A Comprehension-Based Model of Exploration

The linked model of comprehension-based action planning and instruction taking (LICAI) simulates performing by exploration tasks using applications hosted on systems with graphical user interfaces. The tasks are given to the user as written exercises containing no information about the correct action sequences. LICAI's comprehension and action-planning processes are based on Kintsch's construction-integration (C-I) theory for text comprehension. The model assumes that comprehending instructions is a strategic process; instruction texts must be elaborated using specialized strategres that guide goal generation. LICAI comprehends the instructions and generates goals that are then stored in memory. The action-planning processes are controlled by goals retrieved from memory. Representations of goals that can guide exploration are restricted by the C-I architecture. The model predicts that successful exploration requires linking of the goal representation with the label on the correct object. The model is evaluated by comparing its predictions with results from an experimental study of learning by exploration by Franzke (1994, 1995). We discuss the implications of LICAI for designing instruction materials and interfaces that facilitate exploration.

[1]  Walter Kintsch,et al.  Toward a model of text comprehension and production. , 1978 .

[2]  Herbert A Simon,et al.  The understanding process: Problem isomorphs , 1976, Cognitive Psychology.

[3]  Muneo Kitajima,et al.  LICAI+: a comprehension-based model of learning for display-based human-computer interaction , 1997, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[4]  Cathleen Wharton,et al.  An overview of construction-integration model: a theory of comprehension as a foundation for a new cognitive architecture , 1991, SGAR.

[5]  George W. Ernst,et al.  GPS : a case study in generality and problem solving , 1971 .

[6]  Clayton Lewis,et al.  Theory-based design for easily learned interfaces , 1990 .

[7]  R. Shiffrin,et al.  Search of associative memory. , 1981 .

[8]  Muneo Kitajima,et al.  A comprehension-based model of correct performance and errors in skilled, display-based, human-computer interaction , 1995, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[9]  Walter Kintsch,et al.  Routine Computing Tasks: Planning as Understanding , 1991, Cogn. Sci..

[10]  Muneo Kitajima,et al.  A comprehension-based model of exploration , 1996, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[11]  W Kintsch,et al.  Understanding and solving word arithmetic problems. , 1985, Psychological review.

[12]  Cathleen Wharton,et al.  The cognitive walkthrough method: a practitioner's guide , 1994 .

[13]  John Rieman,et al.  A field study of exploratory learning strategies , 1996, TCHI.

[14]  W. Kintsch,et al.  The construction-integration model: A framework for studying memory for text. , 1991 .

[15]  W. Kintsch.  The role of knowledge in discourse comprehension: a construction-integration model. , 1988, Psychological review.

[16]  Richard M. Young,et al.  A dual-space model of iteratively deepening exploratory learning , 1996, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[17]  Marita Franzke,et al.  Natural Training Wheels: Learning and Transfer Between Two Versions of a Computer Application , 1993, VCHCI.

[18]  Tom Hudson,et al.  Correspondences and Numerical Differences between Disjoint Sets. , 1983 .

[19]  W. Kintsch,et al.  The role of understanding in solving word problems , 1988, Cognitive Psychology.

[20]  Denise Dellarosa.  A computer simulation of children’s arithmetic word-problem solving , 1986 .

[21]  Andrew Howes,et al.  Learning consistent, interactive, and meaningful task-action mappings: A computational model , 1996 .

[22]  John Millar Carroll.  The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instruction for Practical Computer Skill , 1990 .

[23]  Charles R. Fletcher,et al.  Understanding and solving arithmetic word problems: A computer simulation , 1985 .

[24]  Cathleen Wharton,et al.  Cognitive Walkthroughs: A Method for Theory-Based Evaluation of User Interfaces , 1992, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[25]  Richard M. Young,et al.  Why is a raven like a writing desk?: lessons in interface consistency and analogical reasoning from two cognitive architectures , 1994, CHI '94.

[26]  John Rieman.  Learning strategies and exploratory behavior of interactive computer users , 1994 .

[27]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  End-user training and learning , 1995, CACM.

[28]  Robert B. Terwilliger,et al.  Relationships between users' and interfaces' task representations , 1997, CHI.

[29]  Andrew Howes,et al.  A model of the acquisition of menu knowledge by exploration , 1994, CHI '94.

[30]  A. Newell.  Unified Theories of Cognition , 1990 .

[31]  Andrew Howes,et al.  The Nature of Device Models: The Yoked State Space Hypothesis and Some Experiments With Text Editors , 1990, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[32]  W. Kintsch,et al.  The representation of meaning in memory , 1974 .

[33]  Keith Duncan,et al.  Cognitive Engineering , 2017, Encyclopedia of GIS.

[34]  John M. Carroll,et al.  Learning to use word processors: problems and prospects , 1983, TOIS.

[35]  W. Kintsch,et al.  Strategies of discourse comprehension , 1983 .

[36]  James D. Hollan,et al.  Direct Manipulation Interfaces , 1985, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[37]  David E. Kieras,et al.  A Guide to Propositional Analysis for Research on Technical Prose. , 1981 .

[38]  Marita Franzke,et al.  Turning research into practice: characteristics of display-based interaction , 1995, CHI '95.

[39]  David E. Kieras,et al.  The Acquisition and Performance of Text-Editing Skill: A Cognitive Complexity Analysis , 1990, Hum. Comput. Interact..