Using Knowledge Construction Theory to Evaluate Learning Processes: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Showing Gradually Built-up Concept Maps Alongside a Scientific Text

Scientific texts convey new and complex information relevant not only to researchers but also to lay audiences. We present a randomized controlled trial that investigated whether showing a concept map, gradually building up as a user reads a scientific text, supports the cognitive processes of knowledge construction. The intervention group (n = 44) exhibited significantly more knowledge construction [t(89) = 1.94, p = .029, d = 0.41] than the control group (n = 47). The intervention supported basic knowledge construction, i.e., simple processing of information, but not medium and complex levels. This study makes two contributions: (1) showing interactive concept maps and building them up gradually alongside reading helps make scientific texts cognitively more accessible to a lay audience, e.g., to inform public debate, and (2) knowledge construction theory can be used as a theoretical foundation for measuring specific aspects of learning processes—complementing other metrics for comparative design examinations, e.g., usability, user experience, or performance-based measures.

科学文献传递了不仅对研究人员，也对普通受众而言新颖且复杂的知识。本研究呈现了一项随机对照试验，旨在探讨在阅读科学文献的过程中，逐步展示概念图是否能够支持知识构建的认知过程。干预组（n=44）在知识构建方面显著优于对照组（n=47），[t(89)=1.94, p=0.029, d=0.41]。干预措施支持基本知识构建，即信息的简单处理，但未涉及中等和复杂层次。本研究的两大贡献包括：（1）通过展示交互式概念图并在阅读过程中逐步构建，有助于使科学文献对普通受众在认知上更为易于理解，例如，为公众辩论提供信息；（2）知识构建理论可以作为衡量学习过程特定方面的理论基石，从而补充其他比较设计评估的指标，例如，可用性、用户体验或基于性能的度量。