Acquisition Of Declarative Knowledge Research Articles

Learning through the eyes of another

Over the past decade, rapid technological advancements and budget constraints have increased the de­mand for online education (Martin et al., 2020). Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has vastly ac­cele­ra­ted this trend, compelling almost all education providers to migrate their courses to online learning platforms (Theelen & Van Breukelen, 2022). In view of other profound crises that affect mobility, such as climate change, political instabilities and future pandemics, it is safe to assume that online learning will remain in demand, even in a post-pandemic world ) (Bayne et al., 2020). In this context, while educational research has made significant progress in establishing design principles that ensure effective online teaching and learning, the main focus of this scholarly work is on the acquisition of declarative knowledge and cognitive skills. Moreover, since very little is known about the online teaching and distance learning of psychomotor skills (Kouhia et al., 2021; Lehtiniemi et al., 2023), this paper and exhibition explore how eye-tracking technology (ETT) creates unique opportunities to improve craft education in hybrid and distant learning settings.

New is not always better: Virtual reality does not necessarily enhance mnemonic processing.

Integrating new technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) can contribute to increasing efficiency in several areas relevant to society. VR can be applied in various contexts and has the potential to improve mnemonic processes and memory performance. However, the specific conditions under which VR is more beneficial than conventional learning methods remain unclear. To further investigate the value of VR for mnemonic processing, participants performed a memory task under three different conditions. For that task, they were presented with rules regarding the spatial arrangement of building blocks with a written text or a video in 2D on a screen or in 3D/360° with a head-mounted display. Following the learning session, memory performance was measured by a recognition test involving a multiple-choice questionnaire, in which participants had to mark the correct arrangement of building blocks, and a construction test, in which they had to arrange five different building blocks according to the rules learned. Additionally, participants had to arrange 38 building blocks according to the rules in a free recall test the following day. Surprisingly, results revealed no superiority effect for learning in VR. Instead, learning the rules with the text yielded the best memory performance results, indicating that prior experience with conventional learning methods facilitates declarative knowledge acquisition. Considering previous findings regarding cognitive processing in VR, our results suggest that in passive learning, processing the more salient and personally relevant virtual stimuli in the surrounding VR environment requires more attentional resources. Therefore, VR impairs focusing on the relevant declarative information and impedes the transfer of the learned knowledge to different contexts. When considering to implement VR, the value to the particular domain and specific learning task should be taken into consideration: For learning basic declarative information without actively involving the students, conventional learning methods seem sufficient and more efficient for mnemonic processing compared to new technologies.

The case of 'Yummy Yummy' - a replication of an intervention program

The current experimental study replicates and expands on the Yummy Yummy intervention study focusing on the role of observation in learning-to-write (Rijlaarsdam et al., 2008, 2009) that included 210 grade-7 students in seven classes from seven schools who were randomly assigned to one of two intervention roles: “readers” (tasked with text selection and discussion) or “observers” (tasked with observing readers to distill criteria they employ in their discussion). Effects of role condition were assessed by comparing the revisions students made in their texts, and with a questionnaire designed to assess students’ perceived learning experiences, particularly the extent of their learning during the intervention program and their explanations for their assertions. The results were consistent with the original study: revised writing products showed that observers outperformed readers, particularly in the domain of rhetoric. Additionally, observers self-reported higher levels of procedural knowledge acquisition compared to readers, while readers self-reported higher levels of declarative knowledge acquisition. The Yummy Yummy – observational learning replicated intervention program resulted in higher quality writing and had a differential impact on students' perceived learning.

Teaching Chemistry with Arduino Experiments in a Mixed Virtual-Physical Learning Environment.

A study with K-9 Greek students was conducted in order to evaluate how the declarative knowledge acquisition was affected by incorporating Arduino experiments in secondary Chemistry Education. A Digital Application (DA) that blends the use of the Arduino sensors’ experiments with digital educational material, including Virtual Labs (VLs), was constructed from scratch to be used through the Interactive Board (IB) as a learning tool by three different student groups (N = 154). In the first stage of the learning process, all groups used only the digital material of the DA. In the second stage, the three groups used different learning tools of the DA. Through the IB, the first group used Arduino experiments, the second one the VLs, and the third only static visualizations. A pre- to post-test statistical analysis demonstrated that the first two groups were equivalent in regard to achievement in declarative knowledge tests and of a higher level than the third group. Therefore, it can be concluded that conducting Arduino experiments in a mixed virtual-physical environment results in equivalent learning gains in declarative knowledge as those attained by using VL experimentation through the IB.

