s guide the writing process, and a writer re-represents some of these as explicit conceptual spaces. Creativity in writing occurs through a mutually promotive cycle of engagement and reflection, both guided by constraint. A session of engaged `knowledge telling' generates written material for consideration. Reflection involves reviewing and interpreting the material as a source for contemplation. Contemplation generates new ideas which are explored and transformed, producing plans and constraints that drive a further period of engaged writing. --- 2 --- This basic creative mechanism supports a variety of writing strategies, depending on the timing and relative emphasis given to reviewing, contemplation, planning and engagement. Writing as design emphasises the writer as a user of tools and a creator of cognitive artefacts. A writer is a thinker in a self-constructed environment which affords, constrains and mediates the writing process. Writing as design emphasises the use of a prim

Modern computer systems routinely present information to the user as a combination of text and diagrammatic images, described as "graphical user interfaces". Practitioners and researchers in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) generally believe that the value of these diagrammatic representations is derived from metaphorical reasoning; they communicate abstract information by depicting a physical situation from which the abstractions can be inferred. This assumption has been prevalent in HCI research for over 20 years, but has seldom been tested experimentally. This thesis analyses the reasons why diagrams are believed to assist with abstract reasoning. It then presents the results of a series of experiments testing the contribution of metaphor to comprehension, problem solving, explanation and memory tasks carried out using a range of different diagrams. The results indicate that explicit metaphors provide surprisingly little benefit for cognitive tasks using diagrams as an external re...

Cognitive approaches to creativity are discussed as they relate to an important task of entrepreneurs: generating novel and useful ideas for business ventures. Attention is given to the paradoxical role of knowledge, which can either enhance of inhibit creativity, as well as to the properties of knowledge and a selected set of processes that influence the originality of newly generated ideas. Experimental findings are discussed along with suggestions about how those findings might be translated to practical applications.

Children's ability to modify their drawing procedures changes in their first decade. Young children make size/shape changes and end-of-sequence insertions /deletions of drawing elements. Older children also make middle-of-sequence insertions/deletions and position/orientation changes in drawing elements. Why do modifications occur in this order? We argue that older children's modifications require processing ternary relations, which according to a relational complexity theory, is beyond the working memory capacity of young children. Introduction: Redescription in children's drawings Karmiloff-Smith (1986, 1992) hypothesized that, more than just behavioral mastery, cognitive development includes a process of reorganization of learned, internal representations so as to facilitate more flexible, creative behavior. In what she calls the representational redescription hypothesis, two (broad) levels of development are postulated. At the implicit level, knowledge in the system is usable in ...

Students experience a range of difficulties in generating effective diagrams. Hence, it is important to explore these difficulties so they can be addressed during instruction on diagram generation. A cross-study comparison of the results of two network tasks revealed that students experience similar difficulties on feature-similar but non-isomorphic tasks. Students ’ difficulties on these tasks appeared to be due to a lack of sense-making in mathematics rather than a difficulty with the problem structure or the generation of a particular type of diagram. The use of the strategy draw a diagram is strongly advocated by mathematics educators as a tool for problem solving (Australian Education Council, 1991; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1998). A diagram is a particularly effective problem representation because it exploits spatial layout in a meaningful way, enabling complex processes and structures to be represented holistically (Winn, 1987). For some students, generating a diagram is the first step towards a successful solution (van Essen & Hamaker, 1990). However, students can also be misled by self-generated diagrams in the solution process (Antonietti & Angelini, 1991). Inadequate diagrammatic representations

It is proposed that the ability of humans to flourish in diverse environments and evolve complex cultures reflects the following two underlying cognitive transitions. The transition from the coarse-grained associative memory of Homo habilis to the fine-grained memory of Homo erectus enabled limited representational redescription of perceptually similar episodes, abstraction, and analytic thought, the last of which is modeled as the formation of states and of lattices of properties and contexts for concepts. The transition to the modern mind of Homo sapiens is proposed to have resulted from onset of the capacity to spontaneously and temporarily shift to an associative mode of thought conducive to interaction amongst seemingly disparate concepts, modeled as the forging of conjunctions resulting in states of entanglement. The fruits of associative thought became ingredients for analytic thought, and vice versa. The ratio of associative pathways to concepts surpassed a percolation threshold resulting in the emergence of a self-modifying, integrated internal model of the world, or worldview.

Laboratory or field research experience offers us an alternative pedagogical model to classroom instruction. Generally, research experience is reserved for graduate students who have mastered much of their subject and are prepared to embark on self-guided learning. However, undergraduates can also participate in research and in some cases can gain a great deal from it. Research experiences are widely believed to be an important mechanism for recruiting undergraduates into science careers and for giving students an opportunity to test their interest in research (NSF, 1996; Mervis, 2001). Student learning in a research experience is different from a classroom experience many ways. The content knowledge that that student must master is generally more in depth than typical course work but much more limited in scope because it must be highly focussed on the research project. In addition, students must master a particular set of research skills that usually are in some ways independent of the content knowledge that they are learning. Research experiences tend to be highly personalized and unstructured compared to the classroom environment; expectations regarding the final outcome (poster presentation, paper, data, samples etc.) are particular to each program. Therefore, assessing in some

Abstract Although “draw a diagram ” is advocated as a useful problemsolving strategy, generating an appropriate diagram is problematic for many students. This case study explored primary-aged students’ difficulties in generating diagrams for novel problems. Three categories of difficulties were identified: (1) non-use of diagrams; (2) generic difficulties with diagrams and (3) idiosyncratic difficulties that were related to specific diagrams. The results suggest that there is a need for instruction in diagram use to empower students and address their difficulties. Specific attention needs to be given to: (1) the diagram-picture distinction; (2) the ambiguity of diagrams; and (3) the dynamic feature of diagrams. Background “For all a rhetorician’s rules; Teach nothing but to name his tools. ” Hudibras 1663 The use of the strategy draw a diagram is strongly advocated as a tool for problem solving (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989). A diagram is a particularly effective problem representation because it exploits spatial layout in a

Computers are increasingly a part of the lives of young children. This paper reviews empirical studies that have investigated the implementation and use of computers in early childhood mathematics, from birth to grade 3. Major topics include general issues of children using computers, the use and efficacy of various types of computer programs for teaching and learning mathematics, and effective teaching strategies using computers. Children Using Computers As mentioned, most schools have some computer technology, with the ratio of computers to students changing from 1:125 in 1984 and 1:22 in 1990 to 1:10 1997 according to some

Chronometric comparisons of imagery to action: Visualizing versus physically performing springboard dives Despite considerable research on the learning of simple motor acts (e.g., finger tapping), we know relatively little about the changes that occur in higher order representations of complex motor skills as expertise develops (Annett,