Abstract

Connection-making among multiple representations is a crucial but difficult competence in STEM learning. Prior research has focused on one type of learning process involved in connection-making: sense-making processes leading to conceptual understanding of connections. Yet, other research suggests that a second type of learning process is important: inductive learning processes leading to perceptual intuitions about connections. We investigate whether combining instructional activities designed to support sense-making processes for understanding of connections (understanding activities) and instructional activities that support inductive processes for perceptual intuitions about connections (perception activities) enhances students’ learning of chemistry knowledge. A laboratory-based experiment with 117 undergraduate students compared students in (a) a control condition that received only conventional activities that did not require connection-making; (b) a condition that received conventional and understanding-activities; (c) a condition that received conventional and perception-activities; and (d) a combined condition that received conventional, understanding-activities, and perception-activities. Results show that only the combined condition outperformed the control condition on a test of chemistry knowledge. Eye-gaze data and verbal reports show that understanding-activities and perception-activities have complementary effects on how students integrate information from multiple representations during the learning phase. Finally, we found that students’ spatial skills moderate their benefit from understanding-activities and perception-activities.

摘要

在STEM学习中，多种表示形式之间的联系是至关重要但困难的能力。先前的研究集中在连接建立所涉及的一种学习过程中：导致对连接的概念性理解的感觉建立过程。但是，其他研究表明，第二种学习过程很重要：归纳学习过程会导致对连接的感知直觉。我们研究将旨在支持理解过程的理解性教学活动（理解活动）与支持对联系的直觉的归纳过程的教学活动（感知活动）相结合是否能增强学生对化学知识的学习。一项以实验室为基础的实验，对117名本科生进行了比较（a）在控制条件下，该控制条件仅接受不需要建立联系的常规活动；（b）接受常规和理解活动的条件；（c）接受常规活动和知觉活动的情况；（d）接受常规，理解活动和知觉活动的综合条件。结果表明，在化学知识测试中，只有合并条件优于对照条件。视线数据和口头报告表明，理解活动和感知活动对学生在学习阶段如何整合来自多种表示的信息的方式具有互补作用。最后，