Variability of worked examples and transfer of geometrical problem-solving skills: A cognitive-load approach.

Studied 4 computer-based training strategies for geometrical problem solving in the domain of computer numerically controlled machinery programming with regard to their effects on training performance, transfer performance, and cognitive load. A low- and a high-variability conventional condition, in which conventional practice problems had to be solved (followed by worked examples), were compared with a low- and a high-variability worked condition, in which worked examples had to be studied. Results showed that students who studied worked examples gained most from high-variability examples, invested less time and mental effort in practice, and attained better and less effort-demanding transfer performance than students who first attempted to solve conventional problems and then studied work examples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When problem solving is superior to studying worked examples.

Interactions between levels of learner knowledge in a domain and levels of instructional guidance were investigated. Inexperienced mechanical trade apprentices were presented with either a series of worked examples to study or problems to solve. On subsequent tests, inexperienced trainees benefited most from the worked examples condition, with this group performing better with lower ratings of mental load than similar trainees who solved problems. With more experience in the domain, worked examples became redundant and problem solving proved superior. It is suggested that the relative effectiveness of either worked examples or problem solving depends heavily on levels of learner knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimizing cognitive load for learning from computer-based science simulations.

How can cognitive load in visual displays of computer simulations be optimized? Middle-school chemistry students (N = 257) learned with a simulation of the ideal gas law. Visual complexity was manipulated by separating the display of the simulations in 2 screens (low complexity) or presenting all information on 1 screen (high complexity). The mode of visual representation in the simulation was manipulated by presenting important information in symbolic form only (symbolic representations) or by adding iconic information to the display (iconic + symbolic representations), locating the sliders controlling the simulation separated from the simulation or integrating them, and graphing either only the most recent simulation result or showing all results taken. Separated screen displays and the use of optimized visual displays each promoted comprehension and transfer, especially for low prior-knowledge learners. An expertise reversal effect was found for learners' prior general science knowledge. Results indicate that intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load in visual displays can be manipulated and that learners' prior knowledge moderates the effectiveness of these load manipulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maximizing constructivist learning from multimedia communications by minimizing cognitive load.

Students viewed an animation depicting either the process of lightning formation or how car brakes work and listened to a corresponding narration describing the steps. The entire animation and narration were presented at the same time (concurrent), the entire narration was presented before or after the entire animation (successive large bites), or short portions of the narration were presented before or after corresponding short portions of the animation for each successive portion of the presentation (successive small bites). Overall, the concurrent and successive small bites groups performed significantly better than the successive large bites groups on remembering the explanation in words (retention), generating solutions to transfer problems (transfer), and selecting verbal labels for elements in a line drawing (matching), but they did not differ significantly from each other. Results are consistent with a dual-process model of working memory in which learners are more likely to construct connections between words and corresponding pictures when they are held in working memory at the same time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using worked examples as an instructional support in the algebra classroom.

In 2 experiments, high school students studied worked examples while learning how to translate English expressions into algebraic equations. In Exp 1, worked examples were used as part of the regular classroom instruction and as a support for homework. In Exp 2, students in a remedial mathematics class received individual instruction. Students using worked examples outperformed the control group on posttests after completing fewer practice problems; they also made fewer errors per problem and fewer types of errors during acquisition time, completed the work more rapidly, and required less assistance from the teacher. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of three measures of cognitive load: Evidence for separable measures of intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load.

Understanding how to measure cognitive load is a fundamental challenge for cognitive load theory. In 2 experiments, 155 college students (ages = 17 to 22; 49 men and 106 women) with low domain knowledge learned from a multimedia lesson on electric motors. At 8 points during learning, their cognitive load was measured via self-report scales (mental effort ratings) and response time to a secondary visual monitoring task, and they completed a difficulty rating scale at the end of the lesson. Correlations among the three measures were generally low. Analyses of variance indicated that the response time measure was most sensitive to manipulations of extraneous processing (created by adding redundant text), effort ratings were most sensitive to manipulations of intrinsic processing (created by sentence complexity), and difficulty ratings were most sensitive to indications of germane processing (reflected by transfer test performance). Results are consistent with a triarchic theory of cognitive load in which different aspects of cognitive load may be tapped by different measures of cognitive load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A chain of cognitive changes with learning to program in Logo.

Investigated 3 kinds of changes that could occur when a child learns to program in Logo: changes in the child's knowledge of the specific features of the Logo language, changes in the child's thinking within the domain of programming, and changes in the child's thinking in domains beyond programming. Novice programmers for 4th-grade classes were given three sessions of Logo learning, with a Logo test given after each session, and a test of spatial cognition given before and after learning. Children showed a general increase in their knowledge of Logo across the three sessions, as indicated by increasing proportions of correct answers on the Logo test. Children showed a reduction in their misconceptions related to Logo, namely, egocentric bugs such as thinking "turn right" means to turn to the right side of the screen rather than to the turtle's right, and interpretation bugs such as thinking "turn right" means to turn and then keep moving. Children who lost their egocentric misconceptions or who never had them showed pretest-to-posttest gains on a test of spatial cognition, whereas egocentric children did not. Results provide some preliminary evidence that productive learning of a programming language involves a chain of cognitive changes, with lower-level changes facilitating higher-level changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing capacity under perceptual and cognitive load: A closer look at load theory.

