The present study was to explore whether dynamic visualizations enriched with visuospatial cues can optimize learners' cognitive processing of mechanical systems. The animated conditions and cueing patterns were the independent variables with an attempt to investigate their impacts on retention and transfer tests. Either dynamic or static…

Prior knowledge, represented as a mental schema, has critical impact on how we organize, interpret, and process incoming information. Recent findings indicate that the use of an existing schema is coordinated by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), communicating with parietal areas. The hippocampus, however, is crucial for encoding…

Spatial thinking has roles to facilitate learners to remember, understand, reason, and communicate objects and the connections among objects that are represented in space. This research aims to analyze the spatial thinking process of students in constructing new knowledge seen from the field-independent cognitive style learners based on…

This study examined learning differences for students who were given instructor-provided examples during a lesson compared with student-generated examples. In an experiment, 348 students were exposed to an online lesson about fear appeals and were randomly assigned to either a condition where (a) examples of key concepts were provided by the…

In order to develop an expert-like mental model of complex systems, causal reasoning is essential. This study examines the differences between forward and backward instructional strategies in terms of efficiency, students' learning and progression of their mental models of the electronic transport chain in an undergraduate metabolism course…

A major challenge in contemporary research is how to connect medical education and cognitive neuroscience and achieve synergy between these domains. Based on this starting point we discuss how this may result in a common language about learning, more educationally focused scientific inquiry, and multidisciplinary research projects. As the topic of…

Existing reading assessments have increasingly been criticized by researchers, educators, and policy makers, especially regarding their coverage, utility, and authenticity (e.g., Magliano, Millis, Ozuru, & McNamara, 2007; Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001; Rupp, Ferne, & Choi, 2006). Specifically, there is concern that current…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a metaphorical interface on germane cognitive load in Web-based instruction. Based on cognitive load theory, germane cognitive load is a cognitive investment for schema construction and automation. A new instrument developed in a previous study was used to measure students' mental activities…

We contend that managers make better decisions when they are better able to tap into their vast storehouses of knowledge than their peers can. More specifically, we contend that accessing their tacit knowledge has the most noticeable and positive impact on their decision quality. Furthermore, techniques for better accessing knowledge can be…

Discusses the results of a study that examined the relationship between comprehension ability and prior knowledge in children's recall of structurally equivalent text. (AEA)

The described study investigated the effectiveness of an e-learning Web 2.0 course redesigned from the perspective of cognitive load theory. The analyzed variables were course wiki design features, levels of instructor support, levels of cognitive load and engagement, and values students placed on particular pedagogical approaches used during…

Effects of mobilizing prior knowledge on information processing were studied with 3 groups of 12 adult subjects each. The assumption that activating different kinds of prior knowledge would induce different information processing activities during subsequent text processing (inferencing or elaborating) was tested using passages about fishing…

To characterize basic processes of reading comprehension, this report focuses on how the reader's schemata, or knowledge already stored in memory, function in the process of interpreting new information and allowing it to enter and become a part of the knowledge store. The paper first traces the historical antecedents of schema theory, then…

Argues that the mystery surrounding comprehension development can be dispelled by an understanding of schema theory and linguistic theory and especially by an understanding of W. Kintsch's model of comprehension, which draws from those bodies of theory. Describes teaching methods based upon Kintsch's model. (FL)

Notes that by examining the interactive processes involved in comprehending, researchers are concluding that readers use their prior knowledge to actively construct meaning from printed material. Reviews research in metacomprehension and discusses its implications for college reading instruction. (FL)