Learning and Transfer in Context Robert Goldstone Ji Son Indiana University Department of Psychological and Brain Scie

1. Learning and Transfer in ContextRobert GoldstoneJi SonIndiana UniversityDepartment of Psychological and Brain ScienceProgram in Cognitive Science

2. How do we learn in a way that is general and transportable? Through strategic decontextualizations By learning contextualized, grounded system

3. Arguments for decontextualized scenarios Transfer depends on understandings that are not tied to their context Better transfer from simplified to rich forms than vice versa (Bassok & Holyoak, 1989; Son, Smith, & Goldstone, 2008) Better transfer from idealized, relative to concrete, forms to an isomorphic situation (Goldstone & Sakamoto, 2003; Goldstone & Son, 2005) Better understanding of the formal properties of a system from simple symbols than rich instances (Kaminsky, Sloutsky, & Heckler, 2008; Sloutsky, Kaminski, & Heckler, 2005) Competition between symbolic and physical interpretations of objects (DeLoache, 1991; Uttal, Liu, & DeLoache, 1999)

5. Arguments for contextualization Reasoning is facilitated when the domain is concrete rather than abstract (Wason & Shapiro, 1971, Johnson-Laird, Legrenzi, & Legrenzi, 1972) Knowledge is grounded in perception (Barsalou, 1998), action (Glenberg, 1997), or visuo-spatial models (Lakoff & Nu�ez, 2000). People often perform tasks better in rich, real-world contexts than in laboratories or classrooms (Lave, 1988; Nunes, Schliemann, & Carraher, 1993) Learning that is grounded in authentic learning experiences is often more meaningful to students (Barab & Roth, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 1995)

6. Kinds of Contextualizations

7. Kinds of Contextualizations

8. Experiment 1: Experiential contextualizationSon & Goldstone (in press, Cognition & Instruction) Experience-based learning Constructivism (Savery & Duffy, 1994) Problem-based learning (Grabinger & Dunlap, 1995) Active control by learner (Schwartz & Bransford, 1998) Direct instruction More children learn about experimental control from direct instruction than discovery learning (Klahr & Nigam, 2004) Cognitive load (Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006) Possible inefficiences of problem-based learning (Albanese & Mitchell, 1993)

9. Signal Detection Theory (SDT) Decision making under uncertainty Target is either present or absent Observers judge presence based on signal strength in noise Critical notions: evidence, decision, criterion, outcomes (false alarms, correct rejects, hits, misses) Useful because of wide applicability All subjects receive a graphical and textual tutorial A doctor diagnosing patients as having leukemia based on distortion level of cells Half of subjects receive categorization experience - see distorted cells and categorize patients, with feedback Training quiz Transfer to second SDT situation Farmers diagnosing melons as ripe or not, based upon the imperfect predictor of weights Transfer Quiz

10. Most healthy people have low cell distortion.

11. Most sick people have high cell distortion

12. The doctor decides these people are �healthy��

13. Later on, he found out who was actually sick and who was actually healthy:

14. Later on, he found out who was actually sick and who was actually healthy:

16. After� he does not decide �healthy� when they are actually sick�

18. Does active experience help? Doctor diagnosis experience + tutorial Only tutorial

20. Experiment 1 Results

23. Experiment 2: Textual voice Contextualization through grammatical voice of narrative The second-person pronoun (�you�) has been recommended for text books: �The use of the second person pronoun you also connects the reader to the mathematics because it speaks to the reader directly� (Herbel-Eisenman & Wagner, 2005; Moreno & Mayer, 2004) Third-person voice (�he�) fosters position of reader as detached, omniscient observer (Duchan, Brewer, & Hewitt, 1995; Graesser et al., 1996) Does placing participants in the story by use of the second-person pronoun help or hurt comprehension and transfer of principles?

24. Imagine a doctor who looks at blood samples to check if his patients have leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow. Since bone marrow produces blood cells, the doctor can look for distorted blood cells to help him diagnose his patients.

25. Imagine that you are a doctor who looks at blood samples to check if your patients have leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow.  Since bone marrow produces blood cells, you can look for distorted blood cells to diagnose your patients.

26. Changing the decision boundary is something the doctor can do to change what kinds of mistakes he makes. There are some things that are out of his control that also affect how good his diagnosis is. (C.) Consider a situation where it becomes even harder for the doctor to diagnose his patients because everyone started taking vitamins that make distorted cells caused by cancerous cells look better. So now sick people have less distorted cells than they used to�

27. Changing the decision boundary is something you can do to change what kinds of mistakes you make. There are some things that are out of your control that also affect how good your diagnosis is. (C.) Consider a situation where it becomes even harder for you to diagnose your patients because everyone started taking vitamins that make distorted cells caused by cancerous cells look better. So now sick people have less distorted cells than they used to�

28. Experiment 2 Results

31. Experiment 3: Narrative specificity Contextualization by presenting a specific, well-known scenario Vivid information is better remembered than pallid information (Nisbett & Ross, 1980) Education researchers have recommended presenting materials with well-known celebrities and culturally relevant contexts (Ladson-Billings, 1995) But salient specific details may interfere with extraction of abstract structure and transfer (Kaminski, Sloutsky, & Heckler, 2005, 2008) Initial scenario: either generic doctor or Derek Shepard�from the TV show �Gray�s Anatomy�

37. Experiment 3 Results

39. Experiment 3 Results

41. Conclusions Distinguish types of contextualization Increasing contextualization is not always a good thing Tension between scaffolding understanding by a concrete grounding and tying knowledge too tightly to a specific domain Potential dissociation between engagement and deep understanding

43. Approximately what percentage of all 1000 gram melons (1 kg) are sweet?A. 10%B. 25%C. 33%D. 50% E. 66%

44. A. 10%B. 25%C. 33%D. 50% E. 66%

45. Experience people aren�t taking longer�

46. Controls are more semantic, experience people are more goal-biased