Ways of learning in a computer-based environment: some findings of the LOGO Maths Project

Abstract  This paper is derived from the LOGO Maths Project's investigation of the potential of LOGO in the secondary school mathematics classroom (1983–1986). The main focus of the work has been to discover whether and under what conditions the computer language LOGO can be used as an aid to pupils' learning and thinking in mathematics. Longitudinal case studies were undertaken for four pairs of pupils throughout the three years of the project. In addition the research was extended for two years into another eight schools. This paper presents the findings concerned with peer collaboration and the role of the teacher in the LOGO environment. It describes how LOGO work can be used to gain insights into pupils' conceptions of mathematical ideas. It also makes reference to gender issues in the wider context of computer use in the United Kingdom.     

LOGO!在空压机控制系统中的应用

本文介绍了LOGO!在空压机控制系统中的应用,给出了由一台自耦变压器控制两台空压机起动的控制电路。此法是一种经济,实用的控制方法,系统具有高可靠性,经实际应用,效果良好。     

The preferences of young children for images used in dynamic graphical interfaces in computer-assisted English vocabulary learning

The aim of this study is to investigate the preferences of young children for the dynamic and complexity aspects of images presented to them for English vocabulary learning purposes via an interactive multimedia interface. The experimental data reveal that young children strongly prefer high-complexity images which are entirely dynamic. Therefore, it is recommended that graphical interfaces designed to assist young learners in acquiring new vocabulary items should utilize images of this type to increase their interest, thereby enhancing their learning motivation and performance.     

Misconceptions concerning rotation and angie in LOGO

Abstract  Twelve children, aged between 10 and 11 years old were given a 12-hour course in LOGO. The course was taught by a teacher whose knowledge of LOGO was extensive. The emphasis was on the relationship between the turtle rotation and the internal angle in plane figures. The children were tested for their knowledge of angle at the start of the course and when it was finished. In spite of the teacher's attempts to make the children aware that it was the external angles of geometric figures through which the turtle turned, almost all the children focused on the internal angles in the final test. The results suggest using LOGO to draw closed figures may lead to a confusion about angle which is not amenable to conventional teacher intervention in a short course of this nature.     

西门子LOGO在机场行李值机输送单元中的应用

介绍以西门子LOGO为控制核心的机场值机输送单元控制系统的组成、硬件配置、控制流程及软件实现.     

LOGO!及其在电阻炉温度控制中的应用

本文介绍了通用控制逻辑模块(LOGO!)的结构特点、技术性能；采用LOGO!实现箱式电阻炉的温度控制。其控制系统工作可靠、功能多并方便了工作人员的操作。     

A conceptual framework mapping the application of information search strategies to well and ill-structured problem solving

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach that is organized around the investigation and resolution of problems. Problems are neither uniform nor similar. 11 and 12 in his design theory of problem solving has categorized problems into two broad types – well-structured and ill-structured. He has also described a host of mediating skills that impact problem solving outcomes. The thrust of this paper rests in the argument that the basis of these mediating skills is information search literacy and particularly, in view of the utility of the Internet as an informational repository, effective information searching skills. This study was an investigation of how different Internet information seeking strategies can be used to engage in problem solving. A conceptual framework that explains how different Internet information searching strategies can be employed in successfully solving well and ill-structured problems was devised and empirically tested. The research site was a newly established polytechnic in Singapore that employs problem-based learning to support its curricular implementation. The sample population of students came from a class of 25 first-year students. The research findings of this study inform that information searching skills indeed play an important role in problem solving. The findings affirm the need for students to be systematically instructed in the skills of information searching to be able to accomplish problem solving. The information searching necessary for solving well-structured problems is constrained and readily manageable. Thus, students only have to be acquainted with fundamental information searching skills to solve well-structured problems. On the other hand, the information needs of ill-structured problems are usually complex, multi-disciplinary and expansive. Hence, students have to be trained to apply a more advanced set of information searching skills in resolving ill-structured problems.     

