L'auto-évaluation est un processus métacognitif central dans le cadre d'un apprentissage en autonomie. Des décennies de recherche ont montré, toutefois, que les apprenants n'auto-évaluaient pas leurs performances futures avec exactitude, conduisant les chercheurs à essayer de mieux comprendre le processus d'auto-évaluation afin d'en améliorer l'exactitude. La majeure partie des travaux effectués sur le sujet ont, toutefois, été réalisés dans des situations peu écologiques et impliquent des tâches d'apprentissage simples (e.g. l'apprentissage associatif) ou classiques (e.g. compréhension de textes linéaires). Cette thèse présente trois études qui se centrent autour de l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation dans des contextes plus écologiques. Ces études testent l'efficacité de divers outils d'aide à l'auto-évaluation sur une tâche d'apprentissage intégrée aux enseignements des participants. Elles considèrent également des caractéristiques propres à la tâche ou à l'apprenant. Ainsi, la première étude combinait plusieurs outils d'aide à l'auto-évaluation (incitations à la prise de conscience des stratégies utilisées et de leur pertinence, et auto-explications) afin d'améliorer l'exactitude des auto-évaluations sur des connaissances déclaratives et procédurales. Une deuxième étude explorait l'effet des cartes conceptuelles en tant qu'outil d'aide à l'auto-évaluation. L'efficacité des cartes conceptuelles sur l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation et l'apprentissage a été testée selon le mode de leur utilisation (construction vs. consultation), le moment de leur présentation (simultanément à l'apprentissage vs. en différé) et le niveau d'expertise des apprenants (experts vs. novices). Enfin, la troisième étude évaluait si un entraînement relativement long à l'utilisation des cartes conceptuelles permettait d'en faire un outil efficace pour améliorer l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation et l'apprentissage. Les résultats obtenus lors de ces trois études n'ont pas confirmé nos hypothèses relatives à l'efficacité des outils d'aide à l'auto-évaluation sur l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation. Les résultats montrent, cependant, que les participants auto-évaluaient avec plus d'exactitude des connaissances déclaratives que procédurales (Étude 1). Les résultats ont également répliqué, sur une tâche plus écologique, l'effet positif du niveau des connaissances antérieures dans le domaine d'apprentissage sur l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation, généralement démontré dans la littérature sur des tâches de laboratoire (Étude 2). Finalement, les résultats ont révélé que la durée de l'entraînement à la réalisation de cartes conceptuelles n'avait pas d'effet sur l'efficacité des cartes conceptuelles (Étude 3). La discussion de ces résultats est organisée autour de quatre points principaux. Une première partie revient sur la question de l'adaptation des outils d'aide à l'auto-évaluation au niveau d'expertise des apprenants. Une seconde partie traite de l'adéquation des outils d'aide à l'auto-évaluation avec le type de connaissances évaluées. Une troisième hypothèse se centre sur la nature de l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation mesurée, afin expliquer l'absence d'effet des outils d'aide à l'auto-évaluation testés. Finalement, le rôle des variables motivationnelles dans l'exactitude de l'auto-évaluation sera abordé comme une piste de travail pertinente. / Self-monitoring is a key metacognitive process in self-regulated learning. Decades of research, however, showed that learners are inaccurate in evaluating their own performance which led researchers to focus on understanding the self-monitoring process to ultimately improve self-monitoring accuracy. Most work on the topic was conducted in low ecological contexts and implied only easy (e.g., associative learning) or classical (i.e. comprehension of linear texts) learning tasks. The present thesis offers three studies that focused on self-monitoring in ecological contexts. These studies explored the efficiency of several self-monitoring tools on a learning task integrated in participant's school formation setting and took into account task and learner characteristics. The first study used several self-monitoring help tools jointly (prompts aimed to make the learner aware of the strategies is used and their relevance, and self-explanations) in order to improve self-monitoring accuracy about declarative and procedural knowledge. The second study explored concept maps as a self-monitoring tool and tested their effect on learning in different conditions. The experimental manipulations were presentation mode (construction vs. consultation), moment of presentation (simultaneously to learning vs. delayed) and learners' expertise level (experts vs. novices). Finally, the third study assessed whether a long training to concept maps use was efficient enough to make this tool a relevant one to improve self-monitoring accuracy and learning. Results of the three studies did not confirm our hypothesis about self-monitoring tools efficiency on self-monitoring accuracy in a subsequent task. Results, however, showed that participants were more accurate when they evaluated declarative knowledge than procedural knowledge (Study 1). They also replicate, in a more ecological task, the positive effect of prior knowledge level about the target learning content on self-monitoring accuracy traditionally highlighted in the literature relying on laboratory learning task (Study 2). Finally, the training duration to use concept maps did not affect concept map efficiency (Study 3). Discussion of the present findings is centered on four main points. A first point discusses the suitability of self-monitoring tools as a function of learners' level of expertise. A second line of discussion deals with the adequacy between self-monitoring tools and the nature of knowledge which is evaluated. A third hypothesis regards the nature of self-monitoring accuracy which was measured, in order to explain the absence of effect of the self-monitoring tools we tested. Finally, the role of motivational variables surrounding self-monitoring accuracy is discussed as a compelling avenue.

