Stella Vosniadou - Böcker

Published as part of the "Advances in Learning and Instruction" series, "Modelling Changes in Understanding" brings together Psychologists, Science Educators and Computer Scientists to describe and explain how we develop an understanding of the physical world around us. The contributors examine how changes in our understanding and consequent learning can be modelled using computer software. Focussing on the discipline of Physics, this volume discusses the following topics: the difference in the organisation of knowledge between experts and novices; the construction of accurate models of the learner at different stages in the knowledge acquisition process; computer models which claim to answer questions and accumulate understanding in a similar way to human beings.

"New Perspectives on Conceptual Change" brings together the latest research on conceptual change from perspectives in developmental, cognitive and motivational psychology, instructional psychology and science education. The book addresses four main themes: the interplay between the learner's naive knowledge based on everyday experience and new knowledge conveyed by schooling and formal instruction; traditional cognitive views on knowledge acquisition and new socioconstructionist perspectives; constraints on knowledge acquisition and modification within specific learning domains; and instructional aspects of conceptual change and suggestions for the design of learning environments and teaching processes which promote conceptual change.

To celebrate Erik De Cortes scientific career in the international scientific field of instructional psychology, high profile researchers and scholars were invited by the editors to write an essay on the past, present, and future of the subdomain of instructional psychology of their personal interest and expertise. This book addresses the core topics of the learning sciences from a diversity of perspectives. The sixteen chapters are grouped into the following six sections: Learning and Development; Learning, Reasoning, and Problem Solving; Motivational and Emotional Aspects of Learning; Learning and Assessment; Learning and Technology, and Instructional and Organizational Designs for Learning. These chapters provide overviews of and commentaries on the past decades of research on learning and teaching. Furthermore, the authors look also at the future of research on learning and instruction and its changing role in our fast developing knowledge society. 16 chapters are written by high profile researchers and scholars. Content provides both a review of existing literature and a discussion of the future of the discipline

Drawing from philosophical, historical, and psychological research, this book redefines conceptual change as it applies to learning and instruction. Divided into three sections, this book addresses: foundations of conceptual change research, examines the influence that personal beliefs have on conceptual change, and focuses on mathematics learning and teaching. It reflects current state-of-the-art conceptual change work. Each section includes a specialized introduction and ends with thought-provoking commentaries. It is written by experts in the field.

Conceptual change research investigates the processes through which learners substantially revise prior knowledge and acquire new concepts. Tracing its heritage to paradigms and paradigm shifts made famous by Thomas Kuhn, conceptual change research focuses on understanding and explaining learning of the most the most difficult and counter-intuitive concepts. Now in its second edition, the International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual change movement and of the impressive research it has spawned on students’ difficulties in learning.In thirty-one new and updated chapters, organized thematically and introduced by Stella Vosniadou, this volume brings together detailed discussions of key theoretical and methodological issues, the roots of conceptual change research, and mechanisms of conceptual change and learner characteristics. Combined with chapters that describe conceptual change research in the fields of physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and health, and history, this handbook presents writings on interdisciplinary topics written for researchers and students across fields.

Conceptual change research investigates the processes through which learners substantially revise prior knowledge and acquire new concepts. Tracing its heritage to paradigms and paradigm shifts made famous by Thomas Kuhn, conceptual change research focuses on understanding and explaining learning of the most the most difficult and counter-intuitive concepts. Now in its second edition, the International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual change movement and of the impressive research it has spawned on students’ difficulties in learning.In thirty-one new and updated chapters, organized thematically and introduced by Stella Vosniadou, this volume brings together detailed discussions of key theoretical and methodological issues, the roots of conceptual change research, and mechanisms of conceptual change and learner characteristics. Combined with chapters that describe conceptual change research in the fields of physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and health, and history, this handbook presents writings on interdisciplinary topics written for researchers and students across fields.

Similarity and analogy are fundamental in human cognition. They are crucial for recognition and classification, and have been associated with scientific discovery and creativity. Successful learning is generally less dependent on the memorization of isolated facts and abstract rules than it is on the ability to identify relevant bodies of knowledge already stored as the starting point for new learning. Similarity and analogy play an important role in this process - a role that in recent years has received much attention from cognitive scientists. Any adequate understanding of similarity and analogy requires the integration of theory and data from diverse domains. This interdisciplinary volume explores current developments in research and theory from psychological, computational, and educational perspectives, and considers their implications for learning and instruction. Well-known cognitive scientists examine the psychological processes involved in reasoning by similarity and analogy, the computational problems encountered in simulating analogical processing in problem solving, and the conditions promoting the application of analogical reasoning in everyday situations.

In recent years, the use of technology for the purposes of improving and enriching traditional instructional practices has received a great deal of attention. However, few works have explicitly examined cognitive, psychological, and educational principles on which technology-supported learning environments are based. This volume attempts to cover the need for a thorough theoretical analysis and discussion of the principles of system design that underlie the construction of technology-enhanced learning environments. It presents examples of technology-supported learning environments that cover a broad range of content domains, from the physical sciences and mathematics to the teaching of language and literacy.The emphasis in this book is not on the design of educational software but on the design of learning environments. A great deal of research on learning and instruction has recently moved out of the laboratory into the design of applications in instructional settings. By designing technology-supported learning environments instructional scientists attempt to better understand the theories and principles that are explicit in their theories of learning. The contributors to this volume examine how factors such as social interaction, the creation of meaningful activities, the use of multiple perspectives, and the construction of concrete representations influence the acquisition of new information and transfer.

In recent years, the use of technology for the purposes of improving and enriching traditional instructional practices has received a great deal of attention. However, few works have explicitly examined cognitive, psychological, and educational principles on which technology-supported learning environments are based. This volume attempts to cover the need for a thorough theoretical analysis and discussion of the principles of system design that underlie the construction of technology-enhanced learning environments. It presents examples of technology-supported learning environments that cover a broad range of content domains, from the physical sciences and mathematics to the teaching of language and literacy.The emphasis in this book is not on the design of educational software but on the design of learning environments. A great deal of research on learning and instruction has recently moved out of the laboratory into the design of applications in instructional settings. By designing technology-supported learning environments instructional scientists attempt to better understand the theories and principles that are explicit in their theories of learning. The contributors to this volume examine how factors such as social interaction, the creation of meaningful activities, the use of multiple perspectives, and the construction of concrete representations influence the acquisition of new information and transfer.

This volume contains the invited lectures, invited symposia, symposia, papers and posters presented at the 2nd European Cognitive Science Conference held in Greece in May 2007. The papers presented in this volume range from empirical psychological studies and computational models to philosophical arguments, meta-analyses and even to neuroscientific experimentation. The quality of the work shows that the Cognitive Science Society in Europe is an exciting and vibrant one. There are 210 contributions by cognitive scientists from 27 different countries, including USA, France, UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, and Australia. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with current research in Cognitive Science.

This volume contains the invited lectures, invited symposia, symposia, papers and posters presented at the 2nd European Cognitive Science Conference held in Greece in May 2007. The papers presented in this volume range from empirical psychological studies and computational models to philosophical arguments, meta-analyses and even to neuroscientific experimentation. The quality of the work shows that the Cognitive Science Society in Europe is an exciting and vibrant one. There are 210 contributions by cognitive scientists from 27 different countries, including USA, France, UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, and Australia.This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with current research in Cognitive Science.