西门子LOGO!在汽车试验场交通灯系统中的应用

阐述以西门子LOGO!为控制核心的交通灯控制系统的组成、硬件配置、控制流程及软件实现。     

Cyberbullying among young adults in Malaysia: The roles of gender,age and Internet frequency

This study investigated the extent of young adults’ (N = 393; 17–30 years old) experience of cyberbullying, from the perspectives of cyberbullies and cyber-victims using an online questionnaire survey. The overall prevalence rate shows cyberbullying is still present after the schooling years. No significant gender differences were noted, however females outnumbered males as cyberbullies and cyber-victims. Overall no significant differences were noted for age, but younger participants were found to engage more in cyberbullying activities (i.e. victims and perpetrators) than the older participants. Significant differences were noted for Internet frequency with those spending 2–5 h online daily reported being more victimized and engage in cyberbullying than those who spend less than an hour daily. Internet frequency was also found to significantly predict cyber-victimization and cyberbullying, indicating that as the time spent on Internet increases, so does the chances to be bullied and to bully someone. Finally, a positive significant association was observed between cyber-victims and cyberbullies indicating that there is a tendency for cyber-victims to become cyberbullies, and vice versa. Overall it can be concluded that cyberbullying incidences are still taking place, even though they are not as rampant as observed among the younger users.     

The fuzzy relationship of intelligence and problem solving in computer simulations

Using the instructional computer simulation “Hunger in the Sahel”, two experiments were conducted concerning the moderating effect of domain knowledge on the correlation of intelligence and problem solving. Experiment 1 with N=200 students implemented a between-subjects design, Experiment 2 with N=28 young adults a within-subjects design with 10 repeated measures on problem solving. The results correspond to the Elshout–Raaheim hypothesis: With low domain knowledge, the correlation is low; with increasing knowledge, the correlation increases; with further increasing knowledge, the correlation decreases; finally, when the problem has become a simple task, the correlation is again low. The results are of practical and theoretical relevance for designing simulation-based learning environments and simulation-based tests for measuring intelligence and problem-solving ability.     

Acquisition of troubleshooting skills in a computer simulation: Worked example vs. conventional problem solving instructional strategies

In a computer-based simulation of a chemical processing plant, the differential effects of three instructional strategies for learning how to troubleshoot the plant’s malfunctions were investigated. In an experiment concerning learners’ transfer performance and mental effort, the simulation presented the three strategies to three groups of learners and measured their performance on the transfer tasks. In this experiment, conventional problem solving was contrasted with two worked example strategies. The results indicated a significant difference between practicing problem solving and using worked examples. Learners who practiced problem solving in an interactive simulation outperformed the learners who studied computer-based worked examples. They also invested lower mental effort in transfer tasks. When accounting for the difference in the learners’ domain knowledge, the strategies were not significantly different among the more experienced learners. For the less experienced learners, those who practiced problem solving significantly outperformed their worked example counterparts. Among all participants and also among less experienced learners the problem solving group invested significantly lower mental effort in the performance of transfer tasks. Based on the results of this study, the authors recommend the use of the conventional problem solving strategy with or without worked examples for learning complex skills.     

Success and failure analysis of a problem solving system implementation

The NAPSS (Numerical Analysis Problem Solving System) project was an attempt to develop an interactive system, with a high-level language resembling conventional mathematics, for solving problems in numerical analysis. This report uses NAPSS as an example to discuss some aspects of the design and implementation of the programming languages and software which comprise problem solving systems. Successful features as well as failures (with alternative proposals) are detailed in the areas of general language management, specific language features and the operating system interface. In general, a massive, coherent implementation of theoretical work being done at the frontiers of research has abundant opportunity for failure.     

Wolves, bees, and football: Enhancing coordination in sociotechnological problem solving systems through the study of human and animal groups

This paper describes how sociotechnological systems comprising human and technological agents can be considered problem solving systems. Problem solving systems typically comprise many agents, each characterized by at least partial autonomy. A challenge for problem solving systems is to coordinate system agent operations during problem solving. This paper explores how competence models of human–human and animal–animal coordination might be used to inform the design of problem solving systems so that the potential for agent coordination is enhanced. System design principles are identified based on a review of competent coordination in human groups, such as work and sport teams, and animal groups, such wolf packs and bee colonies. These principles are then discussed in relation to agent coordination in the domains of E-Science, future combat systems, and medicine, which typify real-world environments comprising problem solving systems.     

