Principled animation design improves comprehension of complex dynamics

Learners can have difficulty in decomposing conventionally designed animations to obtain raw material suitable for building high quality mental models. A composition approach to designing animations based on the Animation Processing Model was developed as a principled alternative to prevailing approaches. Outcomes from studying novel and conventional animation designs (independent variable) were compared with respect to mental model quality, knowledge of local kinematics, and capacity to transfer (dependent variables). Study of a compositional animation that presented material in a contiguous fashion resulted in higher quality mental models of a piano mechanism than non-contiguous or control (conventional) versions but no significant differences regarding local kinematics or transfer. Eye fixation data indicated that the compositional animation led to superior mental models because it particularly fostered relational processing. Implications for future research and the design of educational animations are discussed.     

A feedback learning and mental models perspective on strategic decision making

This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term success. We present a set of hypotheses about the influence of feedback information and systems thinking facilitation on mental models and management performance. We explore, under controlled conditions, the role of mental models in terms of structure and behaviour. A test based on a simulation experiment with a system dynamics model was performed. Three out of the four hypotheses were confirmed. Causal diagramming positively influences mental model structure similarity, mental model structure similarity positively influences mental model behaviour similarity, and mental model behaviour similarity positively influences the quality of the decision.     

运用程序化参赛模式和自我暗示提高帆船运动员十运会比赛成绩——对十运会帆船冠军的心理训练方案设计与心理干预

在对十运会重点参赛运动员进行心理咨询基础上,此研究建构了一整套科学化的心理训练方案,其中在赛前不同阶段将程序化参赛模式、积极性自我暗示、表象训练和认知调整等心理训练方法进行合理组合并对运动员进行系统干预,卓见成效,显著改善了运动员的赛前心理状态,提高了运动员的心理素质,为她们在十运会夺冠提供了可靠保障。     

青少年心理健康及其教育的整合研究

青少年心理健康及其教育的整合研究是指在研究全程中系统考虑个体与群体、家庭与学校、内因与外因、心理与行为、问题与解决等多方面的条件、作用和效应,将其作为一个完整的功能系统进行理论与实践相结合的整体研究。研究内容主要包括理论依据、方法论原则、青少年心理问题、青少年心理健康素质培养模式及实施策略、青少年心理健康教育保障系统、青少年心理问题的教育对策等方面的系统研究。     

Schemas and mental models in geometry problem solving

Recent investigations of mathematical problem solving have focused on an issue that concerns students' ability at accessing and making flexible use of previously learnt knowledge. I report here a study that takes up this issue by examining potential links between mental models constructed by students, the organisational quality of students' prior geometric knowledge, and the use of that knowledge during problem solving. Structural analysis of the results suggest that the quality of geometric knowledge that students develop could have a powerful effect on their mental models and subsequent use of that knowledge.     

整合式谈判的共享心理模型研究概述

谈判是一种常见的社会互动现象,整合式谈判是一种双赢谈判,共享心理模型揭示了整合式谈判的心理模型机制。心理模型与团队共享心理模型的研究是谈判共享心理模型研究的前提与基础,谈判共享心理模型的相似性与准确性影响着谈判结果,未来需要加强对谈判共享心理模型的动态研究与理论研究。     

Dynamic characteristics of mental models and dynamic visual displays

Mental models are hypothetical constructs for explaining human cognitive processes of understanding external reality, translating the reality into internal representation and utilizing it in problem solving. Three experiments were conducted to investigate important characteristics of mental models, their influence on task performance, and instructional strategies facilitating their formation. The experiments were conducted in computer-based training environments designed to teach troubleshooting electronic logic circuits. The results suggested: (a) dynamic characteristics of mental models are important for solving problems if understanding functional behaviors of the system is required to perform the task; (b) dynamic characteristics of mental models are determined primarily by subjects' understanding of the system features and functions more than by the visually presented training contents of the system; and (c) motion simulating system functions in visual displays is more effective than static visual displays in facilitating the formation of dynamic characteristics of mental models. Consequently, dynamic visual displays are more effective than static visual displays for teaching electronic troubleshooting skills. These findings provide direct implications for the development of training programs.     

Exploring Tertiary Students' Understanding of Covalent Bonding

There has been little research into learners' mental models of chemical bonding at any level, let alone the tertiary level. Undergraduate and graduate students encounter a plethora of sophisticated and highly abstract mental models for chemical bonding, and this study sought to investigate if there are preferred mental models for the concept of covalent bonding for secondary, undergraduate, and graduate chemistry learners. In particular, it was of interest to see whether exposure to increasingly sophisticated mental models at different points in a chemistry education showed up in patterns of preference and use of models in interpreting common physical properties and phenomena. The study revealed that, despite evidencing expertise in a number of highly complex and mathematically sophisticated mental models, tertiary students, including graduates (MSc and PhD), show a strong preference for simple realistic mental models. Furthermore, the students struggled to use their mental models to explain the physical properties of covalently bonded substances.     

