{"pk":31798,"title":"Reductionistic Conceptual Models and the Acquisition of Electrical Expertise","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Our objective has been to determine whether woii^ing\nwith reductionistic models reduces students' mis-\nconceptions, and increases the coherence and flexibility of\ntheir expertise as they solve problems and generate expla-\nnations. W e conducted experimental trials of an interac-\ntive learning environment that provides models of circuit\nbehavior. In these trials, w e examined students' perfor-\nmance on a variety of circuit problems before and after\nthey worked with either (a) a \"transport\" model alone, or\n(b) the transport model augmented with explanations of its\nprocesses in terms of a \"particle\" model. T h e posttest re-\nsults reveal that, while both groups performed well o n a\nwide range of tasks, students w h o received the particle-\nmodel explanations achieved higher levels of performance\non tasks that require an understanding of voltage and its\ndistribution. W e conjecture that this is due to the particle\nmodel providing students with a mechanistic model for\ncharge distribution that is consistent with the behavior of\nthe transport model and that inhibits the construction and\nuse of certain common misconceptions.","language":"eng","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[],"section":"Submitted Presentations","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8056m8bb","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Barbara","middle_name":"Y.","last_name":"White","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of California Berkeley","department":""},{"first_name":"John","middle_name":"R .","last_name":"Frederiksen","name_suffix":"","institution":"Educational Testing Service","department":""},{"first_name":"Kathryn","middle_name":"T .","last_name":"Spoehr","name_suffix":"","institution":"Brown University","department":""}],"date_submitted":null,"date_accepted":null,"date_published":"1993-01-01T18:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/31798/galley/22866/download/"}]}