Resource-Adaptive Design of Visualizations for Supporting the Comprehension of Complex Dynamics in the Natural Sciences

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Formal Project Description Contract Title Resource-Adaptive Design of Visualizations for Supporting the Comprehension of Complex Dynamics in the Natural Sciences Lead Partner Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute Grant Pact for Research and Innovation of the Competition Fund 2006 of the Leibniz-Association Dates {{{start_day}}}/{{{start_month}}}/{{{start_year}}} - {{{end_day}}}/{{{end_month}}}/{{{end_year}}} Website www.mentalmaps.org

Specific objective(s) Research Plan The basic idea of the research project is that a successful knowledge acquisition with dynamic visualizations is a resource intensive process which requires simultaneous and optimized availability of different learning resources. This particularly comprises different processing capabilities of the cognitive system, functionalities of the applied computer technology and didactically substantiated contents and representations. Accordingly, the instructional potential of dynamic visualizations can only effectively evolve if these different learning resources are available in a coordinated way for a concrete knowledge acquisition scenario. This hypothesis will be investigated in formal learning settings (e.g. school, university) as well as in informal learning settings (e.g. aquarium, diving excursion) for a natural sciences domain, the locomotion of fish. Memory: Short-term memory measurement based on the classic Memory Game Listen: Ability to relate pictures of objects with the sounds they produce in their natural environment. Hungry Navigation: Navigation ability measurement. Syntax: Series of writing-skills tests analogous to those used for the classical evaluation of learning disabilities. Comprehend: Measurement of the ability to relate a pictorial object with its written name or the sound of its name. Categorize: Categorization ability using an educational game in which the child is asked to "drag" an object in the world in which it fits. Sequence: Sequencing ability measured using the same approach used by psychologists using words picturing time-related events.