This research investigated experience level differences in problem representation in statistics. A triad judgment task was designed so that source problems shared either surface similarity (story narrative) or structural (inferential level) features (t test, correlation, or chi-square) with the target problem. Graduate students with varying levels of experience in statistics were asked to choose which source problem "goes best" with the target problem for each triad. Given a choice between a problem that shares surface-level characteristics and one that shares inferential-level characteristics, students who had taken 0 to 4 courses in statistics tended to represent problems on the basis of surface-level features. Students who had more than 4 courses did not consistently make choices on the basis of surface-level features, nor did they consistently rely on structural features. However, all students with statistics course backgrounds noticed structural features when competition between different types of features was eliminated. The role of surface and structural features in determining problem representations is discussed.
This study examined ways in which expert and novice teachers mentally represent classroom problems in matters of instruction, assessment, and curriculum planning. A triad judgement task was administered to expert teachers (n=20) and novice teachers (n=98) to determine whether deep, structural features (i.e. the theoretical underpinnings associated with the problem) and/or surface features (narrative characteristics of the problem including grade level and subject) were used to interpret and represent a problem situation presented in a classroom context. Findings were consistent with results from previous studies examining problem representation among experts and novices in other domains. That is, the experts in this study primarily relied on the deep features to form a mental representation of a problem situation whereas the novices tended to rely on surface structures to do so. However, findings also revealed that novice teachers relied on the deep, structural features of the problem under certain conditions.
SPRING IS marked by the arrival of such pleasantries as flowering crocuses, budding leaves, cherry blossoms, furry creatures awakening after a long winter's sleep, and birds flitting about after their long journeys north. But the season also plays host to less appealing arrivals in the form of pollen, weeds among the perennials, and that most notorious harbinger of spring, the brown-backed, white-bellied cardboard trifold.Yes, spring is the season when thousands of these creased cardboard pests can be found lodged under the armpits of students and teachers as they observe the educational rite of spring known as the school science fair. A recent visit to a local school's gymnasium to witness one of these gala events reminded us of why we so dislike science fairs.Soon after we accepted our invitation to attend the public exhibition of the science fair displays, we found ourselves weaving through a maze of posters in the packed school gym. Our attention was immediately drawn to the efforts of one young girl who was trying to repair a working model set up before her trifold poster. It was a somewhat complicated Rube Goldberg sort of construction, with two stacked containers of water connected above and below by a valve and piping. One pipe was leaking, and the girl was earnestly trying to mend it with plumber's putty. We knelt down beside the contraption and asked its presumed creator what her proj-
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