The Mismatch between Students’ Mental Models of Acids/Bases and their Sources and their Teacher’s Anticipations thereof

The aim of this study is to compare the characteristics and sources of students’ mental models of acids and bases with a teacher’s anticipations and, based on this comparison, to explore some possible explanations why motivated students might fail to learn from a subject‐knowledgeable chemistry teacher. The study involves a chemistry teacher and her 38 ninth graders and focuses on the mental models of three high achievers and three low achievers who were interviewed in depth. Four students’ mental models of acid and base are identified. The mental models and sources of students’ conceptions of acids and bases that influenced the high achievers are compared to those of the low achievers. We find that the teacher in the study made accurate anticipations of her students’ mental models in the case of the high achievers but inaccurate anticipations of the low‐achievers’ mental models and the diverse sources influencing their mental models. In addition, the teacher incorrectly attributed the poor achievement of the low‐achieving students to their intuition and underestimated the effects of her teaching on the achievement of these students. As a result, the teacher’s instruction reinforced the low‐achievers’ incorrect mental models. Finally, the different approaches for teaching students with different achievements are emphasized according to the empirical data in this study.     

Uncovering Implicit Assumptions: a Large-Scale Study on Students’ Mental Models of Diffusion

Students’ mental models of diffusion in a gas phase solution were studied through the use of the Structure and Motion of Matter (SAMM) survey. This survey permits identification of categories of ways students think about the structure of the gaseous solute and solvent, the origin of motion of gas particles, and trajectories of solute particles in the gaseous medium. A large sample of data (N?=?423) from students across grade 8 (age 13) through upper-level undergraduate was subjected to a cluster analysis to determine the main mental models present. The cluster analysis resulted in a reduced data set (N?=?308), and then, mental models were ascertained from robust clusters. The mental models that emerged from analysis were triangulated through interview data and characterised according to underlying implicit assumptions that guide and constrain thinking about diffusion of a solute in a gaseous medium. Impacts of students’ level of preparation in science and relationships of mental models to science disciplines studied by students were examined. Implications are discussed for the value of this approach to identify typical mental models and the sets of implicit assumptions that constrain them.     

中职学生积极心理品质现状调查和教育对策

积极心理品质培养是积极心理健康教育的核心内容.为了解当前我国中等职业学校学生积极心理品质发展状况,本研究使用《中国中小学生积极心理品质量表》调查了1942名中职学生,发现:(1)总体而言,中职学生积极心理品质的认知、情感、人际、公正、节制、超越等六大维度发展状况良好;(2)在15项积极心理品质中,中职学生发展最好的三项品质为爱、心灵触动和信念希望,发展最差的三项品质为真诚、创造力和领导力;(3)不同经济发展水平地区的中职学生在积极心理品质六大维度上存在显著差异;(4)积极心理品质六大维度存在显著的年级和性别差异,总体而言,除公正维度外,在积极心理品质的五个维度上,中职学生得分随年级的升高而提高;男生在公正维度上得分显著高于女生;(5)与全国高中生比较而言,除节制维度中职学生得分显著高于全国高中生外,在认知、情感、人际、公正和超越维度,中职学生得分均显著低于全国高中生;除求知力、思维与洞察力品质差异不显著外,中职学生与全国高中生在13项积极心理品质上均存在显著差异.最后,提出了培养中职学生积极心理品质的有关建议.     

Information processing interpretation of errors in college science learning

This article begins with a brief summary of mental models from the information processing perspective. A model of prototypical college learning is then presented. Next, some of the links between mental models and cognitive errors are examined. Finally, studies of one category of cognitive errors, misconceptions and preconceptions of college science students are reviewed. Six factors contributing to error production are identified: four involve spontaneous cognitive mechanisms (strong word associations; non-verbal, intuitive knowledge; tendency to minimize mental effort; untimely triggering of natural language processing mechanisms) and two involve imperfect knowledge (alternative belief systems; fuzzy concepts).     

The Impact of Field Trips and Family Involvement on Mental Models of the Desert Environment

This study examined the mental models of the desert environment held by fourth‐ and seventh‐grade students in the USA and whether those mental models could be affected by: (1) classroom field trips to a desert riparian preserve, and (2) interaction with family members at the same preserve. Results generally indicated that students in this study were resolute in their models and that field trips did not impact the types of models students adhered to. Twenty‐three seventh‐grade students who self‐selected to participate in a Family Science Club with their parents did demonstrate a shift in their mental models and developed significantly more sophisticated models over time. A critical implication of the study is that unless transformation of mental models of the environment is an explicit goal of instruction, simple exposure to the environment (even within the context of life science instruction) will not transform understandings of how organisms within an environment act and interact interdependently.     

