Abstract
Novice learners are typically unfamiliar with abstract engineering symbols. They are also often unaccustomed to instructional materials consisting of a combination of text, diagrams, and equations. This raises the question of whether instruction on elementary electrical circuit analysis for novice learners should employ contextualized representations of the circuits with familiar components, such as batteries, or employ abstract representations with the abstract engineering terms and symbols. A further question is if text labels in the circuit diagrams would aid these learners. This study examined these research questions with a '2 × 3' experimental design, in which the two forms of representation (abstract or contextualized) were considered under three types of diagram labeling (no labels, static labels, or interactive labels). The design was implemented in an instructional module on elementary circuit analysis for novice learners. Results indicated that abstract representations led to higher near- and far-transfer post-test scores, and that interactive (student-generated) labeling resulted in higher near-transfer scores than either the no-labels or static-labels conditions. These findings suggest that abstract representations promote the development of deep, transferrable knowledge and that generative methods of integration, such as interactive diagram labeling, can facilitate learning with multiple external representations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 6637101 |
| Pages (from-to) | 160-168 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Education |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2014 |
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Keywords
- Circuit analysis instruction
- circuit diagram
- diagram label
- electrical circuit analysis
- multiple external representations
- novice learner
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Education
Cite this
Introductory circuit analysis learning from abstract and contextualized circuit representations : Effects of diagram labels. / Johnson, Amy; Butcher, Kirsten R.; Ozogul, Gamze; Reisslein, Martin.
In: IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 57, No. 3, 6637101, 2014, p. 160-168.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Introductory circuit analysis learning from abstract and contextualized circuit representations
T2 - Effects of diagram labels
AU - Johnson, Amy
AU - Butcher, Kirsten R.
AU - Ozogul, Gamze
AU - Reisslein, Martin
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Novice learners are typically unfamiliar with abstract engineering symbols. They are also often unaccustomed to instructional materials consisting of a combination of text, diagrams, and equations. This raises the question of whether instruction on elementary electrical circuit analysis for novice learners should employ contextualized representations of the circuits with familiar components, such as batteries, or employ abstract representations with the abstract engineering terms and symbols. A further question is if text labels in the circuit diagrams would aid these learners. This study examined these research questions with a '2 × 3' experimental design, in which the two forms of representation (abstract or contextualized) were considered under three types of diagram labeling (no labels, static labels, or interactive labels). The design was implemented in an instructional module on elementary circuit analysis for novice learners. Results indicated that abstract representations led to higher near- and far-transfer post-test scores, and that interactive (student-generated) labeling resulted in higher near-transfer scores than either the no-labels or static-labels conditions. These findings suggest that abstract representations promote the development of deep, transferrable knowledge and that generative methods of integration, such as interactive diagram labeling, can facilitate learning with multiple external representations.
AB - Novice learners are typically unfamiliar with abstract engineering symbols. They are also often unaccustomed to instructional materials consisting of a combination of text, diagrams, and equations. This raises the question of whether instruction on elementary electrical circuit analysis for novice learners should employ contextualized representations of the circuits with familiar components, such as batteries, or employ abstract representations with the abstract engineering terms and symbols. A further question is if text labels in the circuit diagrams would aid these learners. This study examined these research questions with a '2 × 3' experimental design, in which the two forms of representation (abstract or contextualized) were considered under three types of diagram labeling (no labels, static labels, or interactive labels). The design was implemented in an instructional module on elementary circuit analysis for novice learners. Results indicated that abstract representations led to higher near- and far-transfer post-test scores, and that interactive (student-generated) labeling resulted in higher near-transfer scores than either the no-labels or static-labels conditions. These findings suggest that abstract representations promote the development of deep, transferrable knowledge and that generative methods of integration, such as interactive diagram labeling, can facilitate learning with multiple external representations.
KW - Circuit analysis instruction
KW - circuit diagram
KW - diagram label
KW - electrical circuit analysis
KW - multiple external representations
KW - novice learner
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U2 - 10.1109/TE.2013.2284258
DO - 10.1109/TE.2013.2284258
M3 - Article
VL - 57
SP - 160
EP - 168
JO - IEEE Transactions on Education
JF - IEEE Transactions on Education
SN - 0018-9359
IS - 3
M1 - 6637101
ER -