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Domain Knowledge, Cognitive Styles and Problem-Solving: A Qualitative Study of Student Approaches to Logo Programming
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Karen Swan
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State University of New York at Albany
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<center> <b>Abstract
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<blockquote>This article describes a qualitative study of the problem-solving strategies used by l l fourth- and fifth-grade students in solving simple Logo programming problems, and of relationships between those strategies and students' domain knowledge and cognitive styles. The study employed a modified clinical interview methodology that integrated talk-aloud protocols with transcripts of the programming commands students used in solving the problems to examine such relationships in light of both developmental and dispositional explanations of differences in problem-solving behaviors. Findings support the existence of a diversity of cognitive styles, at least among the age-group studied. The findings also relate cognitive styles to problem-solving strategies and suggest a knowledge-based explanation for differences in problem-solving behaviors. The results of the study demonstrate the efficacy of the methodology employed.
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<TABLE border=5 noshade> <TR><TD><font size=+2><B><Center>TABLE OF CONTENTS</center></B></font>
<TR><TD><LI><a href="l2bgrd.html"> <img align="middle" src="bg.gif" height=75 width=90> <B><font size=+1> Background </font></B></a></LI>
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<LI><a href="method.html"><img align="middle" src="comp.gif" height=75 width=90><B> <font size=+1> Methodology</font></B></a></LI>
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<LI><a href="anal.html"><img align="middle" src="look.gif" height=75 width=90><B> <font size=+1> Analyses</font></B></a></LI>
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<LI><a href="result.html"><img align="middle" src="graph.gif" height=75 width=90><B> <font size=+1> Results</font></B></a></LI>
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<LI><a href="conclusion.html"><img align="middle" src="comments.gif" height=75 width=90><B> <font size=+1> Conclusions</font></B></a></LI>
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<LI><a href="lreference.html"><img align="middle" src="books.gif" height=75 width=90><B> <font size=+1>References</font></B></a></LI>
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