Comparison of Content Structure and Cognitive Structure in High School Students' Learning of Probability

The learning of the structure of elementary probability was investigated. High school students ( N = 34) were assigned randomly to read either probability (experimental group) or negative number bases (control group). The structure of the probability material was represented by a directed graph that produced an interpretable map of the content structure. Cognitive structures were examined using a word association technique. The experimental students learned and retained a significant portion of the probability structure but the control students did not. A comparison of word association, achievement, and attitude data indicated that the learning of structure developed somewhat independently from learning to solve problems.