What is the nature of conceptual representations? Models of semantic memory often describe concepts as a distributed feature space. However, it remains unknown which subset of this feature space constitutes the invariant representation of a concept. In this dissertation, I investigate the nature of modality-independent representations and their…

Research on using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbots in learning environments continues to underpin research in and out of academia. However, GenAI text-to-video (T2V) models have not been adequately investigated in academia, mostly due to their novelty. That means their potential to improve learning remains to be determined. This…

As education increasingly shifts towards a technology-driven model, artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT are gaining recognition for their potential to enhance educational support. In university education and MOOC environments, students often select courses that align with their specific needs. During this process, access to information…

In the property listing task (PLT), participants are asked to list properties for a concept (e.g., for the concept "dog," "barks," and "is a pet" may be produced). In conceptual property norming (CPNs) studies, participants are asked to list properties for large sets of concepts. Here, we use a mathematical model of…

This research investigates whether there are relationships between the choices of concept reiterations and interlocutors' orientations, between the choices of concept reiterations and contexts of communication, and between affective connotations of paraphrase, interlocutors' orientations and contexts of communication. The data were collected from…

Reading is a fascinating cognitive process through which individuals perceive arbitrary symbols on a page and turn them into vivid mental representations of text. Most available evidence supports an embodied explanation for how readers are capable of such representations--they recruit supralinguistic brain regions in order to mentally simulate the…

We used a novel linguistic training paradigm to investigate the experience-dependent acquisition, representation, and processing of novel emotional and neutral abstract concepts. Participants engaged in mental imagery (n = 32) or lexico-semantic rephrasing (n = 34) of linguistic material during five training sessions and successfully learned the…

Conceptual representations can be altered to align with the current context given learning and task goals. One cognitive process, known as conceptual combination, allows for a unique perspective for exploring how complex conceptual processing occurs and how this processing influences the underlying representations of concepts. During novel nominal…

School psychologists constantly seek innovative ways to support students and colleagues. They understand the unique challenges within schools, including complex student needs, systemic pressures, and ever-increasing paperwork. What if they could create custom digital tools like games, interactive simulations, or decision-making aids, all tailored…

In this article, we present kindergarten children's ideas about thermal phenomena before any educational intervention took place. In order to capture and account for the heterogeneity of the kindergarten group in this study, first teachers observed children's exploration behavior, task orientation, science interest, and language comprehension in…

This dissertation investigates the interaction of developing extralinguistic cognitive systems with early language learning and processing through the case study of verb argument structure. The interaction of these systems with the linguistic system underpins fundamental theories of language learning and use: language does not exist in isolation.…

This study aims to determine the misconceptions of teacher candidates about the greenhouse effect concept by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm instead of human experts. The Knowledge Discovery from Data (KDD) process model was preferred in the study where the Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate (ADDIE) instructional design…

To succeed in the information age, students need to learn to communicate their understanding of complex topics effectively. This is reflected in both educational standards and standardized tests. To improve their writing ability for highly structured domains like scientific explanations, students need feedback that accurately reflects the…

Though efforts have been made for centuries, how concepts are represented in the brain is still elusive. The embodiment view claims that the sensory, motor and other brain areas through which people acquire concept information during life experiences represent this information during concept retrieval. Some compelling neurobiological evidence…

Adaptive comparative judgment (ACJ) has been widely used to evaluate classroom artifacts with reliability and validity. In the ACJ experience we examined, students were provided a pair of images related to backpack design. For each pair, students were required to select which image could help them ideate better. Then, they were prompted to provide…