The Effects of Fully and Partially In-Game Guidance on Players' Declarative and Procedural Knowledge With a Disaster Preparedness Serious Game

Studies suggest that serious games are useful tools for disaster preparedness training, but few have examined if instructional factors differentially affect the learning outcomes. This study investigated the effects of players' gaming frequency, prior knowledge, and in-game guidance received on their declarative and procedural knowledge in a disaster preparedness serious game. Findings showed that gaming frequency was not a significant predictor for learning outcomes. By contrast, players' prior knowledge, the types of in-game guidance received, and the interaction between the two were all significant predictors for the acquisition of declarative knowledge and development of procedural knowledge. The interaction term revealed a moderator effect, indicating that the relationship between a player's prior knowledge and learning outcomes was affected by the type of in-game (full or partial) guidance received.

Materialising contexts: virtual soundscapes for real-world exploration

This article presents the results of a study based on a group of participants’ interactions with an experimental sound installation at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, UK. The installation used audio augmented reality to attach virtual sound sources to a vintage radio receiver from the museum’s collection, with a view to understanding the potentials of this technology for promoting exploration and engagement within museums and galleries. We employ a practice-based design ethnography, including a thematic analysis of our participants’ interactions with spatialised interactive audio, and present an identified sequence of interactional phases. We discuss how audio augmented artefacts can communicate and engage visitors beyond their traditional confines of line-of-sight, and how visitors can be drawn to engage further, beyond the realm of their original encounter. Finally, we provide evidence of how contextualised and embodied interactions, along with authentic audio reproduction, evoked personal memories associated with our museum artefact, and how this can promote interest in the acquisition of declarative knowledge. Additionally, through the adoption of a functional and theoretical aura-based model, we present ways in which this could be achieved, and, overall, we demonstrate a material object’s potential role as an interface for engaging users with, and contextualising, immaterial digital audio archival content.

Learning by Accident, Learning by Design: Thinking About the Production of Substantive Knowledge in the LRW Classroom

As law teachers, we understand that simulation-based courses provide critical avenues for students to learn lawyering skills. We want those courses to be rigorously designed, have clearly delineated learning outcomes, accurately assess student learning, and provide opportunities for our students to become further engaged – maybe even inspired – by the idea of law practice. As law teachers, we would also prefer that student effort is in no way wasted by obtaining knowledge in a simulation course that will never be useful to them. But that is a challenge in the context of simulation-based courses, where acquisition of knowledge of the issue area chosen as the subject of the simulation is not the primary purpose of the course. How can we do a better job of designing law school simulation courses where the substantive legal knowledge gained by our students has value to them, regardless of career path, and serves the law school’s goals of producing lawyers who are knowledgeable, ethical, and skilled? In this article the authors seek to address the knowledge our students acquire that is sometimes universally useful and intentionally transmitted, but also sometimes seemingly arbitrarily selected, and learned incidentally in the process of developing a skill. For the purposes of this article, we call the information that is learned in the process of developing a skill, “incidental declarative knowledge.” We use the term “incidental” to indicate that the knowledge itself is not the point (either primarily or at all) of the instruction, and can be swapped out with another body of knowledge with little effect on the desired learning outcome. We use the term “declarative” to connote formalized, substantive knowledge, as opposed to the acquisition of a skill – in essence, “what” knowledge as opposed to “how” knowledge. Thus, “incidental declarative knowledge” is a body of formalized knowledge that is learned in the service of skills development, but which is interchangeable with other bodies of knowledge that can serve the same pedagogical purpose. Law school simulation-based courses can be – and are - designed using a practically endless selection of substantive legal issues. Thus, the incidental declarative knowledge acquired in the course of learning a skill in law school may well be completely superfluous to a student’s other learning goals. However, the literature on LRW teaching specifically and simulation-based courses generally has yet to frontally address this issue. The authors of this article are both professors who teach first-year Legal Research and Writing at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. After several years of teaching from more traditionally designed LRW problems, the authors set out to develop a problem that directly addressed the issue of incidental declarative knowledge acquisition. This article provides a more solid framework for talking about this problem design issue, and to suggest using professional responsibility issues as one possible solution. The authors approach the incidental declarative knowledge problem from the perspective of LRW, but our observations will prove useful in any simulation-based course where doctrine isincidentally taught in the service of skills training.

