Using Databases With Concept

Maps
Students have a better
understanding of the concept

Chapter 4
Modeling Domain
Knowledge

With With
Hypermedia Spreadsheets

With
Visualization
Tools

**Sorry to all...I could not hyperlink the document to have it go from

one section to another. Sorry again for the inconvenience.
~Jesynia Howell
 Modeling Domain Knowledge
Educators evaluate on how much you know, but often it is how you know something that is more
important (Jonassen, 2006, p. 39).

Primary rationale (Jonassen, 2006, p. 39)

• Acquiring domain knowledge is a prerequisite to learning how to use that knowledge

Assumption:

• It is necessary to know about ideas before it is possible to apply that knowledge (39)

Contemporary learning theorist’s argument

• Domain knowledge that is acquired without applying it in some authentic context is

meaningless (Jonassen, 2006, p. 39).

“Chapter argues that using mind tools for building models of domain knowledge will help the
learners to acquire (comprehend and retain) that knowledge more effectively than traditional
methods” (Jonassen, 2006, p. 40).

Educators have promoted using learning strategies such as note taking and summarizing.

Mind tool simply represent a new class of learning strategies, and when students use these tools
to build models they will understand their subject better and retain the information longer
(Jonassen, 2006, p. 40)
 Modeling Domain Knowledge with Databases
Data bases are

• Tools for analysis

• Underlying themes can be used as fields

• Examples can serve as records

Student experience two levels of analysis when analyzing content domains

Level 1- When students organize information in database

Level2- Reflective and relational, when questioning data

*Building databases facilitates one of the most basic form of cognition, comparison-contrast
rezoning.

Modeling Domain Knowledge with Concept Maps

Concept maps can and should guide studying. Students who use and/or construct concept maps
are likely to test better than students who use traditional study methods.

Obesity or High blood sugar

genetic

Frequent doctor
Diabetes Pills or insulin
visits

May lead to heart Diet and exercise

disease
 Modeling Domain Knowledge with Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets help students to build numeric models of information and it allows the learner to
create a better understanding of causal relationships, which are used frequently for scientific
reasoning.

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Questions to think about:

How could you use this in your classroom?

How can your students benefit from a spreadsheet?

Modeling with Visualization Tools

There are a wide variety of visualization tools to support different kinds of investigations.
Different people learn in different ways and many people are visual learners and must
see what they are learning to help them grasp it. In our most sophisticated sensory
system, vision we receive the largest amount and variety of data. Often we have to
visualize things before we can make sense of them. Below is a simple example of
learning mathematics through visual learning.

Fred had 6 apples.Error: Reference source not found

Karen took 3 of his apples, how many apples does Fred have left?
Error: Reference source not found Error: Reference source
not found

Fred’s Apples Karen took 3 apples

Students have a
better
understanding
of the concept

Modeling with
Hypermedia
 Hypermedia is multimedia programs that are hyperlinked together. Hyper linking can be
individual nodes or chunks of information used for learners to understand the complexity and
interrelatedness of domains they are studying. The reader is more in control of what is read and
the sequence in how they read it. Hypermedia consists of text, sound, graphics, animation, video
and images. While reading one node you will have a link that will take you to another node of
information, this creates the assumption that the order a text is read has a more personal meaning
than what is just imposed by the author.

Student
needs to
write a paper
on the Red
The student
wolf. They
now has
searches the
control over
Internet for
what they
information
read and
& comes
learn. This
across a
makes it a
website
more
personal
experience
and cuts out
the
information
the student
will not need. The website
They are is an
more likely They are endangered
to retain this taken to a animal
more new page website and
personal with more has a list of
information. information animals, one
on the Red of them is
wolf and the Red wolf.
more links. They click on
Every link the link
will take
them to a
different
page with
more info
such as what
the wolf eats.