Previous research has demonstrated that cognitive offloading (i.e., externalizing mental processes) is useful for immediate problem solving. However, long-term effects of cognitive offloading on subsequent problem solving without offloading are remarkably understudied. Our main goal was to investigate the effects of representation control (i.e.,…

Two types of instruction were emphasized in the solution of insight problems. One study directed subjects to reformulate their initial view of the problem to avoid unnecessary assumptions about it; another required visualization of problem components. Results indicated that reformulation instructions contributed to performance, but visualization…

This article examines naive conceptions of spatial reference that children bring to Logo programing language learning. Students from Grades 4, 5, 6, and 8 were introduced to six Logo commands, and then were tested on predicting the output for instances of each of the commands. (Author/LMO)