A system of exercises for teaching English professional oral reporting presentation to prospective designers

In the article, the author suggests a system of exercises for teaching English professional oral reporting presentation to prospective designers at Ukrainian universities. Oral reporting presentation is clearly prepared specialist subject speech monologue aimed at providing professional information, beliefs, enhancement of affiliate commitment, and motivating an audience to a joint action (signing contracts, preparing shows, exhibitions, fairs, conducting flexible business policies, promotion service etc,) with the addition of unconditional proof of non-verbal means, including Internet technologies. The stages of teaching oral reporting presentation to prospective designers are determined in this paper. They are: stage 1 – acquisition of declarative knowledge by students about oral reporting presentation; stage 2 – acquisition by students of procedural knowledge about the algorithm of concluding reporting presentation, working with sample texts, conducting logical and structural analysis of constituent monologue; stage 3 – preparation of the text of reporting presentation, based on its functional diagrams; stage 4 – independent preparation by students of the presentation according to the given model; stage 5 – independent preparation by students and promulgation of a monologue presentation without any sample; stage 6 – peer assessment and discussion of the reporting presentation given by students, teacher assessment. The tasks of each stage, the groups of exercises, types of these tasks and examples of exercises are outlined in this work. The author substantiates the system of exercises suggested. The series of exercises includes groups of tasks aimed at motivating students to cognitive activity, analytical search, analysis of the logical and structural schemes of utterances, automation of use of connectors, consolidation of the knowledge obtained in the production of oral reporting presentation. The prospect of future research is in developing an educational model for teaching English professional oral reporting presentation to prospective designers at Ukrainian universities.

Interactive Online Learning for Attending Physicians in Ultrasound-guided Central Venous Catheter Insertion.

Evidence has demonstrated that the use of dynamic ultrasound guidance (USG) for central venous catheter (CVC) significantly decreases attempts, failures, and complication rates. Despite national organizations recommending the use of USG and its increasing availability, USG is used inconsistently and non-uniformly. We sought to determine if an online training module for CVC insertion with ultrasound guidance will improve acquisition and long-term retention of knowledge and skills for attending physicians. Participants were tested for declarative knowledge and skills on a simulator (pre-test) for ultrasound-guided CVC insertion at baseline. They then completed an online learning module followed by an immediate post-test and a six-month retention test. There were 16 attending physicians who participated in the study. The CVC training module increased declarative knowledge acquisition and retention. No significant difference in simulated CVC performance was found over the three time points.

Brain drain? An examination of stereotype threat effects during training on knowledge acquisition and organizational effectiveness.

Stereotype threat describes a situation in which individuals are faced with the risk of upholding a negative stereotype about their subgroup based on their actions. Empirical work in this area has primarily examined the impact of negative stereotypes on performance for threatened individuals. However, this body of research seldom acknowledges that performance is a function of learning-which may also be impaired by pervasive group stereotypes. This study presents evidence from a 3-day self-guided training program demonstrating that stereotype threat impairs acquisition of cognitive learning outcomes for females facing a negative group stereotype. Using hierarchical Bayesian modeling, results revealed that stereotyped females demonstrated poorer declarative knowledge acquisition, spent less time reflecting on learning activities, and developed less efficiently organized knowledge structures compared with females in a control condition. Findings from a Bayesian mediation model also suggested that despite stereotyped individuals "working harder" to perform well, their underachievement was largely attributable to failures in learning to "work smarter." Building upon these empirical results, a computational model and computer simulation is also presented to demonstrate the practical significance of stereotype-induced impairments to learning on the development of an organization's human capital resources and capabilities. The simulation results show that even the presence of small effects of stereotype threat during learning/training have the potential to exert a significant negative impact on an organization's performance potential. Implications for future research and practice examining stereotype threat during learning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