O processo que envolve o ensino e a aprendizagem de Ciências, em especial a Química, constitui o foco central desta pesquisa participante de abordagem qualitativa. Partimos do pressuposto defendido por Joseph Novak de que os aspectos cognitivos, afetivos e psicomotores exercem influência positiva ou negativa junto aos estudantes e professores envolvidos em situações de ensino e aprendizagem. Material potencialmente significativo, subsunçores estáveis e disponíveis na estrutura cognitiva dos estudantes e predisposição para aprender são pré-requisitos essenciais para promover a aprendizagem significativa, segundo Ausubel e seus colaboradores. A escola de educação básica reproduz currículos que são constituídos, geralmente, de um corpo de conhecimentos escolares, pautados em conhecimentos científicos e com pouca ou nenhuma relação com os saberes cotidianos presentes na vida dos estudantes, que, muitas vezes, não compreendem a razão que subjaz à aprendizagem desses conhecimentos. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar se uma metodologia de ensino que emprega saberes populares e mapas conceituais pode facilitar a aprendizagem significativa de conceitos químicos junto a estudantes do ensino médio de uma escola pública. Para tanto, uma Unidade de Ensino Potencialmente Significativa (UEPS), conforme modelo definido por Marco Antonio Moreira, foi elaborada e desenvolvida, tendo como fio condutor a realização de uma atividade prática com moradores da comunidade escolar, detentores do saber popular da produção de queijo. Durante o desenvolvimento da UEPS, foram coletados os dados na forma de questionário (pré-teste e pós-teste), atividades experimentais, avaliação individual escrita e mapas conceituais. A análise desses dados visou à identificação de possíveis indícios de aprendizagem significativa, considerando conjuntamente os conhecimentos escolares e os saberes populares, contemplando o modelo de ecologia de saberes proposto por Boaventura de Sousa Santos. A avaliação da aprendizagem ocorreu por meio da análise interpretativa qualitativa para verificar a ampliação dos subsunçores identificados na estrutura cognitiva, a evolução da compreensão dos conceitos estudados e a assimilação de novos conceitos. Os mapas conceituais foram analisados por meio de categorias relacionadas à estrutura do mapa conceitual e à categoria de conceitos de Cinética Química. Os estudantes, professoras e detentores do saber popular foram entrevistados para avaliar a metodologia de ensino adotada no desenvolvimento da pesquisa. A Análise Textual Discursiva (ATD) de Moraes e Galiazzi foi adotada como metodologia de análise, temas e categorias a priori e emergentes foram estabelecidas a partir dos dados coletados. Os resultados indicam que os saberes populares e os mapas conceituais são eficazes para o processo de ensino e aprendizagem em Química. Os mapas conceituais são excelentes recursos para diagnosticar e acompanhar o processo de aprendizagem dos estudantes. Nesta pesquisa, mostrou ser eficiente para sistematizar os conhecimentos do saber popular sobre a produção de queijo e também para verificar a aprendizagem do corpo de conhecimentos estudados ao final do desenvolvimento da UEPS. O saber popular influenciou ainda na predisposição em aprender. Segundo os estudantes e a professora, os detentores desse saber sentiram-se valorizados pela comunidade escolar e pela universidade ao participarem da atividade, disseminando seus saberes. O modelo de pesquisa colaborativa atendeu aos objetivos de integrar escola, universidade e comunidade no processo de ensino e aprendizagem. / The process involving the teaching and learning of Sciences, especially Chemistry, is the central focus of this qualitative research. We start from the assumption made by Joseph Novak that cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects exert a positive or a negative influence on students and teachers involved in teaching and learning situations. Potentially meaningful material, stable subsumption available in students' cognitive structure and willingness to learn are essential prerequisites for promoting meaningful learning, according to Ausubel and his colleagues. Elementary schools reproduce curricula that are generally composed of a body of school knowledge, based on scientific knowledge and with little or no relation to the everyday knowledge present in the students' lives, who often do not understand the reason why they are supposed to learn such content. This study aims to investigate whether a teaching methodology that employs popular knowledge and concept maps can facilitate the meaningful