The Role of Supportive Information in the Development and Progression of Mental Models

Abstract

In learning a complex skill, creation and elaboration of learners' conceptual and causal models benefit from supportive information provided at the beginning of instruction. On the other hand, it has been documented that practicing problem solving leads to better performance and transfer of complex cognitive skills. Despite the essential role of problem-solving practice for integration and transfer of knowledge and skills, providing novice learners with supportive information before practice can contribute substantially to the progression of a learner's mental model toward an expert-like mental model. This progression process was examined before and after three phases of the instructional process: supportive information presentation, problem-solving practice, and test performance. Participants' mental models of the complex learning task were matched against an expert mental model at five observation points through an instructional troubleshooting session. The results indicated a significant change in participants' mental models after receiving the supportive information and no change after practice or performance. IntroductionIn this chapter, we will examine how learners build the foundation for learning in complex domains. We will discuss theoretical explanations of the interaction of supportive information and practice for the progressive development of learners' mental models. We will describe an empirical study that illustrates the importance of supportive information in the progression of mental models toward those resembling experts, and we will attempt to explain why instructional practice, though essential

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