Although learning in the system dynamics approach is generally accomplished through student model creation, there are many cases where learning may be better facilitated through incorporation of system dynamics models into more guided simulations. A model of simulation design is described and illustrated wherein designers create models in a system dynamics package and then transfer those models into a general instructional authoring system for the addition of instructional support features.

No abstract

Looking back at relevant sections of previously read text is proposed as a useful fixup strategy when comprehension fails while studying a text.Subjects read 24 pages of text and answered inserted questions which assessed their comprehension of the text. About half of the subjects were branched back to reread prerequisite information when it was later needed but had not been fully understood by those subjects. Subjects receiving lookbacks showed better comprehension of later information dependent upon the prerequisite information.In the light of these results, the training of natural lookbacks during study holds promise as a means of improving students' study behaviors. Lookbacks During Studying 2 An Investigation of Lookbacks During StudyingStudying has been characterized as having three main phases: before, during, and after reading (Anderson, 1979). The during reading phase, which is our main interest at this time, can in turn be characterized as having three aspects: those activities appropriate when the reader succeeds in comprehending parts of the text, those activities appropriate when the reader fails to comprehend parts of the text, and the monitoring processes which the reader undertakes to distinguish success or failure of comprehension. Comprehension monitoring (see determines to which of the two previous classes of activities the reader should direct his efforts.Appropriate activities to use when sections of text are understood include: organizing the information (e.g., outlining), increasing the amount of text processing (e.g., imaging, paraphrasing, discussing), and record keeping for review (e.g., note taking and underlining)."Fixup" activities appropriate when comprehension fails might include going back to learn prerequisite material missed, misunderstood, or forgotten (e.g., looking back in the text, rereading, or referring to previously taken notes), more carefully inspecting the confusing sections of text (e.g., careful parsing of sentences, slow reading, trying to picture the material mentally), and consulting outside sources (e.g., other books or persons who might be knowledgeable on the subject).The prime objective of this study is to investigate those behaviors used during studying which are appropriate when comprehension of the text Lookbacks During Studying

In complex simulation-based learning environments, participants' learning and performance may suffer due to demands on their cognitive processing, their struggle to develop adequate mental models, failure to transfer what is learned to subsequent learning or activities, and fear of failure. This study investigates an instructional strategy addressing those four problems, which we call prior exploration strategy. It was implemented in a simulation requiring participants to optimize a developing nation's per capita income. The prior exploration strategy allows participants to manipulate and see the results of a simulation model in practice mode before they manage a similar simulation in a more final mode. The strategy was assessed in an experiment comparing participants using the prior exploration strategy with participants studying equivalent content in a non-exploratory fashion. The dependent variables were performance within the simulation and improvement of participants' understanding. The prior exploration strategy significantly improved participants' performance, as measured by per capita income. It also significantly improved some aspects of the participants' understanding (e.g., their understanding of the nation's debt accumulation), but not others (e.g., their understanding of the need to balance the nation's health, education, and infrastructure investments; those that appear to have complex interrelations).

In on-demand education, learners are required to plan their own learning trajectory by selecting suitable learning tasks. A positive effect on learning is expected when learners select tasks that help them fulfil their individual learning needs. However, the selection of suitable tasks is a difficult process for learners with little domain knowledge and suboptimal task-selection skills. A common solution for helping learners deal with on-demand education and develop domain-specific skills is to give them advice on task selection. In a randomized experiment, learners (N = 30) worked on learning tasks in the domain of system dynamics and received either advice or no advice on the selection of new learning tasks. Surprisingly, the no-advice group outperformed the advice group on a post-test measuring domain-specific skills. It is concluded that giving advice on task selection prevents learners from thinking about how the process of task selection works. The advice seems to supplant rather than support their considerations why they should perform the advised task, which results in negative effects on learning. Implications for future research on giving advice in on-demand education are discussed.