First-year engineering students' difficulties in visualization and drawing tasks

Visualizing parts, meaning interpreting the views of an object which has been represented in a drawing, is a fundamental skill in engineering. However, learning deficiencies and difficulties have been observed among engineering undergraduates, and there is a high failure rate in drawing courses. In order to determine the origin of these deficiencies, a qualitative design has been developed based on personal interviews. A group of students was interviewed to analyse the solution process they applied to three visualization problems with increasing difficulty. The steps they took were structured and categorized along with the difficulties and deficiencies which were detected. Most of the students affirmed that they did not possess methodology to solve these problems and relied on trial and error and intuition. The results seem to indicate that there are specific difficulties and that it is possible to define a set of skills which guide students through the process of visualizing parts.     

问题解决策略的认知和元认知研究

介绍了国内外学者近年来对问题解决策略的认知和元认知研究的最新成果:Alessandro Antonietti和梁宁建等人所做的大学生对一般问题解决策略的元认知的调查,Daniela Lueangeli等人所做的算术应用题解决中的认知和元认知能力的研究.     

Tower of Hanoi disk-transfer task: Influences of strategy knowledge and learning on performance

Tower of Hanoi has become a popular tool in cognitive and neuropsychology to assess a set of behaviors collectively referred to as executive functions. Substantial variability in performance on the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) disk-transfer task among normally functioning young adults, and potential contributions to these individual differences, were examined. In this expanded 60-problem version of the four-disk TOH, the degree to which problem administration (blocked vs. random) and strategy knowledge influenced overall performance and changes in accuracy across problems was examined. Eighty-seven college students were randomly assigned to a Blocked Group (problems given in ascending order of move-length) and a Random Group (problems given in a random order). After administration of the TOH task, participants described their problem solving and these verbal protocols were analyzed with regard to four elements of a strategic approach to problem solving. Problem administration order demonstrated no effect on task performance or on expressed strategy knowledge; however, strategy knowledge did predict performance on the TOH. An expected decrease in performance across trials was observed in the Blocked Group, and an increase in accuracy in the Random group indicated a learning effect. Strategy knowledge did not interact with these changes in performance across the items. These results suggest that external cues do not influence performance on the TOH to the same extent as individual differences in strategy induction relatively early in the problem solving process.     

Learning to Troubleshoot: A New Theory-Based Design Architecture

Troubleshooting is a common form of problem solving. Technicians (e.g., automotive mechanics, electricians) and professionals (physician, therapists, ombudspersons) diagnose faulty systems and take direct, corrective action to eliminate any faults in order to return the systems to their normal states. Traditional approaches to troubleshooting instruction have emphasized either theoretical or domain knowledge about the system or specific troubleshooting procedures. These methods have failed to develop transferable troubleshooting skills in learners. In this article, we propose an architecture for designing learning environments for troubleshooting. The architecture integrates experiential, domain, and device knowledge in a learning system that enables learners to generate and test hypotheses for every action they take, relate every action to a conceptual model of the system, and query experienced troubleshooters about what they would do. The architecture includes three essential components: A multi-layered conceptual model of the system that includes topographic, function, strategic, and procedural representations; a simulator that requires the learner to generate hypotheses, reconcile the hypotheses to the system mode, test the hypotheses, and interpret the results from the test; and a case library that uses a case-based reasoning engine to access relevant stories of troubleshooting experiences as advice for the learner. This novel architecture can be used to develop learning environments for different kinds of troubleshooting.     

Managing cognitive load during document-based learning

Designers of interactive learning environments face the issue of managing the learner's cognitive load, reducing irrelevant sources while optimizing useful sources of load. I propose a conceptual framework aimed at organizing the contributions of the papers presented in this special issue. The framework identifies three main dimensions, namely individual, task and environment, which may have specific or combined effects on the amount and type of cognitive load experienced during learning activities. I summarize some of the findings presented in the special issue with respect to each of these dimensions. Then I discuss some limitations of the studies and some perspectives for further research in the domain. I emphasize the need to control learners’ level of familiarity with the task setting and environment features, not just their prior knowledge of the content area, in order to obtain reliable assessments of cognitive load and learning outcomes.     

知识向能力转化的条件与策略——基于不同类型知识间的关系

知识与能力的关系不是线性的,知识向能力转化受知识类型、学习策略、学习情境等中介变量的制约。研究知识向能力转化的条件与策略是深化新课程改革、实施素质教育的迫切需要。新的知识观认为知识可分为三大类：陈述性知识、程序性知识和策略性知识。知识转化为能力,需陈述性知识与程序性知识之间相互转化,策略性知识调控陈述性知识和程序性知识的学习;问题解决检验个体能力的高低。     

空间向量是解决数学问题的有力工具

向量具有一套完整的运算性质，利用这些性质对题目进行分析转化，联想，构造，解题途径便有规律可循，学生在解题时就游刃有余，轻松自如，同时空间向量的引入对高一层次的基础教育起到了衔接作用，总之，空间向量的引进，对中学数学无论在理论上还是实践上都具有重要意义。     

论问题解决与教学促进

大多数教育工作者都认为问题解决很重要,但是他们对什么是问题解决持有不同观点,在怎样教给学生问题解决的本领上也没有达成一致意见。各种不同观点主要集中于将问题解决视为教育目标、教育方法以及技能训练之间的差异问题上。其一,目标型问题解决不应只限于良构问题解决,而应该延伸到现实问题解决;其二,对初学者来说,方法型问题解决有其明显的局限性,给予这些学习者足够帮助,对于培养他们的问题解决能力具有重要作用;其三,技能型问题解决不应被看作是只在培养专长过程的初期才会出现,而应被视为在系统1模式与系统2模式中平行发展的一个过程。总结以上观点,综合学习设计模式完全可以用来促进此三种类型的问题解决,并其本回答了问题解决最好应该怎样教的问题。     

Understanding individual problem-solving style: A key to learning and applying creative problem solving

More than five decades of research and development have focused on making the Creative Problem Solving process and tools accessible across a wide range of ages and contexts. Recent evidence indicates that when individuals, in both school and corporate settings, understand their own style of problem solving, they are able to learn and apply process tools more effectively, and when teams appreciate the styles of their individual members, their problem solving efforts are enhanced. We summarize recent studies and report new data supporting the conclusion that individual style differences provide an important key to understanding the interaction of person, process, product, and press when managing change.