Expert Algorithmic and Imagistic Problem Solving Strategies in Advanced Chemistry

Abstract

Visualization and imagistic reasoning appear central to expert practice in science; however, expert use of these strategies on authentic tasks has not been examined in detail. This study documents how science experts use both algorithms and imagistic reasoning to solve problems. Using protocol analysis, we report expert chemists' preferential use of algorithms for solving spatial problems and imagistic reasoning for deducing spatial transformations. We observed experts employ algorithms to solve the majority of spatial tasks while reserving imagistic strategies to solve a class of tasks that required translating between representations. Strategy used varied widely among experts and tasks.     

Interface Familiarity Restores Active Advantage in a Virtual Exploration and Reconstruction Task in Children

Abstract

Active exploration is reportedly better than passive observation of spatial displacements in real environments, for the acquisition of relational spatial information, especially by children. However, a previous study using a virtual environment (VE) showed that children in a passive observation condition performed better than actives when asked to reconstruct in reality the environment explored virtually. Active children were unpractised in using the input device, which may have detracted from any active advantage, since input device operation may be regarded as a concurrent task, increasing cognitive load and spatial working memory demands. To examine this possibility, 7–8-year-old children in the present study were given 5 minutes of training with the joystick input device. When compared with passive participants for spatial learning, active participants gave a better performance than passives, placing objects significantly more accurately. The importance of interface training when using VEs for assessment and training was discussed.     

Revisiting Perspective-Taking: Can People Maintain Imagined Perspectives?

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to examine whether people can adopt and maintain imagined perspectives in the absence of target information. The task used entailed providing information about an imagined perspective in advance of target information to examine whether this would facilitate perspective-taking performance and reduce or eliminate alignment effects that are commonly reported in the literature. The three experiments employed different types of spatial environments: an environment learned from navigating a computer screen (Experiment 1), and an immersive environment that was either remote (Experiment 2) or immediate (Experiment 3) at the time of retrieval. Across the three experiments, results showed that information about an imagined perspective can be utilized ahead of target information. Furthermore, they suggested that alignment effects can be reduced as a result of processing information about perspective ahead of target information, but only when reasoning about specific nonimmediate spatial relations (Experiments 1 and 2). Results are discussed in connection with previous findings on spatial updating and the organizational structure of spatial memory.     

Spatial Thinking in Undergraduate Science Education

Spatial thinking is central to many scientific domains and professions spatial ability predicts success and participation in science. However spatial thinking is not is not emphasized in our educational system. This paper presents a selective review of four types of studies regarding spatial thinking in undergraduate science curricula; (1) correlational studies examining the relations between measures of spatial ability and performance in science disciplines, (2) studies that attempt to train aspects of spatial thinking, (3) studies of how students understand specific spatial representations in sciences (4) studies that use dynamic spatial representations to promote scientific understanding. For each type of study, the evidence is critically evaluated and conclusions are drawn about how to nurture spatial thinking in science.     

铁基金刚石节块的热处理及其耐磨性能研究

首次提出了在烧结型金刚石工具的制造中引入热处理的新工艺，并系统地研究了淬火温度、淬火时间及回火温度等热处理工艺参数对热压烧结型铁基金刚石圆盘锯节块及其胎体材料机械性能的影响，同时对经热处理的铁基金刚石圆盘锯节块在石材旺苍红上进行磨损试验研究。试验结果表明，热压烧结型铁基金刚石圆盘锯节块胎体热处理的最佳工艺参数为：淬火温度为７６０～７９０℃、淬火时间为３．５ｍｉｎ、回火温度为２４５～３１５℃；经热处理后铁基金刚石圆盘锯胎体及节块的强度、硬度等机械性能有显著的提高，热处理也能明显改善铁基金刚石圆盘锯节块的耐磨性能。这说明将热处理工艺用于烧结型金刚石工具的制造中是切实可行的。     

基于Java语言的GIS系统在电信网管系统中的开发应用

随着计算机和通信业的迅速发展,人们对电信网络管理系统的要求越来越高,不仅需要拓扑图的显示,还要求系统能进行快速的故障定位,所以要求网管系统能与GIS系统结合.本文介绍了基于java语言的GIS系统的开发过程,及如何将GIS集成到综合电信网管系统中,并就实际开发中出现的问题提出相应的解决方案.     

Spatial Thinking Across the College Curriculum: A Report on a Specialist Meeting

This report presents findings from a specialist meeting of spatially-minded researchers and administrators from education and industry to consider prospects for introducing courses and curricula on spatial thinking in higher education. More than 40 participants explored the rationale for expanding student exposure to concepts, tools, and applications of spatial reasoning across a range of science, engineering, and humanities disciplines. The focus was on what we know and what we need to know to make the case for space, underscoring basic research on what is meant by spatial thinking and on variations in the spatial reasoning skills required in different domains of knowledge. The need for rigorous assessments of learning outcomes associated with different approaches to teaching spatial thinking was emphasized.     

Route generation and description using the notions of object's influence area and spatial conceptual map

In the GRAAD Project we aimed at creatinga system which could generate route directions thatare comparable to route directions created by humanparticipants. With this goal in mind, we started froma linguistic and cognitive study of route directionsproduced by people and the study of cognitive modelsof mental maps. We proposed a new qualitative spatialmodel that can support the spatial properties of humanroute directions. This model is based on the notion ofobject's influence area which is used to modelneighborhood, orientation and distance. The proposedapproach relies on the manipulation of spatialentities in a spatial conceptual map (SCM) which isthe computarized analog of a mental map used bypeople. We developped the GRAAD System, software thatgenerates routes in a SCM and describes them innatural language. Finally, we conducted an experimentin order to compare GRAAD's route directions androutes described by human participants in similarexperimental conditions. GRAAD's output was notdistinguishable from route directions created by humanparticipants. In this paper we present the mainresults obtained during all phases of the GRAADProject.