Juegos de simulación por ordenador : un útil para la enseñanza a todos los niveles

This paper enhances some of the great number of science educational applications of computers simulation games, and briefly discusses the relationship with the physical structure of computers and living world

Effectiveness of comprehension monitoring strategies in EFL of non-bilingual Spanish university students reading science texts

This paper studies the differences in the effectiveness in the use of Comprehension Monitoring (CM) when reading expository Science texts in Spanish (L1) and in English (as a foreign language). The sample was made up of Spanish university students with elementary, intermediate and advanced English proficiency levels. A reading-for-understanding task was proposed to students. We embedded local and global inconsistencies in the texts. The detection of the inconsistencies was used to assess CM ability when students tried to build the semantic representation of the text in L1 and in L2. Results showed that L1/L2 differences in the effectiveness using CM ability significantly diminished as the English proficiency increased. Using the CM in Spanish as a baseline for CM in English, we observed a gradual enhancement of transfer from L1 to L2 as the English proficiency improved

Generación de preguntas sobre información no textual: una validación empírica del modelo obstáculo-meta en la comprensión de dispositivos experimentales de ciencias

Los mecanismos cognitivos de la generación de preguntas no son aún bien conocidos. Recientemente, se ha propuesto el modelo obstáculo-meta que asimila la comprensión a un proceso de resolución de un problema cognitivo, cuyos obstáculos hacia la meta pretendida dan lugar a las preguntas. Una predicción del modelo es la relación entre tipos de preguntas formuladas y tipos de representación mental que los sujetos manejan durante la comprensión de la información suministrada. Hasta ahora, esta predicción ha sido validada parcialmente y solo con información textual. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio empírico de validación más fiable de esta predicción, desarrollado en dos fases y que utiliza información no textual, como es el funcionamiento de dispositivos experimentales. Los resultados apoyan la predicción del modelo con suficiente potencia estadística

Problemas algorítmicos y conceptuales: influencia de algunas variables instruccionales

Abstract (Algorithmic and conceptual problems: the influence of some instructional variables) The influence of four versions of a scientific text on the performance of High School students in solving algorithmic and conceptual problems has been in - vestigated. Text versions differed in variables improving text base and/or situation model. The results obtained reveal that: 1) success in solving algorithmic problems does indicate mastery of concepts; 2) only the group of students who read the text containing variables that improve the textual coherence and connect textual information with the previous knowledge performed significantly better in conceptual problem solving, and 3) the proportion of students giving the correct solution to the algo - rithmic problem is not altered of statistically significant way with these variables

Resolución de problemas, modelos mentales e instrucción

En el presente artículo ofrecemos un experimento en el que estudiantes de diferente conocimiento previo resuelven problemas tras la lectura de un texto que contiene diversas variables instruccionales. Estas variables son manipuladas mediante cambios textuales deliberados que se inspiran en la teoría de Kinstch y van Dijk. Nuestro objetivo es analizar la influencia de las variables instruccionales en la formación de los modelos mentales necesarios para la resolución de los problemas

¿Podemos predecir el rendimiento de nuestros alumnos en la resolución de problemas?

En el presente trabajo se analiza el papel que desempeñan las variables conocimiento previo, estrategias de estudio y conocimiento conceptual en la resolución de problemas. La muestra estuvo compuesta por ochenta y cinco alumnos de primero de Bachillerato que cursaban la asignatura de Física y Química. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de tres análisis estadísticos (correlaciones entre variables, análisis de regresión múltiple y análisis de regresión stepwise) indican que las tres variables mencionadas influyen de manera estadísticamente significativa en el éxito en la resolución de problemas. Además, de las tres variables el conocimiento conceptual ha resultado ser la que más contribuye en dicha resolución

Working memory in science problem solving: a review of research

The aim of this review is to present the case that working memory makes a vital contribution to problem solving. Following a brief introduction to working memory, links between working memory and cognitive tasks including problem solving are reviewed and illustrated. Next, relationships between mental representations of the problem (mental models) that are created in working memory and problem solving performance are described. Finally, applications of research for classroom practice is considered; this includes four main approaches to deal with the limit of working memory capacity to help students solve problems: to possess a large knowledge base, to decrease the information load in problem solving, to increase students" working memory capacity through specialized training programs, and to use representations

Tipos de Conhecimento e suas relaçôes com a resoluçâo de problemas em ciências: orientaçôes para a prática

Este artigo dá uma panorâmica geral da investigação sobre tipos de conhecimento envolvidos na resolução de problemas e sobre o modo como estes tipos de conhecimento afectam o desempenho dos respectivos autores. Alguns dos tipos de conhecimento analisados são os relativos às competências declarativas, procedimentais, esquemáticas, estratégicas, situacionais, metacognitivas e de tradução de problemas. Com base nesta análise, são sugeridas orientações para melhorar o ensino da resolução de problemas

Levels of Comprehension of Scientific Prose: The role of text variables

This research investigates the role played on shallow and deep levels of comprehension by textual changes that are aimed at: (a) improving the relationships within text ideas, and (b) producing better links between text ideas and the reader"s knowledge. Four versions of a long physics passage were elaborated combining both kinds of textual changes. Four groups of tenth graders were each given one of the four versions. Different measures representative of these levels of comprehension were taken: getting main ideas, recall, and problem sol affected by improving the relationships within text ideas,(b)both textual changes contributed separately to recall, and(c)problem solving increased only when the two changes were presented together