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Understanding and constructing domain-specific external representations, such as kinematic diagrams, is an important goal of engineering education. International standards (ISO 3952-1) prescribe their format in terms of graphical elements in black and white and two dimensions. However, during training, the canonical format is often modified under the assumption that it facilitates learning and comprehension of motion. The question arises as to whether understanding movement from kinematic diagrams shows format effects (Colour code and Projection), i.e. facilitation of colour and 3D projection, at different levels of engineering education. In the present study, we investigated understanding of movement from kinematic diagrams used as static graphical representations of a mechanism. 132 graduate and undergraduate students of French engineering schools took part in the experiment. According to the expectations of the multimedia model, we found a main effect of Projection and Colour code on understanding movement from kinematic diagrams. Higher understanding was found for polychrome diagrams using three-dimensional projection. Furthermore, an interaction between Colour code and Level of study indicated fading of format effect regarding colour with recent training and practice. Following this finding, the role of level of study and recentness of using rule-based graphical representations are discussed. The study showed the importance of format and student characteristics for understanding graphical representations in engineering education.

This paper aims at examining the use of a theoretical and methodological framework originating in ergonomics, the 'course-of-action method', in the study of individual learning processes in naturally occurring situations. This framework investigates the course of lived experience of each individual. Thus, in addition, to her/his thinking, it affords to analyse her/his concerns, her/his perceptions, her/his feelings and the activity that s/he attributes to her/himself. The method involves gathering two types of data about a short time-stretch: video-data and 'self-confrontation interviews'. During such an interview, one views a video of oneself and reporting what one experiences at every instant. These data are analysed by identifying and characterizing successive units for describing individual experience, and by comparing these descriptions synchronically and diachronically. The method has been used for fined-grained studies of lived experience of learners in various contexts. In this paper, its implementation is exemplified by a case study about understanding in a teacher training context. We discuss the extent to which it allows overcoming some limitations of both socio-cultural approaches in learning research and microgenetic studies of conceptual change.

The aim of this study is to understand how lecturers interpret pedagogical innovations when describing and thinking about their practices. In this study we analysed the project proposals of a large call for proposals in a French university and questioned the managers of funded projects about their conceptions of pedagogical innovations. Results show little theoretical guidance in designing innovations suggesting that practical objectives are the more important. Projects can be underpinned by one or more theoretical views; the most represented theorical view was constructivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The effects of text cohesion and added pictures on acquired knowledge have been heavily studied each in isolation. Furthermore, studies on the effects of specific characteristics of pictures, whether facilitating or hindering, are scarce. Schnotz's ITCP Model (2014) allows to formulate hypotheses regarding the combined effect of text cohesion and presence and level of detail of a picture. This study investigates these hypotheses in the case of children reading scientific texts. Sample: One hundred and one second-, third-, and fourth-grade pupils with a mean age of 9 years, in the western United States. Methods: Data were collected over three sessions to encompass an understanding of each pupil's knowledge based on prior sessions. Results and Conclusions: Results showed a significant increase in pupils' knowledge between pre-test and immediate post-test, but as hypothesized, no significant difference between levels of cohesion. No significant difference between types of pictures was detected. After 1 week, knowledge built with a high cohesive text significantly dropped with low-detail picture, whereas, with high detail, or no picture, there was no significant difference. Results suggested that when participants were given a low-detail picture with a low cohesive text, the integration process of the material was more restricted than with a high cohesive text.

The purpose of this article is to study how students allocate time to different university and extra-university activities and to identify factors that might explain variability both between and within fields of study. At the heart of this exercise is the question of the time students dedicate to academic activities in competition with a whole range of other activities. In the literature, multiple candidate explanations are available that arise from models from essentially different conceptual origin. In particular, economic, sociological, and phenomenologically inspired models could provide valuable insight into the question. After a critical examination of these models on their potential for explaining time allocation, a study is reported involving a survey in higher education institutions in France. Data were analyzed using a hierarchical linear modeling approach. Results show that time allocation seems to be rooted in students' past and current experience more than in their anticipations of the future. Implications for the value of the models in relation to the study of time allocation are discussed.

