The Mechanism of Restructuring in Geometry
Abstract
Restructuring consists of a change in the representation of the current search state, a process which breaks an impasse during problem solving by opening up new search paths. A corpus of 52 think-aloud protocols from the domain of geometry was scanned for evidence of restructuring. The data suggest that restructing is accomplished by re-parsing the geometric diagram. Knowledge and Understanding in Human Learning (KUL) is an umbrella term for a loosely connected set of activities lead by Stellan Ohlsson at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburg. The aim of KUL is to clarify the role of world knowledge in human thinking, reasoning,and problem solving. World knowledge consists of concepts and principles, and contrasts with facts (episodic knowledge) and with cognitive skills (procedural knowledge). The long term goal is to answer six questions: How can the concepts and principles of particular domains be identified? How are concepts and principles encoded in the mind? How are concepts and principles utilized in performance and learning? How can instruction facilitate the acquisition and utilization of concepts and principles (as opposed to episodic or procedural knowledge)?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA224740
Entities
People
- Stellan Ohlsson
Organizations
- University of Pittsburgh