This article offers a plausible domain-general explanation for why some concepts of processes are resistant to instructional remediation although other, apparently similar concepts are more easily understood. The explanation assumes that processes may differ in ontological ways: that some processes (such as the apparent flow in diffusion of dye in water) are emergent and other processes (such as the flow of blood in human circulation) are direct. Although precise definition of the two kinds of processes are probably impossible, attributes of direct and emergent processes are described that distinguish them in a domain-general way. Circulation and diffusion, which are used as examples of direct and emergent processes, are associated with different kinds of misconceptions. The claim is that stu-Do Not Copy dents ’ misconceptions for direct kinds of processes, such as blood circulation, are of the same ontological kind as the correct conception, suggesting that misconceptions of direct processes may be nonrobust. However, students ’ misconceptions of emergent processes are robust because they misinterpret emergent processes as a kind of commonsense direct processes. To correct such a misconception requires a re-representation or a conceptual shift across ontological kinds. Therefore, misconceptions of emergent processes are robust because such a shift requires that students know about the emergent kind and can overcome their (perhaps even innate) predisposition to conceive of all processes as a direct kind. Such a domain-general explanation suggests that teaching students the causal structure underlying emergent processes may enable them to recognize and understand a variety of emergent processes for which they have robust misconceptions, such as concepts of electricity, heat and temperature, and evolution. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to Michelene T. H. Chi, Learning Research

is difficult. In this article we develop a cognitive framework to characterize sense-making in the implementation process that is especially relevant for recent education policy initiatives, such as standards-based reforms that press for tremendous changes in classroom instruction. From a cognitive perspective, a key dimension of the implementation process is whether, and in what ways, implementing agents come to understand their practice, potentially changing their beliefs and attitudes in the process. We draw on theoretical and empirical literature to develop a cognitive perspective on implementation. We review the contribution of cognitive science frames to implementation research and identify areas where cognitive science can make additional contributions.

... This paper shows that, for the average student, the conceptual changes sketched here are not completed until well into the second decade of life.

This paper describes part of a project called Modeling Across the Curriculum which is a largescale research study in 15 schools across the United States. The specific data presented and discussed here in this paper is based on BioLogica, a hypermodel, interactive environment for learning genetics, which was implemented in multiple classes in eight high schools. BioLogica activities, data logging, and assessments were refined across this series of implementations. All students took a genetics content knowledge pre- and posttests. Traces of students ’ actions and responses to computer-based tasks were electronically collected (via a “log file ” function) and systematically analyzed. An intensive 3-day field test involving 24 middle school students served to refine methods and create narrative profiles of students ’ learning experiences, outcomes, and interactions with BioLogica. We report on one high school implementation and the field test as self-contained studies to document the changes and the outcomes at different phases of development. A discussion of design changes concludes this paper. KEY WORDS: genetics; model-based learning; interactive environments; data logging; technologyenhanced assessment. With support from NSF, the Concord Consortium developed an interactive, computer-based learning environment, BioLogica, that is designed to support students in high school classrooms to build a deep understanding of core concepts in Mendelian genetics. The pedagogical challenges are numerous. What do we mean by deep understanding? How can we help them develop deep understanding? How do we know when they’ve done so? This paper focuses on the learning that takes place when students use BioLogica, an interactive genetics curriculum, in their high

Abstract not found

The research presented in this paper is part of a large-scale design study conducted in demographically diverse classrooms with software that is under development. BioLogica, a hypermodel environment for learning genetics, was used in multiple classes in eight high schools. BioLogica activities, data logging, and assessments were refined across this series of implementations. All students took a genetics content knowledge pre- and post-test and completed epistemological and experiential surveys. Traces of students ’ actions and responses to computer-based tasks were electronically collected (via a “log file ” function) and systematically analyzed. An intensive three-day field test involving twenty-four middle school students served to refine methods and create narrative profiles of students ’ learning experiences, outcomes, and interactions with BioLogica. Since BioLogica activities, the instruments used to assess learning, and data logging capabilities changed over the course of the year, we report on two high school implementations and the field test as self-contained studies to document the changes and the outcomes at different phases of development.

Abstract — To help answer questions about the behavior of participants in human-robot systems, we propose the Cognitive Evaluation of Human-Robot Systems (CEHRS) method based on our work with the Personal Exploration Rover (PER). The CEHRS method consists of six steps: (1) identify all system participants, (2) collect data from all participant groups, including the system’s creators, (3) analyze participant data in light of system-wide goals, (4) answer targeted questions about each participant group to determine the flow of knowledge, information, and influence throughout the system, (5) look for inconsistencies in the knowledge and beliefs of different participant groups, and (6) make recommendations for improvement. We offer this comprehensive, human-centered evaluation method as a starting point for future work in understanding cognitive change in human-robot interactions. I.

The paper will describe a large scale design study involving a total of 1100 middle and high school students from California and Massachusetts who collaborated on-line about plate tectonic activity in their respective location. The students, drawn from demographically diverse schools, collaborated online using WISE (Web-based Science Environment, Linn & Hsi, 2000). WISE is an integrated set of software resources to engage students in many types of scientific inquiry, including prompted reflection, electronic discussions, evidence sorting and argument mapping, collaborative search for evidence, collaborative design, and analysis (Linn, 1998b; Linn & Hsi, 2000). Following the WISE design framework, the two main pedagogical principles embodied in the present study were: Make thinking visible and help students learn from one another. In terms of making thinking visible, we engaged students in two visual modes of representation. First, using the drawing tool in WISE, students drew their models and used these models as artifacts for reiterative cycles of critique and model-revision. Secondly, students viewed a set of dynamic, runnable models of plate tectonic phenomena in order to better visualize the dynamic, causal, and temporal processes. In terms of helping students learn from one another, we engaged students in tasks in which they critiqued their learning partners ’ models from the opposite coast. We did this to provide students with an

This study examined how a fundamental principle of induction and scientific reasoning, information diversity, could be used to promote change in children's mental models of the earth's shape. Six-year-old children (N=132) were randomly allocated to a control or to one of two training conditions. Some training groups received instruction that simultaneously challenged children's beliefs concerning (a) why the earth appears flat to a surface observer and (b) the role of gravity. Others received instruction that repeatedly challenged only one of these beliefs. An adaptation of the Vosniadou and Brewer (1992, Cognitive Psychology 24, 535-585) protocol for identifying mental models of the earth was administered before and after instruction. Both instruction methods produced increases in factual knowledge. Only children receiving instruction about two core beliefs, however, showed an increased rate of acceptance of a spherical earth model at posttest. The findings show that instruction that challenges diverse aspects of children's naïve scientific beliefs is more likely to produce conceptual change.

We present a framework for research on coherence of student conceptions in philosophy education. Commonsense conceptions of philosophical novices were studied. Students of a Finnish upper secondary school with no prior background in philosophy were asked to evaluate statements on conceptual issues in the domains of philosophy of mind, metaphysics and epistemology. The results were visualized with Kohonen self-organizing- maps (SOM), enabling us to identify clusters of students and questions with similar response patterns. The results are interpreted in terms of students ’ ontological commitments.