scholarly journals Cognitive flexibility and undergraduate physiology students: increasing advanced knowledge acquisition within an ill-structured domain

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley E. Rhodes ◽  
Timothy G. Rozell
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Knowledge Assessment ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
New Information ◽  
Advanced Knowledge ◽  
Physiology Students

Cognitive flexibility is defined as the ability to assimilate previously learned information and concepts to generate novel solutions to new problems. This skill is crucial for success within ill-structured domains such as biology, physiology, and medicine, where many concepts are simultaneously required for understanding a complex problem, yet the problem consists of patterns or combinations of concepts that are not consistently used or needed across all examples. To succeed within ill-structured domains, a student must possess a certain level of cognitive flexibility: rigid thought processes and prepackaged informational retrieval schemes relying on rote memorization will not suffice. In this study, we assessed the cognitive flexibility of undergraduate physiology students using a validated instrument entitled Student’s Approaches to Learning (SAL). The SAL evaluates how deeply and in what way information is processed, as well as the investment of time and mental energy that a student is willing to expend by measuring constructs such as elaboration and memorization. Our results indicate that students who rely primarily on memorization when learning new information have a smaller knowledge base about physiological concepts, as measured by a prior knowledge assessment and unit exams. However, students who rely primarily on elaboration when learning new information have a more well-developed knowledge base about physiological concepts, which is displayed by higher scores on a prior knowledge assessment and increased performance on unit exams. Thus students with increased elaboration skills possibly possess a higher level of cognitive flexibility and are more likely to succeed within ill-structured domains.

scholarly journals Use of portfolios to correct alternative conceptions and enhance learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-43
Author(s):  
Takawira Kazembe
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Alternative Conceptions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Student ◽  
Teacher Training College ◽  
Primary School Student ◽  
New Information

Forty first-year primary school student teachers at a Teacher Training College in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, participated in an action research study, employing the science student portfolio, during February to July, 2008 . They used the portfolio to record their prior knowledge about the lesson topic, new information learnt during the lesson, and how the new information related to their prior knowledge. Comments on lessons, monthly tests and assignment scores, reflections and a page-long conclusion were also recorded in the portfolio. The monthly test scores improved as the study progressed. Interviews revealed that alternative conceptions emanated from teachers, peers, textbooks, and the failure of students to understand teachers’ explanations. Students’ and administration’s comments revealed stakeholders’ satisfaction with the portfolio’s effectiveness.

scholarly journals A Belief Update System Using an Event Model for Location of People in a Smart Home

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Marie Bernert ◽  
Fano Ramparany
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Smart Home ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
New Information ◽  
Event Model ◽  
Location Inference

AbstractArtificial Intelligence applications often require to maintain a knowledge base about the observed environment. In particular, when the current knowledge is inconsistent with new information, it has to be updated. Such inconsistency can be due to erroneous assumptions or to changes in the environment. Here we considered the second case, and develop a knowledge update algorithm based on event logic that takes into account constraints according to which the environment can evolve. These constraints take the form of events that modify the environment in a well-defined manner. The belief update triggered by a new observation is thus explained by a sequence of events. We then apply this algorithm to the problem of locating people in a smart home and show that taking into account past information and move’s constraints improves location inference.

Does context shape comprehension: evaluating the influence of presentation on inquiry strategies in science learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Portnoy ◽  
Talia Lemberger
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Knowledge Retention ◽  
Scientific Concept ◽  
Distractor Task ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Approaches to learning have the ability to influence knowledge acquisition, comprehension, retention and even motivation to learn. Previous work indicates that despite age, experience, or prior knowledge, students have a tendency to approach learning differently as a function of the presented content. The purpose of this study is to explore how context influences student approaches to learning science. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a question-asking methodology to evaluate if approaches to learning the same science content vary when presented within the context of Pure Science or the History of Science. Findings Results indicate that contextualizing the presentation of science content, shifts the approaches students take in attempting to learn science content as evidenced by the questions they ask to deepen their understanding. Additional variables of prior experience with each scientific concept, task persistence at a distractor task and later recall of the presented concepts were related to different inquiry strategies. Research limitations/implications Implications for instructional design and pedagogy are discussed. Practical implications The framework in which scientific information is presented may impact how students modify existing and create a new schema, impacting their beliefs about scientific knowledge and the way in which students question, hypothesize and engage within the domain of science. Social implications By studying the role of inquiry while students engage in science learning, the authors explore the role of context, content and knowledge retention. Originality/value The current study probes at the nature of student questioning and its reliance on the content, context and its relationship to outcome variables such as learning and, perhaps, even persistence as it relates to students’ prior knowledge within content areas which may, in turn, lead to varying levels of student self-efficacy.

Nontraditional Students and Information Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 284-304
Author(s):  
Xenia Coulter ◽  
Alan Mandell
Keyword(s):  
Adult Students ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
New Information ◽  
Efficient Delivery ◽  
The University ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
Constructivist Approaches

The adult college student, caught between the competing demands of work and home, has recently become a valuable commodity in today’s fast-changing American universities. The authors argue that the response of the university to the personal circumstances and credentialing needs of adult learners, accentuated by the forces of globalization and the availability of new information technologies, particularly the Internet, has been to focus upon the efficient delivery of information deemed important in our post-industrial society. This response, particularly well exemplified by the virtual classroom, is not conducive to the fluid and open-ended inquiry associated with progressive education. In the end, the authors speculate, adult students may taste the true progressive and constructivist approaches to learning better outside the confines of formal higher education.

