Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

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concepts by inducing concept descriptions from examples. Similarity views of concepts are
limiting because they take concepts out of context and do not account for concepts in use
(Jonassen, 2006). Other views of concepts presented by Jonassen (2006) include the
actional view of concepts, where concepts are ways of dynamically organizing personal
experiences. The theory-based view of concepts suggests that people organize concepts
based on their epistemological beliefs (Jonassen, 2006).
Models
Vosniadou (2003) suggests that individuals create models of phenomenon based on their
experiences with the phenomenon. Individuals build theories (what she describes as naïve
physics) which provide a “narrow but nevertheless coherent explanatory framework for
conceptualizing the physical world.” Naïve physics can get in the way of students accepting
scientific theories due to its coherence, limited but still existent explanatory abilities, and
grounding and reinforcement in personal experience. Conceptual change is the process of
moving from naïve physics to accepted understandings, and consists of the slow and
gradual replacement of the students’ beliefs associated with a particular phenomenon.
Schemata
Rumelhart(1980) describes a schema as a “data structure for representing generic
concepts stored in memory.” Schemata represent a prototype theory of meaning; to
illustrate this he uses several analogies, comparing a schema to a play, a theory, and a
procedure. Schemata are like plays in that they provide a structured environment that
allows room for interpretation, and do not contain every detail of a situation. A schema
contains both variables which operate with a set of constraints and constants. Schemata
are used to interpret a particular event, object or situation. Like a theory, a schema can be
used to predict outcomes given a particular set of variables. A schema is comprised of
subschemata. Schema can be activated either top-down, when a schema activates
subschemata, or bottom-up, when a subschema activate a schema which it belongs to.
Schemata support both perception and memory. A schema based system suggests three
modes of learning: accretion, tuning, and restructuring. Accretion is the gradual building of
knowledge through partial comprehension of new material. Tuning involves modification
or evolution of existing schemata through the modification of variable constraints or
default values, replacing constant portions of a schema with a variable one, or turning a
variable into a constant. Restructuring involves creating new schemata through patterned
generation done by creating a new schema by modifying an old one or schema induction
where the learner recognizes a schema through repeated exposure in multiple contexts
over time.
Anderson(1977) makes two major statements in support of a schema theory of
understanding. First, he emphasizes that people do not construct understanding by
“selecting a template from a great mental warehouse of templates abstracted from prior
experience”, essentially discounting Behaviorist theories of understanding. Constructing
understanding must be a more dynamic process that involves constructing
interpretations. Second, he suggests that “abstract schemata program individuals to
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011