Students' mental models of the environment

What are students' mental models of the environment? In what ways, if any, do students' mental models vary by grade level or community setting? These two questions guided the research reported in this article. The Environments Task was administered to students from 25 different teacher‐classrooms. The student responses were first inductively analyzed in order to identify students' mental models of the environment. The second phase of analysis involved the statistical testing of the identified mental models. From this analysis four mental models emerged: Model 1, the environment as a place where animals/plants live—a natural place; Model 2, the environment as a place that supports life; Model 3, the environment as a place impacted or modified by human activity; and Model 4, the environment as a place where animals, plants, and humans live. The dominant mental model was Mental Model 1. Yet, a greater frequency of urban students than suburban and rural students held Mental Model 3. The implications to environmental science education are explored. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 327–348, 2007     

Model building for conceptual change

Conceptual change is a popular, contemporary conception of meaningful learning. Conceptual change describes changes in conceptual frameworks (mental models or personal theories) that learners construct to comprehend phenomena. Different theories of conceptual change describe the reorganization of conceptual frameworks that results from different forms of activity. We argue that learners' conceptual frameworks (mental models or personal theories) resulting from conceptual change are most acutely affected by model-based reasoning. Model-based reasoning is engaged and fostered by learner construction of qualitative and quantitative models of the content or phenomena they are studying using technology-based modelling tools. Model building is a powerful strategy for engaging, supporting, and assessing conceptual change in learners because these models scaffold and externalize internal, mental models by providing multiple formalisms for representing conceptual understanding and change. We demonstrate the processes and products of building models of domain content, problems, systems, experiences, and thinking processes using different technology-based modelling tools. Each tool provides alternative representational formalisms that enable learners to qualitatively and quantitatively model their conceptual frameworks.     

College chemistry students' mental models of acids and acid strength

The central goal of this study was to characterize the mental models of acids and acid strength expressed by advanced college chemistry students when engaged in prediction, explanation, and justification tasks that asked them to rank chemical compounds based on their relative acid strength. For that purpose we completed a qualitative research study involving students enrolled in different types of organic chemistry course sections at our university. Our analysis led to the identification of four distinct mental models, some of which resembled scientific models of acids and acid strength. However, the distinct models are better characterized as synthetic models that combined assumptions from one or more scientific models with intuitive beliefs about factors that determine the properties of chemical substances. For many students in our sample, mental models served more as tools for heuristic decision‐making based on intuitively appealing, but many times mistaken, concept associations rather than as cognitive tools to generate explanations. Although many research participants used a single general mental model to complete all of the interview tasks, the presence of specific problem features or changes in the nature of the task (e.g., prediction vs. explanation) prompted several students to change their mental model or to add a different mental representation. Our study indicates that properly diversifying and sequencing the types of academic tasks in which students are asked to participate could better foster meaningful learning as different types of cognitive resources may be activated by different students, and thus shared, analyzed, and discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 396–413, 2011     

农村初中生心理健康教育实验研究

素质教育的核心是培养学生良好的心理素质,心理素质的提高必须进行心理健康教育.三个学年的心理健康教育实验研究结果表明对农村初中生进行系统的心理健康教育明显提高了实验班初中生的心理健康水平;与对比班相比,实验班学生整体学习成绩全面提高,但心理健康教育对学生智力发展没有直接影响;实验班学生普遍对心理健康教育活动的开展持积极态度.     

Developing and Sharing Team Mental Models in a Profession‐driven and Value‐laden Organization

While team mental models have been shown to be effective in facilitating team operations in ordinary transactive organizations, their impact on loosely coupled yet value‐laden organizations is relatively under studied. Using qualitative inquiry methodology, this study investigates the three referential frameworks (i.e., theoretical knowledge, practical experiences, and team consciousness) of the team mental models employed in a nonprofit organization which provides therapy for hearing‐impaired children in Taiwan. The results indicate that fostering a strong team mental model may be an effective way to ensure that the performance of value‐laden practice meets a certain expectation. Moreover, I present arguments that because various cognitive properties of team mental models are formed, shared, and represented in different ways, they should be investigated and understood from a holistic perspective; and that it should also be cultivated by an integrative approach that utilizes theoretical, practical, and organizational knowledge.     

Team learning: building shared mental models

To gain insight in the social processes that underlie knowledge sharing in teams, this article questions which team learning behaviors lead to the construction of a shared mental model. Additionally, it explores how the development of shared mental models mediates the relation between team learning behaviors and team effectiveness. Analyses were performed on student-teams engaged in a business simulation game. The measurement of shared mental models was based on cognitive mapping techniques. The results indicate that a team learning perspective provides insight in how people share knowledge. Particularly the team learning behaviors identified as co-construction and constructive conflict are related to the development of shared mental models. In addition, a shared mental model of the task environment in a team leads to improved performance. This underscores the importance of developing shared cognition in teamwork.     

Ninth grade students’ mental models of the marine environment and their implications for environmental science education in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ mental models of the marine environment and to further examine how these models are related to their perceptions of marine problems. One hundred twenty-eight ninth grade students from a large harbor city in southern Taiwan completed a survey including a drawing activity and a set of two-tier questions. Using a four-factor rubric to analyze student drawings, we found that students’ mental models of the marine environment are generally partial and unconnected. In particular, the human component was often missing in the drawing. Students showed a strong awareness of marine problems; however, their awareness is focused on waste pollution. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that students’ mental models are associated with the scope of the perceived problems.