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Journal of Computing in Higher Education

, Volume 22, Issue 2, pp 135–147 | Cite as

Effect of worked examples on mental model progression in a computer-based simulation learning environment

  • Aubteen Darabi
  • David W. Nelson
  • Richard Meeker
  • Xinya Liang
  • Wilma Boulware
Article
First Online:

Abstract

In a diagnostic problem solving operation of a computer-simulated chemical plant, chemical engineering students were randomly assigned to two groups: one studying product-oriented worked examples, the other practicing conventional problem solving. Effects of these instructional strategies on the progression of learners’ mental models were examined by comparing representations of their mental models with those of experts at three segments of the instruction. Progression of mental models for the worked example group was significantly greater than those using the problem-solving strategy. However, this progression did not manifest itself in learners’ troubleshooting performance measured by number of correct diagnosis and first time correct diagnosis. The implications of these results for designing instruction tailored to learners’ domain knowledge are discussed.

Keywords

Mental models Worked examples Complex learning Simulation 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Aubteen Darabi
    • 1
  • David W. Nelson
    • 2
  • Richard Meeker
    • 3
  • Xinya Liang
    • 2
  • Wilma Boulware
    • 2
  1. 1.The Learning Systems InstituteFlorida State UniversityTallahasseeUSA
  2. 2.The Learning Systems InstituteFlorida State UniversityTallahasseeUSA
  3. 3.Center for Advanced Power SystemsFlorida State UniversityTallahasseeUSA

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