Variations in perceptual and cognitive demands (load) play a major role in determining the efficiency of selective attention. According to load theory (Lavie, Hirst, Fockert, & Viding, 2004) these factors (a) improve or hamper selectivity by altering the way resources (e.g., processing capacity) are allocated, and (b) tap resources rather than data limitations (Norman & Bobrow, 1975). Here we provide an extensive and rigorous set of tests of these assumptions. Predictions regarding changes in processing capacity are tested using the hazard function of the response time (RT) distribution (Townsend & Ashby, 1978; Wenger & Gibson, 2004). The assumption that load taps resource rather than data limitations is examined using measures of sensitivity and bias drawn from signal detection theory (Swets, 1964). All analyses were performed at two levels: the individual and the aggregate. Hypotheses regarding changes in processing capacity were confirmed at the level of the aggregate. Hypotheses regarding resource and data limitations were not completely supported at either level of analysis. And in all of the analyses, we observed substantial individual differences. In sum, the results suggest a need to expand the theoretical vocabulary of load theory, rather than a need to discard it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual and cognitive spatial learning.

Ss were taught novel mappings between visual space and motor space with either a variant on a prism adaptation paradigm (Exps 1 and 2) or a nonperceptual cognitive task (Exps 3 and 4). First, discrimination training specified that one visual location required a new pointing response but another location did not. This led to unusual generalization unlike typical generalization decrement. Second, training at 9 locations specified that 1 location required a new response but that the remaining 8 did not. This simple isolation mapping was unlearnable and instead a flat function fit through all of space. In contrast, for the cognitive paradigm, not only was isolation of one region of space easily learned, it was the preferred pattern of generalization. Implications for perceptual learning, as well as the qualitative distinctions between perceptual and cognitive learning, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning.

Researchers interested in academic self-regulated learning have begun to study processes that students use to initiate and direct their efforts to acquire knowledge and skill. The social cognitive conception of self-regulated learning presented here involves a triadic analysis of component processes and an assumption of reciprocal causality among personal, behavioral, and environmental triadic influences. This theoretical account also posits a central role for the construct of academic self-efficacy beliefs and three self-regulatory processes: self-observation, self-judgment, and self-reactions. Research support for this social cognitive formulation is discussed, as is its usefulness for improving student learning and academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mapping cognitive structure: A comparison of methods.

Compared 3 methods of mapping cognitive structure. Free and controlled word association tests and a tree-construction test, all using the same 15 mechanics concept words as stimuli or units, were administered to 28 graduate science students. Very similar patterns of relations among the words, well represented by a digraph model, were revealed by the 3 techniques, and graphic representations of these structures were produced. No agreement was obtained among individual measures of the degree of concept interconnectedness derived from each test. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time and cognitive load in working memory.

According to the time-based resource-sharing model (P. Barrouillet, S. Bernardin, & V. Camos, 2004), the cognitive load a given task involves is a function of the proportion of time during which it captures attention, thus impeding other attention-demanding processes. Accordingly, the present study demonstrates that the disruptive effect on concurrent maintenance of memory retrievals and response selections increases with their duration. Moreover, the effect on recall performance of concurrent activities does not go beyond their duration insofar as the processes are attention demanding. Finally, these effects are not modality specific, as spatial processing was found to disrupt verbal maintenance. These results suggest a sequential and time-based function of working memory in which processing and storage rely on a single and general purpose attentional resource needed to run executive processes devoted to constructing, maintaining, and modifying ephemeral representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cognitive–social learning model of social-skill training.

Explores the purposes, methods, major findings, and future directions of social-skill training research with children from the perspective of a cognitive–social learning explanation of behavior change. Social-learning principles are used to provide both an explanatory framework and a potential technology for social-skill training methodology. Attention is devoted to conceptualizing skill-training methods in terms of theoretically derived variables and components as well as formal properties of training. Findings from empirical research are reviewed with respect to important or promising variables, their hypothesized function in behavior change, and their demonstrated effects on children's social behavior. Current and future research trends are discussed in light of the proposed model and available empirical evidence. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of early and late second language learning.

