The Cognitive Effects of Computer Learning Environments

The potential cognitive consequences of computers in education are just starting to emerge. The power and capabilities of computers change rapidly. Researchers often working with outmoded computer learning environments have just begun to catalog and analyze the activities that occur in these situations. There is clear agreement that computers can help students learn to solve problems and that computers might help to ameliorate the dearth of problem-solving activities in classrooms. A useful way to think about the potential advantages of the computer learning environments is in terms of a chain of cognitive accomplishments culminating in problem-solving skill. Such a chain can be identified and used to assess instruction using computers for programming, simulations, and tools such as spreadsheets. The chain emphasizes the need for students to learn templates or stereotypic sequences of actions for solving problems. It also makes clear that planning and testing are central components of problem solving. The articles in this issue illustrate how far along the chain students in typical computer learning environments progress. They offer conjectures about why students fail to proceed further and suggestions about how the situation can be improved.