Contemporary evidence on the effectiveness of concrete and abstract representations in science education is based solely on studies conducted in college context. There it has been found that learning with abstract representations produces predominantly better outcomes than learning with concrete representations and combining the representations…

Describes the basic mechanisms of the SimQuest, an authoring system for designing/creating simulation-based learning environments. The functionality authors have in providing the learner with guidance and experiences on how authors use opportunities and learners employ the cognitive support are reported.(Author)