learning of chemical concepts among high school students of a public school. For this purpose, a Potentially Meaningful Teaching Unit (PMTU), as defined by Marco Antonio Moreira, was elaborated and developed, having as its common thread a practical activity with residents of the school community who have the popular knowledge of cheese production. During the development of the PMTU, data were collected through a questionnaire (pre-test and post-test), experimental activities, an individual written evaluation and concept maps. By analysing these data, we intended to identify possible signs of meaningful learning, considering school knowledge and popular knowledge all together, contemplating the ecology of knowledges proposed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The evaluation of learning occurred through interpretive qualitative analysis in order to verify the expansion of the subsumption identified in the cognitive structure, the evolution of the understanding of the concepts studied and the assimilation of new concepts. The concept maps were analysed through categories related to the concept map structure and to the category of chemical kinetics concepts. Students, teachers and holders of popular knowledge were interviewed so that they could evaluate the teaching methodology used in the development of the research. Moraes and Galiazzi's Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA) was adopted as an analysis methodology, and a priori and emerging themes and categories were established based on the collected data. The results indicate that popular knowledge and concept maps are effective for the teaching and learning process in Chemistry. Concept maps are excellent resources for diagnosing and tracking the learning process of students. In this research, they proved to be an efficient way to systematise the knowledge of cheese production and also to verify the learning of the body of knowledge studied at the end of the PMTU development. Moreover, popular knowledge influenced the willingness to learn. According to the students and the teacher, the holders of this knowledge felt valued by the school community and the university as they participated in the activity, disseminating their knowledge. The collaborative research model met the objective of integrating school, university and community into the teaching and learning process.

Diploma thesis "Free concept maps in social research" deals with the possibility of using the free concept map technique in social research. To cope with this question, the author defines three domains of examination. The first one addresses the theoretical background of the research technique along with it's evolution from it's precursor - the mental models. Terminology used in literature and also later in the thesis will also be introduced within this domain.The second domain is dedicated to the introduction of our research, which used the free concept maps as a research tool. The analysis of data and their interpretations will pose as one of the conditions for the third domain - the comparison of the free concept map technique with the social survey technique. Research reports with a similar topics as the one we studied, the motivation od students to apply to university, will be used for comparison. Both techniques will be compared on the basis of in-advance prepared factors defined on the the basis of individual characteristics of each method. The outcome of the paper has the form of summary and critical analysis of the method.

This action research study investigated the feasibility of a novice teacher using concept maps as assessments in secondary science classes. The subjects in this study were the researcher, a novice pre-service science teacher, and students (n=35) in two classes of mixed-grade Foundations in Physics and Chemistry. This study tracked student and teacher experiences over an instructional unit in astronomy. All students received a 50-minute lesson on concept mapping, one class received three additional concept mapping lessons during the unit, then all students took a unit test with a paired short answer and concept map question. Student surveys were conducted to gather student feedback, and teacher reflective journaling was used to track teacher data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that the extra concept mapping lessons did not result in higher scores on the concept maps or the paired short answer responses. The teacher journaling revealed that using concept mapping as an assessment tool was possible for a novice teacher. Advantages and barriers were identified.

