EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Chapter 12 page 292

The research on conceptual models can be thought as falling into several “rounds” of research.

1. The first round of research on conceptual models contrasted these two situations:

conceptual models
alongside
original texts

versus

original texts only

An example of this kind of model would be the nitrogen cycle model that you see
For example, in one study, half of the subjects read an encyclopedia passage on brakes. The other half of the
subjects read the same passage but also received a conceptual model showing how brakes work. (I will show you
this model in class.) Students who received the encyclopedia text plus the conceptual model were better at
remembering key explanatory information, and they were also better at answering problem-solving questions such
as these:
--Why do brakes get hot?
--What could be done to make brakes more reliable, that is, to make sure they would not fail?
--What could be done to make brakes more effective, that is, to reduce the distance needed to bring the car to a
stop?
--Suppose you press on the brake pedal in your car but the brakes don’t work. What could have gone wrong?
--What happens when you pump the brakes (i.e., press the pedal and release the pedal repeatedly and rapidly)?

So the first round of research established that adding conceptual models to texts is helpful.

2. A second round of research on conceptual models contrasted these two situations:

conceptual models with
text integrated into the
models

versus

conceptual models with

the text written at the

side

An example of a conceptual models with text integrated into the model is the model of how a bill becomes law in
Wisconsin. All of the key information is written in sentence form right onto the diagram. You need not read
anything else to understand the diagram. An example of a conceptual model with the text written at the side would
be the same diagram with all the text moved off in paragraphs to the side instead of being placed within the
diagram.
This round of research consistently found that conceptual models with text integrated into the models were
more effective at promoting understanding and ability to answer problem solving questions than the same models
with the text written in paragraphs at the side. So—conceptual models are good, and they are even better when the
text is put right on the model instead of at the side of the model.

3. A third round of research on conceptual models contrasted these two situations:

conceptual models with
text integrated into the
models

versus

conceptual models with

the text integrated into

the models PLUS an

additional text at the side

For example, a hypothetical study might have students in one condition read only the diagram of how a Wisconsin
bill becomes law. In a second condition, students would receive the exact same diagram, but they would also read
some additional text at the side of the diagram explaining the information in a little more detail. The question is