Evaluated the effectiveness of 3 types of French immersion programs: (a) early total immersion, (b) 1-yr late immersion, and (c) 2-yr late immersion on students from Grades 7, 8, and 9. Proficiency in French was assessed using reading comprehension, writing, language arts, dictation, listening comprehension, and oral production tests. Statistical analyses at each grade level revealed that the early immersion and 2-yr late immersion Ss had achieved generally higher levels of proficiency in French with few differences in performance between the 2 groups. There were indications that the differential between the 1-yr late group and the other 2 groups was narrowing in the higher grades. Findings are discussed in terms of their practical educational significance and theoretical implications for the critical period hypothesis for 2nd language learning. (French abstract) (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-modeling and children's cognitive skill learning.

We investigated self-modeling among children who had experienced arithmetic difficulties. In Experiment 1, some children observed peer models solve fraction problems. Others were videotaped while solving problems, after which they viewed their tapes. Observing self-model tapes raised achievement outcomes as well as viewing peer models; each treatment was more effective than a videotape control condition. In Experiment 2, children were videotaped solving easier problems or solving more difficult problems, after which they viewed their tapes. The two self-model treatments promoted achievement behaviors equally well and better than the videotape control and instructional control conditions. In Experiment 3, children were videotaped while learning to solve problems or after they had learned to solve the problems. Self-model subjects demonstrated higher achievement outcomes than videotape control children. Collectively, these results show that self-model tapes highlight progress in skill acquisition, which enhances self-efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of implicit and explicit processes in learning from examples: A synergistic effect.

Four experiments are reported in which subjects gained extensive experience with artificial grammars in explicit and implicit processing tasks. Results indicate that (a) implicit processing was sufficient for learning a finite state grammar but was inadequate for learning another type of grammar based on logical rules. (b) Subjects were able to communicate some of their implicit knowledge of the grammars to another person. (c) Consistent with rule induction but not memory array models of learning, verbal protocols indicated there was no tendency to converge on the same set of cues used to identify valid strings. (d) A synergistic learning effect occurred when both implicit and explicit processing tasks were used in grammar based on logical rules but not in the finite state grammar. A theoretical framework is proposed in which implicit learning is conceptualized as an automatic, memory-based mechanism for detecting patterns of family resemblance among exemplars. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimizing learning from examples using animated pedagogical agents.

This study attempted to optimize a computer-based learning environment designed to teach learners how to solve word problems by incorporating an animated pedagogical agent. The agent was programmed to deliver instructional explanations either textually or aurally, while simultaneously using gaze and gesture to direct the learners to focus their attention on the relevant part of the example. In Experiment 1, learners presented with an agent delivering explanations aurally (voice plus agent) outperformed their control peers on measures of transfer. In Experiment 2, learners in the voice-plus-agent condition outperformed their peers presented with textual explanations on a variety of measures, including far transfer. In sum, an animated agent programmed to deliver instructions aurally can help optimize learning from examples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of cognitive load on semantic priming in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenic and control participants received 2 blocks of trials in each experiment. In 1 block they were exposed to regular priming trials (doctor–nurse), and in another block a nonlexical probe was presented at prime onset for 40 ms. Regardless of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), the schizophrenic patients showed hyperpriming when no distractor was present. Paying attention to the distracting stimulus reduced priming in the patient group irrespective of SOA. Under certain situations, the reduction in priming appeared even when participants were asked to ignore the distracting stimulus. Thus, even a nonsemantic distractor may be detrimental to schizophrenic patients' language processing. That SOA did not modulate the reduction in priming effect is consistent with the suggestion that attentional resources are required even with short prime–target intervals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial step learning of cognitive sequences.

Tasks that require performing a series of cognitive steps may vary (1) in the goal structures they imply and (2) in the relationships among the inputs and outputs of component steps. In 3 experiments with 190 undergraduate Ss, the authors tested the role of these characteristics in determining the benefits of practicing with a consistent sequence of component steps. When Ss solved simple mathematical equations by using either a hierarchical or a flat goal structure, the results showed a benefit of a consistent sequence in both goal structure conditions. In another experiment, the main manipulation was whether the component steps were cascaded, requiring the output of a step to be used as input to a subsequent step. Results show a greater benefit of a consistent sequence for the cascaded task than for a task that encapsulated each step. Results suggest that knowledge acquired from serial step learning is incorporated in the representation of each component step. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student conceptions of learning and their use of self-regulated learning strategies: A cross-cultural comparison.

This study examines differences between Australian and Japanese secondary school students' conceptions of learning and their use of self-regulated learning strategies. Australian students have a narrow, school-based view of learning. The Japanese students view learning from a much broader perspective. For them, learning is not only related to what happens at school, it is also seen as a lifelong, experiential process leading to personal fulfillment. However, in spite of these differences in learning conceptualizations, the strategies used by students in a Western learning context are similar to those used by Japanese students. A conception of learning as "understanding" is associated with a greater total use of strategies for both Australian and Japanese students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)