Describes an adventure activity in which a group achieved a seemingly impossible goal by changing the way it imagined the task. Discusses the sequence of steps in metaphor development that led to the triggering of a generative metaphor: a new image of the task that allowed reframing of the problem and its eventual solution. (SV)

Differences in the status of ontological categories on the concept maps of secondary-, undergraduate- and graduate-level chemistry students were analyzed with the "Pathfinder" scaling algorithm and multidimensional scaling. Results indicate differences among groups in the structural significance of abstract process-related nodes and…

Explores the utility of mental models as learning outcomes in using complex and situated learning environments. Describes two studies: one aimed at eliciting mental models in the heads of novice refrigeration technicians, and the other an ethnographic study eliciting knowledge and models within the community of experienced refrigeration…

A 32-item self-efficacy scale for computer programming was developed, primed to the C++ programming language. The scale was administered to 421 students at the beginning and end of an introductory course in C++ programming. There was growth in self-efficacy between two administrations of the scale 12 weeks apart, particularly for students who…

Describes a study that investigated whether scientific and nonscientific understandings in the same content area are linked. Finds that students' (n=107) explanations indicate that they were using an "if-then" type of reasoning which linked scientific and nonscientific conceptions. Contains 39 references. (Author/WRM)

In this introduction to a special issue on cognitive architectures and human-computer interaction (HCI), editors and contributors provide a brief overview of cognitive architectures. The following four architectures represented by articles in this issue are: Soar; LICAI (linked model of comprehension-based action planning and instruction taking);…

Presents a conceptual foundation for using concept mapping as a cognitive learning strategy and as a method for assessing structural knowledge; reviews the growing body of research related to both applications. Describes some of the conceptual and empirical limitations of concept mapping. (Author/AEF)

Examined cultural differences in amount and type of maternal scaffolding of children's learning and effects on children's performance at goal-oriented and free play. Participants were Iranian immigrant and Anglo-American mothers and preschoolers. Found that culture related to mothers' choice of scaffolding strategies, and that maternal sensitivity…

Examined three- to four-month-old infants' ability to form perceptually based categorical representation in the domains of natural kinds and artifacts. By showing the availability of perceptually driven basic and superordinate-like representations in early infancy that closely correspond to adult conceptual categories, findings underscored the…

Examines cognitions relevant to credit card decision making in college-aged participants (N=304). Assesses measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral alternatives toward acquiring a credit card. Identifies a multivariate model predicting college student financial development of the attitudes and behavioral tendencies of acquiring a new card.…

Explores the knowledge development of Taiwanese 5th grade students (N=28) of biological reproduction. Proposes three stages of knowledge acquisition based on the results of the study. (Contains 17 references.) (DDR)

Investigated the emergence of class and propositional reasoning skills as a function of the developing ability to coordinate increasingly complex negation and affirmation operations with children from grades 1, 3, 5, and 7. Found that children's reasoning follows a logical development sequence and that different groups of items account for…

Analyzes junior high school students' astronomy conceptions by means of a written questionnaire and delineates the main findings. Focuses on the effect on climate of the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun. (Contains 41 references.) (DDR)

Explores high school students' collaborative efforts in solving qualitative physics problems and investigates how and whether confronting students with varying views improves problem solving skills. (Contains 22 references.) (DDR)

The present study investigated beginning kindergarten student teachers' mental models of attachment as a part of their practical knowledge about caregiving. Mental models of attachment (i.e. how students construct their own attachment-related childhood experiences and relationships from their current perspective) were assessed with an Adult…