TRAINING UNDERSTANDING OF RELATIVE MOTION: III. GEOGRAPHIC MODEL AND TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION.

Two groups of college students were initially trained in relative motion problem solution through demonstration and application of the relationship between motion on geographic and relative plots (conceptual model method). Two other groups of subjects received traditional formulabound instruction. Aptitude and plotting orientation (own ship vs. guide ship as reference) were also evaluated. No differences were found between the groups in accuracy of solutions achieved on drills involving change of station maneuvering problems administered immediately after initial training. Nine months later, however, those trained by the conceptual model method did better in making inferences concerning the relative motion of two ships from plots of actual geographic positions. Conceptual model training increased the solution speed of students who had high relative motion aptitude and decreased the speed of low aptitude students in comparison to their conventionally trained counterparts. No differences were found attributable to plotting orientation. The next step in this research program will be concerned with improving the conceptual model training method. (Author)