The purpose of this study was to determine what difference, if any, exists between the implementation and use of Thinking Maps® and students' academic achievement in Reading and Mathematics as measured over time by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT). Thinking Maps® is a registered trademark of Thinking Maps, Inc. The data were examined after three years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. The design of this study was quantitative, with a nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002) that examined the effects on student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in one middle school that implemented Thinking Maps® throughout all grade levels and core subjects for three years as compared to student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in a second middle school that did not implement the Thinking Maps® program throughout all grade levels and core subjects for three years. MANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to examine student FCAT scores. This study focused on one major question: Do students who have been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps® have higher academic achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) than those that have not been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps®? Results of this study indicated that students who have been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps® do not have higher academic achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) than those who have not been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps®. The researcher concluded that other methods of evaluating the implementation of Thinking Maps® and student achievement should be explored.

The main question of this study was: How and in what way can a multimodal semiotic visual analysis model be developed and used for contributing to the analysis and understanding of the manner in which the Men’s Health (South Africa) magazine – as a case study – represents and constructs masculinities in South Africa? The following three subsidiary research questions were formulated to address this topic: • What is the literature revealing with reference to the media as producers of meaning in relation to masculinity and visual texts? • How and in which way can a semiotic visual analysis multimodal model be developed with the purpose of contributing to the analysis of visual texts? • What is the outcome of the visual analysis multimodal model with reference to the case study about the representation and construction of masculinities in visual texts in MH? The first aim of this research was to establish an overview of masculinities and to explore the visual representation of masculinity with reference to mediation, reality, and ideology in the media. With reference to the media as producers of meaning in relation to masculinity and visual texts, a semiotic visual analysis and social semiotics were used to unpack culture as a site of the production of meanings. The media is one of the main sources from which men receive their entertainment and information about the world. In this sense, the media makes sense of the world. Mass media plays a key role in discourse and constructing the relationships between reality and ideology. During this construction, the media reflects on existing opinions and attitudes in society. A quantitative content analysis and a qualitative semiotic multimodal visual analysis were conducted on 27 visual texts purposively selected from MH to include editions from July 2010 to June 2011. This population covered 12 front covers, 12 editorials and three flip covers. The developed visual multimodal model was tested qualitatively on nine visual texts since these texts included the front covers, flip covers and editorials of the three editions with flip covers. v A second major aim of the study was to establish the way in which a semiotic visual analysis multimodal model needed to be developed and used for analysing visual texts, as well as for analysing the visual texts according to the multimodal model in order to understand how the multimodality and social semiotic resources were applied in MH to represent and construct masculinities. The rationale for the development and design of this model was based on the premise that a basic understanding of semiotics and visual language was needed. Without such an understanding, the vast amounts of visual messages that confront the reader would remain incomprehensible. Consequently, a productive dialogue in relation to visual communication cannot take place. The multimodal model developed in this thesis highlights visual text layout, in conjunction with language-in-use, that does not occur in isolation and that is deeply reliant on other forms of making meaning. The heptagon multimodal model consists of concept maps of the six functions of the designed hexagon model. This multimodality approach includes analysing simultaneously occurring semiotics and their various roles in conjunction with detailed, all-inclusive discourses. In the quantitative content analysis and the qualitative multimodal semiotic analysis, the six components of the developed heptagon model (visual grammar, positioning, typography, colour, modality, and iconography) are illustrated. The quantitative research supported the main research design, i.e. the qualitative multimodal semiotic analysis. It is envisaged that the development and construction of a multimodal semiotic model will make a contribution to the scholarly field of semiotic analysis. By discussing the fluidity of the variations of masculinities and male identities, by giving a brief overview of the role of the media in constructing masculinities, and by focusing on the discourses that took place in MH, the researcher creates an awareness of the inherited patriarchal masculinities by recommending envisioned masculinities to be inclusive as a component of the solution. This approach is illustrated by the use and findings of the multimodal semiotic visual analysis. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et. Phil

