HR: 08:55h
AN: ED31A-04    [PDF]
TI: Visualizations and Mental Models - The Educational Implications of GEOWALL
AU: * Rapp, D
EM: rappx009@umn.edu
AF: Educational Psychology University of Minnesota, 206A Burton Hall 178 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 United States
AU: Kendeou, P
AF: Educational Psychology University of Minnesota, 206A Burton Hall 178 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 United States
AB: Work in the earth sciences has outlined many of the faulty beliefs that students possess concerning particular geological systems and processes. Evidence from educational and cognitive psychology has demonstrated that students often have difficulty overcoming their na‹ve beliefs about science. Prior knowledge is often remarkably resistant to change, particularly when students' existing mental models for geological principles may be faulty or inaccurate. Figuring out how to help students revise their mental models to include appropriate information is a major challenge. Up until this point, research has tended to focus on whether 2-dimensional computer visualizations are useful tools for helping students develop scientifically correct models. Research suggests that when students are given the opportunity to use dynamic computer-based visualizations, they are more likely to recall the learned information, and are more likely to transfer that knowledge to novel settings. Unfortunately, 2-dimensional visualization systems are often inadequate representations of the material that educators would like students to learn. For example, a 2-dimensional image of the Earth's surface does not adequately convey particular features that are critical for visualizing the geological environment. This may limit the models that students can construct following these visualizations. GEOWALL is a stereo projection system that has attempted to address this issue. It can display multidimensional static geologic images and dynamic geologic animations in a 3-dimensional format. Our current research examines whether multidimensional visualization systems such as GEOWALL may facilitate learning by helping students to develop more complex mental models. This talk will address some of the cognitive issues that influence the construction of mental models, and the difficulty of updating existing mental models. We will also discuss our current work that seeks to examine whether GEOWALL is an effective tool for helping students to learn geological information (and potentially restructure their na‹ve conceptions of geologic principles).
DE: 6605 Education
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting