Cognitive Modelling for Psychology Students: An investigation of a visual approach to computer programming for non-programmers

1
Cognitive Modelling for Psychology Students An
investigation of a visual approach to computer
programming for non-programmers
Trevor Collins and Pat Fung Institute of
Educational Technology The Open University Milton
Keynes, UK
Email t.d.collins/p.fung_at_open.ac.uk WWW
http//iet.open.ac.uk/pp/t.d.collins/research/curr
ent/hank/
June 24th, 1999
CAL RG 20th Anniversary
2
Problem

• Programming by non-programmers
• Psychology students build computer-based models
  of cognitive psychology theories (typically in
  Prolog or Lisp)

3
Proposed Solution

• HANK - A visual programming language designed for
  psychologists based on principles taken from
• End-user programming
• Software visualization
• Psychology of programming
• (Mulholland and Watt, 1998)
• http//kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/hank/

4
HANK Language

• Fact cards represent factual knowledge

• Questions query knowledge

• Instruction cards represent procedural knowledge

5
HANK Environment
Program window
Control panel
Workspace view
6
Research Questions

• Does cognitive modelling improve peoples
  understanding of cognitive psychology?
• Does HANK facilitate non-programmers to build
  cognitive models?
• Derive a set of guiding principles to support the
  design of programming tools for non-programmers

7
Approach

• Programming and Educational Walkthroughs
• HANK and educational supporting materials (Bell
  et al., 1991) (Lewis et al., 1998)
• Cognitive Dimensions
• HANK (Green and Petre, 1996)
• Empirical Studies
• Students understanding of a cognitive theory,
  attitudes toward modelling and confidence in
  their understanding

8
Timetable
Computer-based Hank Modelling (Residential School)
Project Starts
Project Ends
OU Cognitive Psychology Course Starts
OU Cognitive Psychology Course Ends
Paper-based Hank Modelling
Programming and Educational Walkthroughs
Student Postal Questionnaire
Observational Studies
Pilot Study
Student Questionnaire
Student Telephone Interviews
Students Interviews
Tutorial Diaries from Residential Tutors
Interview Regional Tutors
CAL RG Conference
Nov 98
Jan 99
Mar 99
May 99
July 99
Sept 99
Nov 99 //
May 00
9
Outcomes

• Programming and Educational Walkthroughs
• Evaluation findings feedback into revised
• Introductory teaching material on cognitive
  modelling
• Recommended cognitive modelling projects
• Empirical Findings
• Pilot study Student questionnaires
• Validate theoretical evaluation and revisions
• CAL RG Technical Report No. 183