<p>The driving force of conducting the two studies presented in this thesis is to examine ways that conceptual understanding and problem solving could be part of mathematics teaching, and through that, part of students' mathematical knowledge. The specific aims of the thesis are: 1) to characterize the classroom discourse of two, apparently similar, problem solving courses in teacher education and 2) to discuss the possibilities of developing two analytical approaches - the communicational approach to cognition and the dialogical approach - used for studying mathematical discourse. The two aims are elaborated on by means of data collected through audiotaped recordings and field notes from observations of problem-solving activities in engineering and teacher education. In relation to the first aim, the analysis of the classroom discourse within the two courses makes it clear that both courses displayed different kinds of discourse that could be broadly categorized in terms of: subject-oriented, didactically oriented, and problem solving oriented discourses. However, the comparisons between the two courses reveal a marked difference in the distribution of these categories of discourse. It is suggested that the introduction of explicit conceptual frameworks in teaching is of crucial importance for the topical focus of the classroom discourse, and for prospective teachers' opportunity to engage in mathematical productive discourse. The analyses of the two approaches for studying mathematical discourse reveal that the two frameworks can be further developed and the study also indicates ways in which such development can be achieved using a theory of contextualization and theories of mathematical learning. Finally, the thesis discusses theoretical and practical implications of the results, foregrounding issues of importance for the research on mathematical discourse, and for teachers and teacher educators involved in designing instructions for mathematical problem solving.</p>

Os mapas conceituais (MCs) são úteis para representar o conhecimento dos alunos e promover a aprendizagem significativa. A análise detalhada de mapas conceituais pode revelar informações latentes que não são percebidas a partir da mera leitura do seu conjunto de proposições. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo propor a análise de vizinhança (AViz) como uma forma inovadora de analisar os MCs obtidos em sala de aula. A seleção de um conceito obrigatório (CO) permite verificar como os alunos o relaciona com outros conceitos, que são denominados conceitos vizinhos (CVs). MCs (n=69) sobre as mudanças climáticas formam o primeiro conjunto de dados empíricos que ratifica o potencial da AViz. O CO selecionado foi dispersão, a fim de analisar se os alunos conseguem relacioná-lo com o caráter global desse problema ambiental. Os padrões identificados a partir da AViz sugerem que, apesar de serem submetidos a uma mesma sequência didática, nem todos os alunos conseguiram utilizar o CO de forma adequada. Isso pode ser explicado a partir da Teoria da Aprendizagem Significativa de David Ausubel, que destaca o papel fundamental dos conhecimentos prévios no processo de assimilação de novas informações. / Concept maps (CMs) are useful to represent students\' knowledge and to promote meaningful learning. The deep analysis of concept maps may reveal latent information that is not perceived from the simple reading of its propositional network. This work proposes the Neighborhood Analysis (NeAn) as an innovative way to analyze the CMs obtained in classrooms. The selection of a compulsory concept (CC) allows teachers to evaluate how the students relate it to other concepts, named neighbors (NCs). CMs (n=69) on climate change are the first set of empirical data that confirms the potential of NeAn. Dispersion was selected as CC in order to check whether students can relate it with the global perspective of this environmental problem. The patterns found from the NeAn suggest that, despite being exposed to the same didactic activities, some students could not use the CC properly. This may be explained from David Ausubel\'s learning theory, which stresses the critical role of prior knowledge in the assimilation process of new information.