Is it Visual? The Importance of a Problem Solving Module within a Computing Course

This paper looks at student's view of the usefulness of a problem solving and programming module in the first year of a 3-year undergraduate program.The School of Science and Technology,University of Northampton,UK has been investigating,over the last seven years the teaching of problem solving.Including looking at whether a more visual approach has any benefits(the visual programming includes both 2-d and graphical user interfaces).Whilst the authors have discussed the subject problem solving and programming in the past [1] this paper considers the students perspective from research collected/collated by a student researcher under a new initiative within the University.All students interviewed either had completed the module within the two years of the survey or were completing the problem-solving module in their first year.     

The effect of simulation games on the learning of computational problem solving

Simulation games are now increasingly applied to many subject domains as they allow students to engage in discovery processes, and may facilitate a flow learning experience. However, the relationship between learning experiences and problem solving strategies in simulation games still remains unclear in the literature. This study, thus, analyzed the feedback and problem solving behaviors of 117 students in a simulation game, designed to assist them to learn computational problem solving. It was found that students when learning computational problem solving with the game were more likely to perceive a flow learning experience than in traditional lectures. The students’ intrinsic motivation was also enhanced when they learned with the simulation game. In particular, the results of the study found a close association between the students’ learning experience states and their problem solving strategies. The students who perceived a flow experience state frequently applied trial-and-error, learning-by-example, and analytical reasoning strategies to learn the computational problem solving skills. However, a certain portion of students who experienced states of boredom and anxiety did not demonstrate in-depth problem solving strategies. For instance, the students who felt anxious in the simulation game did not apply the learning-by-example strategy as frequently as those in the flow state. In addition, the students who felt bored in the simulation game only learned to solve the problem at a superficial level.     

The role of computer tools in experts’ solving ill-structured problems

The focus of this study is first, the qualitative changes within the human agent as a result of extensive computer tool use (over 5 years), also described as the effect of tool use [Pea, R. D. (1985). Beyond amplification: using the computer to reorganize mental functioning. Educational Psychologist, 20(4), 167–182; Salomon, G. (1990). Cognitive effects with and of computer technology. Communication Research, 17(1), 26–44], and second, the “quantitative changes in accomplishment” of the human agent in the presence of computer tools, also described as effect with-tools [Pea (1985, p. 57); Solomon (1990)]. This research used ill-structured problem solving as the task and experts with more than 6 years of domain and tool experience to document the changes in their knowledge structures. The study also compared the differences between the ill-structured problem solving with and without the computer tool to identify differences that may be a result of the computer’s presence.     

网格环境下基于模拟的协同设计与制造

基于模拟的虚拟产品开发涉及到建模和模拟技术,模拟主要是设计评估和验证,确保设计的性能,验证设计的缺陷。本文介绍了一种网格环境下的协同设计与制造技术,分析了松耦合的协同设计与制造,结合网格的最新研究进展,设计基于模拟的虚拟产品开发,更有效地利用各种有效的资源,缩短产品开发周期,实现网格环境下协同设计与制造。本文主要集中在基于模拟设计的协作网格环境开发的分析与设计。     

一种桥梁目标识别方法的研究

在并行黑板模型研究的基础上,提出将写生式分割策略用于桥梁目标识别的图象分割思想。基于该分割思想,在黑板模型试验床ＣＰＥＳ上建立了问题求解模型,并进行了桥梁目标识别,实验结果表明,上述方法在识别速度和识别虚警概率等方面效果较好。     

Measuring problem solving in computer environments: current and future states

The first part of this article will review the status of technology and educational reform; the second will treat traditional approaches to problem-solving measurement common today in technological settings; and the third will propose how problem-solving assessment may change and, in particular, the role that authoring strategies may play in measuring problem-solving performance successfully in computer environments. We will suggest four areas that must be considered in which computers would increase the fidelity and validity of measures of complex problem solving: (1) the intentions and skills of assessment designers; (2) the range of performance that counts as problem solving; (3) the ways in which validity evidence can be sought; and (4) the degree to which the measurement produces results that generalize across tasks and contexts.     

Factors of problem-solving competency in a virtual chemistry environment: The role of metacognitive knowledge about strategies

The ability to solve complex scientific problems is regarded as one of the key competencies in science education. Until now, research on problem solving focused on the relationship between analytical and complex problem solving, but rarely took into account the structure of problem-solving processes and metacognitive aspects. This paper, therefore, presents a theoretical framework, which describes the relationship between the components of problem solving and strategy knowledge.