Security Evaluation of Service-Oriented Systems Using the SiSOA Method

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Jung ◽  
Manuel Rudolph ◽  
Reinhard Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Service Oriented Architecture ◽  
General Structure ◽  
Security Analysis ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Security Evaluation ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
Automated Support

The Service-Oriented Architecture paradigm (SOA) is commonly applied for the implementation of complex, distributed business processes. The service-oriented approach promises higher flexibility, interoperability and reusability of the IT infrastructure. However, evaluating the quality attribute security of such complex SOA configurations is not sufficiently mastered yet. To tackle this complex problem, the authors developed a method for evaluating the security of existing service-oriented systems on the architectural level. The method is based on recovering security-relevant facts about the system by using reverse engineering techniques and subsequently providing automated support for further interactive security analysis at the structural level. By using generic, system-independent indicators and a knowledge base, the method is not limited to a specific programming language or technology. Therefore, the method can be applied to various systems and adapt it to specific evaluation needs. The paper describes the general structure of the method, the knowledge base, and presents an instantiation aligned to the Service Component Architecture (SCA) specification.

The Effect of Prior Knowledge on the Question Answering of Good and Poor Readers

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty C. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Question Answering ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Poor Readers ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Good Readers ◽  
Fifth Grade Students ◽  
New Information ◽  
Good And Poor Readers

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the question answering of good and poor readers when their prior knowledge for the answers to questions was determined before reading to be accurate, inaccurate, incomplete, or missing. Fifty-six fifth-grade students with equivalent I.Q.'s, but varying in reading ability and extent of general prior knowledge for the passage topics, participated in the study. Subjects read an expository passage written on their approximate instructional reading level. The results indicated that poor readers did not use prior knowledge to the same extent as did good readers. This was especially true when students were learning new information. The results also suggest that poor readers have difficulty answering text implicit questions even if they possess adequate prior knowledge for passage topics.

scholarly journals Flipping Our Scripts about Undocumented Immigration

Genealogy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Mica Pollock
Keyword(s):  
Family History ◽  
Learning Curve ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Undocumented Immigrants ◽  
Undocumented Immigration ◽  
Steep Learning Curve ◽  
Immigration History ◽  
New Information

This critical family history explores a common script about undocumented immigration: that undocumented immigrants unfairly have refused to “stand in line” for official, sanctioned immigration and instead have broken rules that the rest of “our” families have followed. Noting a hole in her knowledge base, the author put herself on a steep learning curve to “clean her lenses”—to learn more information about opportunities past and present, so she could see and discuss the issue more clearly. The author sought new and forgotten information about immigration history, new information about her own family, and details about actual immigration policy. She wrote this piece to share a few script-flipping realizations, in case they can shortcut this journey for others.

Teaching Metacognition Experientially

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron S. Richmond ◽  
Anastasia M. Bacca ◽  
Jared S. Becknell ◽  
Ryan P. Coyle
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychology Students ◽  
Introductory Psychology ◽  
Process Information ◽  
New Information ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Past Experiences

We investigated the effects of using experiential learning and direct instruction to teach metacognitive theory and to determine whether instructional type differentially affected higher vs. lower level learning. We randomly assigned 87 introductory psychology students to either experiential learning or direct instruction conditions. We pretested participant’s knowledge of metacognitive theory, and then participants received either experiential or direct instruction, after which they completed a posttest of knowledge of metacognitive theory. After covarying prior knowledge, data suggested that experiential learning may be more effective than direct instruction for teaching metacognitive theory, particularly for higher level recall and recognition assessments. Our results suggest that when taught using experiential learning, students may process information at a deeper level and recall more information because they may have related new information to their past experiences, engaged in the course material, and may have increased self-efficacy for the learned material.

The Association Between Prior Knowledge and Learning Approaches, in Performance in an Advanced Accounting Course

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 922-925
Author(s):  
Nor Azah Binti Abdul Jalil ◽  
Hasnah Binti Haron
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Study Skills ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender

Ensuring quality in accounting education is the target by academicians in the field. One of the measures would be students’ performance which would be the benchmark of indicating whether the students are performing accordingly. Based on previous literature, prior knowledge and students’ learning approaches are seen as contributing factors to performance. The purpose of this study is to determine the following: (1) to identify whether the students with prior knowledge perform better in an advanced accounting course, (2) to identify whether learning approaches (deep, surface and strategic) could also contribute to students’ performances and (3) to identify association between gender and performance. A total of 109 students responded to the questionnaires consisting Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) which was used to identify the approaches to learning adopted by IIUM students. The results found that prior knowledge is the only significant variable and there is no association found between learning approaches and gender towards advanced accounting course performance. It implies that more effort should be directed at increasing the students’ comprehension in the prior knowledge which would include increase student centre learning approaches in teaching.

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