Instruction and Mental Model Progression: Learner‐Dependent Effects of Teaching Strategies on Knowledge Acquisition and Analogical Transfer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two general functions of mental models are to represent human knowledge and to generate plausibility concerning real‐world phenomena. From the perspective of a constructivist epistemology the question is raised whether specific instructional methods have a measurable effect on learners’ construction of mental models. In an experiment with 131 students it was investigated whether there are significant differences between an expository teaching strategies and two guided‐discovery teaching strategies with respect to the acquisition and analogical transfer of knowledge. Computer‐based learning programs delivered the teaching strategies and instructional materials. The effect of a priori understanding, domain‐specific knowledge, grade, and gender was controlled. As a main result, the study shows that the expository teaching strategy was more efficient than the guided‐discovery strategies. Furthermore, an analysis of the guided‐discovery strategies suggests the importance of an initial mental model