Chinese children’s causal knowledge and text comprehension

Theme 3: Cognitive and Languagepostprin

Facilitating flexible problem solving: A cognitive load perspective

The development of flexible, transferable problem-solving skills is an important aim of contemporary educational systems. Since processing limitations of our mind represent a major factor influencing any meaningful learning, the acquisition of flexible problem-solving skills needs to be based on known characteristics of our cognitive architecture in order to be effective and efficient. This paper takes a closer look at the processes involved in the acquisition of flexible problem-solving skills within a cognitive load framework. It concludes that (1) cognitive load theory can benefit from putting more emphasis on generalized knowledge structures; (2

The expertise reversal effect is a variant of the more general element interactivity effect

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Within the framework of cognitive load theory, the element interactivity and the expertise reversal effects usually are not treated as closely related effects. We argue that the two effects may be intertwined with the expertise reversal effect constituting a particular example of the element interactivity effect. Specifically, the element interactivity effect relies on changes in element interactivity due to changes in the type of material being learned, while the expertise reversal effect also relies on changes in relative levels of element interactivity but in this case, due to changes in relative levels of expertise. If so, both effects rely on equivalent changes in element interactivity with the changes induced by different factors. Empirical evidence is used to support this contention

Relations between the worked example and generation effects on immediate and delayed tests

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The contradiction between the worked example effect that occurs when learners presented with more instructional guidance learn more than learners presented with less guidance and the generation effect that occurs when the reverse result is obtained can be resolved by the suggestion that the worked example effect is obtained using materials high in element interactivity, whereas simpler, low element interactivity materials result in the generation effect. A 2 (guidance: low vs. high) × 2 (element interactivity: low vs. high) × 2 (expertise: low vs. high) experiment investigated this hypothesis with high school trigonometry learners. On an immediate test, high guidance reflecting a worked example effect was found for novices, but a generation effect was obtained for more knowledgeable learners. In contrast, on a delayed test, a three-way interaction between guidance, element interactivity and expertise was found. This interaction was caused by a worked example effect for material high in element interactivity and a generation effect for material low in element interactivity for novices while for more knowledgeable learners, a generation effect was obtained for both low and high element interactivity materials. These results suggest firstly, that both the worked example and generation effects may be more likely on delayed than immediate tests and secondly, that the worked example effect relies on high element interactivity material while the generation effect relies on low element interactivity material

When instructional guidance is needed

© Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2016. Studying worked examples providing problem solutions to learners usually leads to better test performance than solving the equivalent problems without guidance, demonstrating the worked-example effect. The generation effect occurs when learners who generate answers without guidance learn better than those who read answers that provide guidance. The contradiction between these results can be hypothesised to be due to differences in the element interactivity of the learning tasks. Primary school students in Year 6 participated in the experiment, which investigated the hypothesis by using geometry materials. A disordinal interaction was obtained between levels of guidance and levels of element interactivity. Higher levels of guidance facilitated learning using high element interactivity information, while lower levels of guidance facilitated learning for low element interactivity information. Cognitive load theory was used to explain these contrasting results. From an educational perspective, it was suggested that when determining levels of guidance, a consideration of element interactivity is essential

Investigating Differences between Graphical and Textual Declarative Process Models

Declarative approaches to business process modeling are regarded as well suited for highly volatile environments, as they enable a high degree of flexibility. However, problems in understanding declarative process models often impede their adoption. Particularly, a study revealed that aspects that are present in both imperative and declarative process modeling languages at a graphical level-while having different semantics-cause considerable troubles. In this work we investigate whether a notation that does not contain graphical lookalikes, i.e., a textual notation, can help to avoid this problem. Even though a textual representation does not suffer from lookalikes, in our empirical study it performed worse in terms of error rate, duration and mental effort, as the textual representation forces the reader to mentally merge the textual information. Likewise, subjects themselves expressed that the graphical representation is easier to understand

Learners in a Changing Learning Landscape: Reflections from an Instructional Design Perspective

Van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Stoyanov, S. (2008). Learners in a changing learning landscape: Reflections from an instructional design perspective. In J. Visser & M. Visser-Valfrey (Eds.), Learners in a changing learning landscape: Reflections from a dialogue on new roles and expectations (pp. 69-90). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.Both learners and teachers find themselves in a learning landscape that is rapidly changing, along with fast societal and technological developments. This paper discusses the new learning landscape from an instructional design perspective. First, with regard to what is learned, people more than ever need flexible problem-solving and reasoning skills allowing them to deal with new, unfamiliar problem situations in their professional and everyday life. Second, with regard to the context in which learning takes place, learning in technology-rich, informal and professional 24/7 settings is becoming general practice. And third, with regard to the learners themselves, they can more often be characterized as lifelong learners who are mature, bring relevant prior knowledge, and have very heterogeneous expectations and perceptions of learning. High-quality instructional design research should focus on the question which instructional methods and media-method combinations are effective, efficient and appealing in this new learning landscape. Some innovative instructional methods that meet this requirement are discussed

The effects of performance-based assessment criteria on student performance and self-assessment skills

This study investigated the effect of performance-based versus competence-based assessment criteria on task performance and self-assessment skills among 39 novice secondary vocational education students in the domain of nursing and care. In a performance-based assessment group students are provided with a preset list of performance-based assessment criteria, describing what students should do, for the task at hand. The performance-based group is compared to a competence-based assessment group in which students receive a preset list of competence-based assessment criteria, describing what students should be able to do. The test phase revealed that the performance-based group outperformed the competence-based group on test task performance. In addition, higher performance of the performance-based group was reached with lower reported mental effort during training, indicating a higher instructional efficiency for novice students

E-learning interventions are comparable to user's manual in a randomized trial of training strategies for the AGREE II

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Practice guidelines (PGs) are systematically developed statements intended to assist in patient and practitioner decisions. The AGREE II is the revised tool for PG development, reporting, and evaluation, comprised of 23 items, two global rating scores, and a new User's Manual. In this study, we sought to develop, execute, and evaluate the impact of two internet interventions designed to accelerate the capacity of stakeholders to use the AGREE II.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were randomized to one of three training conditions. 'Tutorial'--participants proceeded through the online tutorial with a virtual coach and reviewed a PDF copy of the AGREE II. 'Tutorial + Practice Exercise'--in addition to the Tutorial, participants also appraised a 'practice' PG. For the practice PG appraisal, participants received feedback on how their scores compared to expert norms and formative feedback if scores fell outside the predefined range. <it>'</it>AGREE II User's Manual PDF (control condition)'<it>--</it>participants reviewed a PDF copy of the AGREE II only. All participants evaluated a test PG using the AGREE II. Outcomes of interest were learners' performance, satisfaction, self-efficacy, mental effort, time-on-task, and perceptions of AGREE II.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No differences emerged between training conditions on any of the outcome measures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We believe these results can be explained by better than anticipated performance of the AGREE II PDF materials (control condition) or the participants' level of health methodology and PG experience rather than the failure of the online training interventions. Some data suggest the online tools may be useful for trainees new to this field; however, this requires further study.</p