (DET) (10 IT and Software teachers who work in secondary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education) in the process of constructing the PSS model. During the research, the documents and interviews with the design evaluation team were analyzed with the purpose of determining the steps of the PSS model. The study elaborates the process followed to create the model, the features of the proposed model, and interviews with the design evaluation team. This article details the overall path to designing of the model, the features of the model, and DET interviews. It is aimed that the model introduced in this study will become a guide for educators who want to teach programming at secondary school level.Alanyazında programlama öğretiminin pek çok bilişsel beceriye olumlu etkilerini ortaya koyan çalışmalar yer almaktadır. Buna karşın programlama öğretiminin sistematik bir şekilde gerçekleştirilebilmesi amacıyla pedagojiye yönelik çalışmalar oldukça sınırlı sayıdadır. Bu nedenle çalışmada, öğrencilerin bilişsel becerilerinin gelişimine yönelik bir programlama öğretiminin nasıl yapılması gerektiği üzerine odaklanılmıştır. Çalışmanın amacı; Programlama öğretimi sürecinde öğrencilerin çeşitli bilişsel becerilerinin gelişimini sağlamak amacıyla kullanılabilecek bir öğretim modeli önerisinde bulunmaktır. Çalışma kapsamında, oluşturulan programlama öğretimi modeline Yedi Adımda Programlama (YAP) modeli adı verilmiştir. Araştırma deseni olarak nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden özel durum çalışması kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın, YAP modelinin oluşturulması aşamasında araştırma grubunu tasarım ekibi (1 BÖTE öğretim üyesi ile 2 yüksek lisans, 2 doktora öğrencisi) ve tasarım değerlendirme ekibi (MEB’e bağlı ortaokullarda görevli 10 Bilişim Teknolojileri ve Yazılım Dersi öğretmeni) oluşturmaktadır. Araştırma süreci boyunca YAP modeli adımlarının belirlenmesi amacıyla doküman analizi ve tasarım değerlendirme ekibi ile yapılan görüşmelerin analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışmada, modelin oluşturulması için izlenen süreç, oluşturulan modelin özellikleri ve tasarım değerlendirme ekibi ile yapılan görüşmelere yer verilmiştir. Bu çalışma ile ortaya konulan modelin, ortaokul düzeyinde programlama öğretimi yapmak isteyen eğitimciler için yol gösterici olması hedeflenmektedir