GRAPH THEORY AS A METALANGUAGE OF COMMUNICABLE KNOWLEDGE

Abstract : The attempts to devise and develop complete computer-administered instruction (CAI) systems have shown the need for an objective, rigorous, and subject-matter independent means for describing the organization of instructional content. The relations to be defined can reflect (a) inherent structure of the subject matter, (b) pedagogical strategy, (c) successful instructional communication, i.e., the student's current repertoire of subject matter and its structure. It is proposed to represent the set of concepts and relations as graphs or nets, a metalanguage whose mathematical properties are quite well-known. Graph descriptions of instructional subject matter furnish a map so that an instructional agent, human or computer, can orient the presentation.