You Learn by your Mistakes. Effective Training Strategies Based on the Analysis of Video-Recorded Worked-out Examples

This paper presents an empirical study on procedural learning from errors that was conducted within the field of vocational education. It examines whether, and to what extent, procedural learning can benefit more from the detection and written analysis of errors (experimental condition) than from the correct elements (control group). The study involved 136 commercial employee apprentices who were working on a videorecorded, worked-out example of a professional procedure involving customer counselling. The results showed no differences between the conditions with regards to declarative knowledge acquisition during the procedure. Additionally, the analysis of errors was demonstrated to be more effective than the analysis of correct behaviours in terms of (1) representing a much more detailed and correct procedure and (2) developing anticipatory knowledge about possible errors to be avoided. The results highlighted the value of the inductive instructional strategy (from the analysis of a single worked-out example to the learning of the general procedure) and opened the field up for future applications of a similar instructional approach combining roleplaying and video analysis of errors in vocational education to develop communication skills.

Declarative knowledge acquisition in immersive virtual learning environments

The author investigated the interaction effect of immersive virtual reality (VR) in the classroom. The objective of the project was to develop and provide a low-cost, scalable, and portable VR system containing purposely designed and developed immersive virtual learning environments for the US Army. The purpose of the mixed design experiment was to compare lecture-based and immersive VR-based multimedia instruction, in terms of declarative knowledge acquisition (i.e. learning) of basic corrosion prevention and control with military personnel. Participants were randomly assigned to the control group (N = 115) or investigational group (N = 25) and tested immediately before and after training. The author accessed learning outcomes from the pre-exam and post-exam scores and VR system usability from exit questionnaires. Results indicate that both forms of instruction will increase learning. VR-based did produce higher gain scores and there was a statistically significant interaction between instruction type and time.

First results of PACTE group’s experimental research on translation competence acquisition: the acquisition of declarative knowledge of translation

This paper presents the first results of empirical-experimental research into the Acquisition of Translation Competence (ATC): the acquisition of declarative knowledge about translation. This study is based on our previous research about Translation Competence (TC). Some of the data collection instruments have, however, been adapted for current use. Details of our research design include type of study, universe and sample population, study variables, data collection instruments, and data analysis processes. The dependent variables were knowledge of translation; translation project; identification and solution of translation problems; decision-making; efficacy of the translation process; and use of instrumental resources. The results of the first variable analysed (“Knowledge of Translation”) will be presented. A questionnaire with 27 items was used to obtain data on translator trainees’ knowledge of translation: their concept of translation and TC; translation units; types of translation problems; the different phases involved in the translation process; methods required; procedures used (strategies and techniques); and the role of the translation brief and the target reader. Indicators of this variable were ‘dynamic index’ and ‘coefficient of coherence’. We understand a ‘dynamic’ concept of translation to be textual, interpretative, communicative and functional; as opposed to a ‘static’ concept that may be defined as linguistic and literal. The dynamic index allows us to see whether a subject’s implicit knowledge about how translation works is more dynamic or more static, whereas the coherence coefficient allows us to see whether the subject’s vision of different aspects of translation is coherent.

Individual Differences in the Effectiveness of Error Management Training for Developing Negotiation Skills

This study investigated whether the effectiveness of an error management approach to training negotiation knowledge and skill depended on individual differences in conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness to experience. Participants were randomly assigned to two training programs that incorporated key elements of an error management and behavioral modeling approach to training, and were trained in the complex interpersonal skill of negotiation. At the end of training, declarative knowledge acquisition, procedural knowledge acquisition, declarative knowledge retention, and transfer performance were assessed at different points in time. Results suggested that the effectiveness of the error management training program was dependent on individual levels of conscientiousness and extraversion. For several learning outcomes, the performance of highly conscientious and extraverted individuals was superior in the error management condition, while the performance of less conscientious and introverted individuals was superior in the behavioral modeling condition. The implications of these findings, and suggestions for future research, are discussed.

