This study examined cognitive processes and outcomes associated with student knowledge base development. Sixty-nine grade eight students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a knowledge base development (KBD) group, a problem-solving software group, and a control group. Those in the KBD group received relevant instruction and then worked in small teams to develop very simple expert systems for weather prediction for about sixteen hours. Students in the software group engaged in problem-solving activities using The Factory and Super Factory; control group students completed weather instrument projects. MANOVA results for several measures of cognitive skill gain and transfer found no differences between groups. But for those students who scored higher than the grand median on a standardized pretest of abstract reasoning, there were significant main effects favoring the KBD group on a formal reasoning test and a transfer task. A qualitative analysis of students' cognitive task strategies is presented.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
NickersonR. S., On Improving Thinking through Instruction, Review of Research in Education, 15, pp. 3–57, 1988–89.
2.
BraininS. S., Mediating Learning: Pedagogic Issues in the Improvement of Cognitive Function, Review of Research in Education, 12, pp. 122–155, 1985–86.
3.
BransfordJ.SherwoodR.VyeN., and RieserJ., Teaching Thinking and Problem Solving, American Psychologist, 41, pp. 1078–1089, 1986.
4.
ScardamaliaM. and BereiterC., Schools as Knowledge-building Communities, paper presented at the Workshop on Development and Learning Environments, University of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1989.
5.
MeichenbaumD., Metacognitive Methods of Instruction: Current Status and Future Prospects, Special Services in the Schools, 3: 1, pp. 23–32, 1986.
6.
diSessaA. A., What Will It Mean to be “Educated” in 2020? in Technology in Education: Looking Towards 2020, NickersonR. S. and ZodhiatesP. P. (eds.), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, pp. 43–66, 1988.
7.
PeaR., Putting Knowledge to Use, in Technology in Education: Looking Towards 2020, NickersonR. S. and ZodhiatesP. P. (eds.), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, pp. 169–212, 1988.
8.
PapertS., Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, Basic Books, New York, 1980.
9.
ScardamaliaM.BereiterC.McLeanR. S.SwallowJ., and WoodruffE., Computer-supported Intentional Learning Environments, Journal of Educational Computing Research, 5: 1, pp. 51–68, 1989.
10.
ClementsD. H., Research on Logo in Education: Is the Turtle Slow but Steady, or Not Even in the Race?Computers in the Schools, 2: 2/3, pp. 55–71, 1985.
11.
LittlefieldJ.DelclosV. R.BransfordJ. D.ClaytonK. N., and FranksJ. J., Some Prerequisites for Teaching Thinking: Methodological Issues in the Study of Logo Programming, Cognition and Instruction, 6: 4, pp. 331–366, 1989.
12.
AndersonJ. R., The Architecture of Cognition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1983.
13.
GreenoJ. G. and SimonH. A., Problem Solving and Reasoning, in Steven's Handbook of Experimental Psychology, AtkinsonR. C.HerrnsteinR.LindzeyG., and LuceR. D. (eds.), Wiley, New York, pp. 589–672, 1988.
14.
LesgoldA., Problem Solving, in The Psychology of Human Thought, SternbergR. J. and SmithE. E. (eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, pp. 188–213, 1988.
15.
BrownA. L.BransfordJ. D.FerraraR. A., and CampioneJ. C., Learning, Remembering, and Understanding, in Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol 1: Cognitive Development, FlavellJ. H. and MarkmanE. M. (eds.), Wiley, New York, pp. 77–166, 1983.
16.
DerryS. J. and MurphyD. A., Designing Systems that Train Learning Ability: From Theory to Practice, Review of Educational Research, 56: 1, pp. 1–39, 1986.
17.
ShuellT. J., Cognitive Conceptions of Learning, Review of Educational Research, 56: 4, pp. 411–436, 1986.
18.
CollinsA.BrownJ. S., and NewmanS., Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Crafts of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, in Knowing, Learning and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, pp. 453–494, 1989.
19.
SolowayE., It's 2020: Do You Know What Your Children Are Learning in Programming Class? in Technology in Education: Looking Towards 2020, NickersonR. S. and ZodhiatesP. P. (eds.), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, pp. 121–138, 1988.
20.
BereiterC. and ScardamaliaM., Educational Relevance of the Study of Expertise, Interchange, 17: 2, pp. 10–19, 1986.
21.
ButterfieldE. C. and NelsonG. D., Theory and Practice of Teaching for Transfer, Educational Technology Research & Development, 37: 3, pp. 5–38, 1989.
22.
DreyfusH. L. and DreyfusS. E., Mind Over Machine, The Free Press, New York, 1986.
23.
LippertR., Linking Recent Research in Cognitive Science and Problem Solving to Instructional Practice: New Possibilities, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April, 1988.
24.
TrollipS. R. and LippertR. C., Constructing Knowledge Bases: A Promising Instructional Tool, Journal of Computer-Based Instruction, 14: 2, pp. 44–88, 1987.
25.
WidemanH. H. and OwstonR. D., Student Development of an Expert System: A Case Study, Journal of Computer-Based Instruction, 15: 3, pp. 88–94, 1988.
26.
BereiterC., Development in Writing, in Writing: The Nature, Development, and Teaching of Written Communication, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 1981.
27.
ArlinP. K., Arlin Test of Formal Reasoning, Slosson, East Aurora, New York, 1984.
28.
Armour-ThomasE. and HaynesN. N., Assessment of Metacognition in Problem Solving, Journal of Instructional Psychology, 15: 3, pp. 87–93, 1988.
29.
Thinking Skills Language Program (Vols. 1–9), Innovative Science, Stamford, Connecticut, 1978.
30.
SantmireT. E., Review of Arlin Test of Formal Reasoning, in The Ninth Mental Measurement Yearbook, MitchellJ. V. (ed.), University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, pp. 81–83, 1985.
31.
SternbergR. J., Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1984.
32.
Personal Consultant Easy (computer program), Texas Instruments Incorporated, Austin, 1986.
33.
The Factory (computer program), Sunburst Communications, Pleasantville, New York, n.d.
34.
Super Factory (computer program), Sunburst Communications, Pleasantville, New York, n.d.
35.
BlakeP., The Factory Workbook, Sunburst Communications, Pleasantville, New York, 1986.
36.
BennettG. K.SeashoreH. G., and WesmanA. G., Differential Aptitude Tests (Canadian Edition), Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and The Psychological Corporation, Toronto, 1988.
37.
HendersonR. W., Self-regulated Learning: Implications for the Design of Instructional Media, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 11, pp. 405–427, 1986.
38.
LewisM. and AndersonJ. R., Discrimination of Operator Schemata in Problem Solving: Learning from Examples, Cognitive Psychology, 17, pp. 26–65, 1985.
39.
MeyerR. E., Elaboration Techniques that Increase the Meaningfulness of Technical Text: An Experimental Test of the Learning Strategy Hypothesis, Journal of Educational Psychology, 6, pp. 770–784, 1980.
40.
PalinscarA. S. and BrownA. L., Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension Fostering and Comprehension Monitoring Activities, Cognition and Instruction, 1: 2, pp. 117–175, 1984.
41.
VygotskyL. S., Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978.