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:59:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Ricardo Magalhaes.pdf: 4819283 bytes, checksum: 888639abe4556338e346740cb03aff14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-12-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The purpose of this thesis was to analyze if the cognitive work generated by the use f concept maps helps the development of metacognitive strategies by the students. Particularly, this essay analyzed how the students entering a course in Computer Sciences mobilize metacognitive strategies while using digital concept maps. Thus, this research intended to answer the following question: To what measure the concept digital maps can become instruments to help the metacognitive development of the students while studying mathematical functions? As a methodology, the presumptions of Didactic Engineering by Artigue (1996) were used. The theoretical panel for research was based on the Theory of Didactical Situations by Brousseau (2008) for the elaboration of the activities, in the studies about metacognition and the metacognitive strategies treated by Flavell (1999), and in the studies of the concept maps by Novak (1984) and Moreira (2006). The activities related to the content of the affine function were developed in a computerized environment with situations chosen that benefited the investigation by the student. The data analysis collected in the experience enabled to state that the use of the digital concept maps together with the Theory of Didactical Situations allowed the students to mobilize metacognitive strategies in the building of these maps. The results indicate that metacognition is used in the creation moments of a concept map, and that, the reflexive and regulatory characteristics that the metacognitive strategies enable the student might influence positively in the learning process / Esta tese teve como objetivo analisar se o trabalho cognitivo gerado pela utilização de mapas conceituais alavanca o desenvolvimento de estratégias metacognitivas dos estudantes. Em particular, este trabalho analisou como os estudantes ingressantes em um curso de Ciência da Computação mobilizam estratégias metacognitivas ao utilizar mapas conceituais digitais. Assim, esta pesquisa pretendeu responder à seguinte questão: Em que medida os mapas conceituais digitais podem se tornar instrumentos para alavancar o desenvolvimento metacognitivo dos estudantes quando estudam funções matemáticas? Como metodologia, usou-se os pressupostos da Engenharia Didática de Artigue (1996). O quadro teórico da pesquisa baseou-se na Teoria das Situações Didáticas de Brousseau (2008) para a elaboração das atividades, nos estudos sobre metacognição e estratégias metacognitivas tratados por Flavell (1999), e nos estudos dos mapas conceituais de Novak (1984) e Moreira (2006). As atividades relativas ao conteúdo de função afim foram desenvolvidas em um ambiente informático com situações escolhidas que primavam a investigação por parte do estudante. A análise dos dados colhidos na experimentação possibilitou afirmar que o uso dos mapas conceituais digitais em conjunto com a Teoria das Situações Didáticas permitiu que os alunos mobilizassem estratégias metacognitivas na construção desses mapas. Os resultados alavancados indicam que a metacognição é utilizada nos momentos de criação de um mapa conceitual, e que, as características reflexivas e regulatórias que as estratégias metacognitivas proporcionam ao estudante podem influenciar positivamente no processo de aprendizagem

Os mapas conceituais (MCs) são úteis para representar o conhecimento dos alunos e promover a aprendizagem significativa. A análise detalhada de mapas conceituais pode revelar informações latentes que não são percebidas a partir da mera leitura do seu conjunto de proposições. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo propor a análise de vizinhança (AViz) como uma forma inovadora de analisar os MCs obtidos em sala de aula. A seleção de um conceito obrigatório (CO) permite verificar como os alunos o relaciona com outros conceitos, que são denominados conceitos vizinhos (CVs). MCs (n=69) sobre as mudanças climáticas formam o primeiro conjunto de dados empíricos que ratifica o potencial da AViz. O CO selecionado foi dispersão, a fim de analisar se os alunos conseguem relacioná-lo com o caráter global desse problema ambiental. Os padrões identificados a partir da AViz sugerem que, apesar de serem submetidos a uma mesma sequência didática, nem todos os alunos conseguiram utilizar o CO de forma adequada. Isso pode ser explicado a partir da Teoria da Aprendizagem Significativa de David Ausubel, que destaca o papel fundamental dos conhecimentos prévios no processo de assimilação de novas informações. / Concept maps (CMs) are useful to represent students\' knowledge and to promote meaningful learning. The deep analysis of concept maps may reveal latent information that is not perceived from the simple reading of its propositional network. This work proposes the Neighborhood Analysis (NeAn) as an innovative way to analyze the CMs obtained in classrooms. The selection of a compulsory concept (CC) allows teachers to evaluate how the students relate it to other concepts, named neighbors (NCs). CMs (n=69) on climate change are the first set of empirical data that confirms the potential of NeAn. Dispersion was selected as CC in order to check whether students can relate it with the global perspective of this environmental problem. The patterns found from the NeAn suggest that, despite being exposed to the same didactic activities, some students could not use the CC properly. This may be explained from David Ausubel\'s learning theory, which stresses the critical role of prior knowledge in the assimilation process of new information.