An Active Inference view of cognitive control.

GENERAL COMMENTARY article Front. Psychol., 05 November 2012Sec. Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Volume 3 - 2012 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00478

Fostering historical knowledge and thinking skills using hypermedia learning environments: The role of self-regulated learning

In this study, we examined how high-school students utilized a hypermedia learning environment (HLE) to acquire declarative knowledge of a historical topic, as well as historical thinking skills. In particular, we were interested in whether self-regulated learning (SRL; Winne & Hadwin, 1998; Zimmerman, 2000) processing was related to the acquisition of declarative knowledge and historical thinking. We found that, using the HLE, participants did learn from pretest to posttest, and that they most often engaged in strategy use SRL processes. However, the frequency of participant use of planning SRL processes, not strategy use, was predictive of learning. This study has implications for how educators use HLEs to foster historical thinking skills, and suggests that scaffolding planning skills may facilitate students’ use of computers as cognitive and metacognitive tools for learning (Azevedo, 2005; Lajoie, 2000).

Acquiring and Refining CBT Skills and Competencies: Which Training Methods are Perceived to be Most Effective?

A theoretical and empirical base for CBT training and supervision has started to emerge. Increasingly sophisticated maps of CBT therapist competencies have recently been developed, and there is evidence that CBT training and supervision can produce enhancement of CBT skills. However, the evidence base suggesting which specific training techniques are most effective for the development of CBT competencies is lacking. This paper addresses the question: What training or supervision methods are perceived by experienced therapists to be most effective for training CBT competencies? 120 experienced CBT therapists rated which training or supervision methods in their experience had been most effective in enhancing different types of therapy-relevant knowledge or skills. In line with the main prediction, it was found that different training methods were perceived to be differentially effective. For instance, reading, lectures/talks and modelling were perceived to be most useful for the acquisition of declarative knowledge, while enactive learning strategies (role-play, self-experiential work), together with modelling and reflective practice, were perceived to be most effective in enhancing procedural skills. Self-experiential work and reflective practice were seen as particularly helpful in improving reflective capability and interpersonal skills. The study provides a framework for thinking about the acquisition and refinement of therapist skills that may help trainers, supervisors and clinicians target their learning objectives with the most effective training strategies.

Individual influences on knowledge acquisition in a call center training context in Germany

From both a practical and a theoretical point of view, it is important to identify factors that foster knowledge acquisition in organizational training programs. Recent models of training effectiveness have proposed relationships between trainees’ characteristics and subsequent learning. The present study tested the impact of trainees’ pretraining expectations, post‐training reaction to training, expectation fulfillment and commitment on declarative knowledge acquisition, while controlling for education and motivation to learn. Participants were call center agents (N = 84), working in 10 call centers in Germany. Results showed that, in addition to education and motivation to learn, only expectation fulfillment significantly predicted learning. Implications for practice and future research were discussed.

Culture's Impact on Technology Mediated Learning

The horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism are an important characteristic of cultures. These dimensions have many implications for the ways in which individual learners use and respond to interactive technologies. This article reports on a study that investigated the impact of culture, specifically horizontal individualism (HI), vertical individualism (VI), horizontal collectivism (HC), and vertical collectivism (VC) on the effectiveness of technology mediated learning. Results indicate that the four dimensional patterns have differing effects on the use of TML communication capabilities, feelings of sense of community, satisfaction with the TML experience, perceived learning, and declarative knowledge acquisition.

Enhancing computer-supported writing of learning protocols by adaptive prompts

Cognitive and metacognitive prompts are a central support procedure in eHELp a computer-based environment that supports the writing of learning protocols. In order to investigate the effectiveness of adapting prompts, 79 students revised a learning protocol in eHELp either supported by prompts that were adapted on the basis of the results of an integrated learning-strategy questionnaire or a meta-knowledge test, respectively, by randomly selected prompts, or without any support. Adaptive prompts improved the quality of the learning protocols and fostered the acquisition of declarative knowledge and deep understanding, irrespective of the applied diagnostic instrument. In conclusion, open-ended learning tasks like the writing of learning protocols can be made more effective by adaptive support based on prior strategy assessment.