Making the connection between science and technology might be important for students to learn to identify and solve problems and to acquire scientific knowledge and skills. The research reported in this article concerned the development of a design situation in a science classroom and the study of students performing in this situation. More specifically, the setting involved students' design of a measurement procedure as a way of attaining understanding of the underlying scientific concepts. In fact, at higher secondary level, the classical experimental procedure of measuring facial angle is employed within the topic of human evolution to find out to which species a given human cranium belongs. At the same time, designing a procedure, instead of just executing it, is thought to entail higher odds for attaining teleological understanding. The development of the learning situation involved pursuing parallels between the expert design task as described in the literature and the assignment given to students. We proceeded through step-wise development of the learning situation that was successively tested out in the classroom. Our analysis of the student-devised procedures revealed three issues regarding the graphical representation of angles, the reproducibility of the points and the communicational demands of the situation. Students used both prior knowledge (e.g. about evolution), and new knowledge about cranium anatomy and angles. They also exhibited new experimental skills like anticipating each experimental action. Such cognitive tasks which are at the origin of students' activity make the situation approximate the goals of laboratory work by distancing it from the simple execution of a series of steps. Future research could be directed towards further exploring the benefits of an approach that combines essential characteristics of science and technology.

This article develops a theoretical framework for the study of students' construction of mixed multiple external representations in design-based learning situations involving an adaptation of professional tasks and tools to a classroom setting. The framework draws on research on professional design processes and on learning with multiple external representations. An authentic classroom situation and student dialog and productions from one dyad were interpreted in the light of the framework in order to uncover major pitfalls of design-based learning situations. In particular, students showed a preoccupation with geometrical features of problems and solutions in contrast to the framework-derived importance of geometrical, material and functional features of future artefacts. Lack of occurrences of deep understanding in relating representations by students might be due to them being novices to the design task as the intertwined construction and representation of a future artefact.

This paper deals with the design process of a remote laboratory for labwork in chemistry. In particular, it focuses on the mutual dependency of theoretical conjectures about learning in the experimental sciences and technological opportunities in creating learning environments. The design process involves a detailed analysis of the expert task and knowledge, e.g., spectrophotometry as a method for the determination of the concentration of a compound in a solution. In so doing, modifications in transposing tasks and knowledge to the learning situation can be monitored. The remote laboratory is described, as well as the specific features that alter the degree of fidelity of the learning situation in comparison with the expert one. It is conjectured that these alterations might represent actual benefits for learning.

Epistemic dialogues, involving explanation and argumentation, have been recognized as potential vehicles for conceptual understanding. Although the role of dialogue in learning has received much attention, the problem of creating situations in which students engage in epistemic dialogue has only begun to be addressed. This article highlights the set of factors that must be taken into account in designing a computer-supported collaborative learning situation that encourages students to discuss scientific notions. These factors include the choice of the domain issue, the activities proposed to students, and the role of technology. We describe the design of CONNECT, an integrated environment and task sequence for the collaborative confrontation, negotiation, and construction of text. Results are then presented from a study in which students individually wrote an interpretation of a sound phenomenon, were matched in dyads so as to maximize semantic differences between their texts, and then collaboratively discussed and wrote common texts across the network using CONNECT. We show how careful engineering of the CONNECT environment favors the occurrence of epistemic dialogue and creates opportunities for conceptual understanding. The discussion centers on why these opportunities might be missed, as well as on the conditions required for students to exploit them.

L’ouverture actuelle des jeux de formation vers des environnements hybrides (numériques et non numériques) et des objectifs d’apprentissages plus larges complexifie la nature des interactions entre les acteurs durant les différentes phases de la conception d’un tel jeu et interroge les pratiques mobilisées. Notre étude s’attache à décrire les ressources interactionnelles mobilisées lors de la conception de jeux épistémiques numériques. En nous appuyant sur des enregistrements vidéo, nous nous intéressons à la manière dont les pratiques des participants, au fil des différentes phases de la conception d’un jeu, configurent les interactions. Au-delà de l’intérêt théorique, la problématisation des ressources mobilisées est nécessaire à une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes mis en oeuvre pour la production d’un jeu et pour l’apprentissage des joueurs. Elle permet ainsi un éclairage sur les conditions qui pourraient avoir un effet sur l’efficacité de ce type de dispositifs.

Reports on an empirical study that investigated the use of hypertext information systems during architectural design problem solving. Discusses theoretical notions on design problem solving, changing informational needs, and educational implications related to learning in complex domains. (Author/LRW)

The use of diagrams can be effective in solving mathematical word problems solving. However, students worldwide do not construct diagrams unprompted or have trouble using them. In the present study, the effects of problemappropriate diagram use instruction were investigated with an adaptation of the multiple baseline design method. The instruction for using line diagrams, tables, and graphs was provided to 67 junior high school students in a staggered manner and the effects on problem solving of three different types of problems was examined. The results showed that use of problemappropriate diagrams increased and persisted over time. More importantly, the instruction led to increases in problem solving performance and to decreases in perceived cognitive load. These findings support the argument that effective diagram use depends on the acquisition not only of declarative knowledge, but also sufficient procedural and conditional knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]