Conceptual representation embodied in hypermedia: An approach to promoting knowledge co-construction

Abstract

Concrete external representations can profoundly affect discourse (Suthers and Hundhausen, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12, 183-218, 2003), but there has not been any research that explores the role of conceptual representations on collaborative learning. Research that examines the role of representations on transfer suggests that diagrammatic and conceptual representations have different effects (Novick and Hmelo, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 1296-1321, 1994). Conceptual representations are often implicit in learning resources such as hypermedia and can be used to guide the learning process and alter the course of collaborative learning conversations (Suthers and Hundhausen, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12, 183-218, 2003). They are particularly important in understanding complex phenomena. Prior research has shown that hypermedia can be an effective representational aid for individual understanding and problem solving (Jacobson and Archididou, Journal of the Learning Science, 9, 145-199, 2000). The research reported in this chapter addresses the question of how conceptual representations embodied in hypermedia have the potential to guide and support knowledge co-construction as we explore the effects on collaborative learning processes. We use two different types of hypermedia to study the human respiratory system. One version of the hypermedia highlights the structural and the second version the functional-behavioral aspects of the human respiratory system. The goal of this exploratory study is to examine how conceptual representations influence collaborative learning by analyzing the learners' discourse when using hypermedia. This allows us to look at interactions through the learner's eyes. It also helps in understanding the learners' unique ways of speaking and thinking about the general ideas presented in hypermedia. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010.