Transfer of perceptually grounded principles

这个项目关注的是感知到的具体材料在教授可概括的科学概念中的作用，特别强调计算机模拟。虽然具体内容似乎有助于学习特定的信息，但之前的研究表明，这可能会削弱学生将这些信息应用于新情况的能力。拟议的研究探索了呈现现象的表面的、具体的细节与现象背后更深层次的科学原理的抽象之间的关系。要学习的具体内容涉及一系列STEM领域的复杂系统原理，如土木工程、生物学、经济学和力学。研究方法包括基于课堂和实验室的实验，结合了科学原理的计算机模拟。通过观察与一个模拟的互动如何影响学生对随后呈现的信息的理解，研究人员可以评估潜在的科学原理被成功抽象的程度。这项拟议的研究大致分为两条线。首先，研究人员探索了多个案例的比较在学生从具体例子中获得概括原则的能力方面的作用。其次，他们考察了物理上和空间上看似合理的机械系统可以在多大程度上用作理解复杂或非直觉因果系统的模型。在这两条线上，调查人员探索学习受到各种因素的影响，例如所描述的具体细节的程度和类型，案例之间混凝土和结构信息的相对重叠，以及测试案例的混凝土和结构的变异性。研究将包括8年级理科班级的学生。

This project concerns the role of perceptually concrete materials in teaching generalizable scientific concepts, with a particular emphasis on computer simulations. While concrete content appears to facilitate the learning of specific pieces of information, previous research has shown that it may impair students' ability to apply that information to new situations. The proposed studies explore the relation between the superficial, concrete details through which a phenomenon is presented, and the abstraction of deeper scientific principles underlying the phenomenon. The specific content to be learned concerns the principles of complex systems in a range of STEM domains such as civil engineering, biology, economics, and mechanics. The research methods involve classroom-based and laboratory experiments incorporating computer simulations of scientific principles. By observing how interaction with one simulation affects students' understanding of subsequently presented information, the investigators can assess the degree to which the underlying scientific principle has been successfully abstracted. The proposed research is divided into two broad lines. First, the investigators explore the role of comparison of multiple cases in students' ability to acquire generalizable principles from concrete examples. Second, they examine the degree to which physically and spatially plausible mechanical systems may serve as models for understanding complex or unintuitive causal systems. In both lines, the investigators explore the ways in which learning is affected by factors such as the degree and type of concrete detail depicted, the relative overlap of concrete and structural information between cases, and the concrete and structural variability with the test cases. Studies will include students in 8th grade science classes.