External and internal representations in the acquisition and use of knowledge: visualization effects on mental model construction |
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| Authors: | Wolfgang Schnotz Christian Kürschner |
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| Institution: | (1) General and Educational Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Thomas-Nast-Str. 44, Landau, 76829, Germany |
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| Abstract: | This article investigates whether different formats of visualizing information result in different mental models constructed
in learning from pictures, whether the different mental models lead to different patterns of performance in subsequently presented
tasks, and how these visualization effects can be modified by further external representations during task performance. A
total of 80 university students learned from an illustrated text different day times and different dates exist simultaneously
on the earth. One half of the participants received the text combined with pictures visualizing the earth as a kind of carpet
(carpet pictures), whereas the other half received the text combined with pictures visualizing the earth surface as a circle
(circle pictures). After learning, the participants received a test including different kinds of tasks. In both visualization
groups, one half of the participants solved the tasks with an additional external representation, whereas the other half solved
the tasks without an external representation. The findings indicate that the form of visualization affects the structure of
mental models. Different structures of mental models result in different patterns of performance, when individuals solve tasks
based only on their mental representations acquired during their previous learning. However, these effects decrease, when
further external representations are made available to the learners. The findings are discussed within a broader framework
of learning with multiple external representations. |
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| Keywords: | Picture comprehension External representations Mental representations Visualization |
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