Peter Cheng

• Doctor of Philosophy
• University of Sussex

In this paper we introduce MaRE, a tool designed to generate representations in multiple modalities for a given mathematical problem while ensuring the correctness and interpretability of the transformations between different representations. The theoretical foundation for this tool is Representational Systems Theory (RST), a mathematical framework...

Existing data visualization design guidelines focus primarily onconstructing grammatically-correct visualizations that faithfullyconvey the values and relationships in the underlying data. However,a designer may create a grammatically-correct visualizationthat still leaves audiences susceptible to reasoning misleaders, e.g.by failing to normalize d...

The possibility of ideography is an empirical question. Prior examples of graphic codes do not provide compelling evidence for the infeasibility of ideography, because they fail to satisfy essential cognitive requirements that have only recently been revealed by studies of representational systems in cognitive science. Design criteria derived from...

Competence Assessment by Chunk Hierarchy Evaluation with Transcription-tasks (CACHET) was proposed by Cheng [14]. It analyses micro-behaviors captured during cycles of stimulus viewing and copying in order to probe chunk structures in memory. This study extends CACHET by applying it to the domain of graphs and charts. Since drawing strategies are d...

Access control (AC) tools implement security policies for controlling access to various assets, including file systems, physical resources, and social media posts. They are also used as pedagogical tools for exploring and understanding intricate details of complex security policies. However, current tools are not developed based on the actual needs...

A cognitive theory of the interpretive structure of visual representations (RIST) was proposed by Cheng (2020), which identified four classes of schemas that specify how domain concepts are encoded by graphical objects. A notation (RISN) for building RIST models as networks of these schemas was also introduced. This paper introduces common RIST/RIS...

The study of representations is of fundamental importance to any form of communication, and our ability to exploit them effectively is paramount. This article presents a novel theory -- Representational Systems Theory -- that is designed to abstractly encode a wide variety of representations from three core perspectives: syntax, entailment, and the...

This paper presents a preliminary study into the spatial features that can be used to distinguish creativity andefficiency in design layouts, and the distinct pattern of cognitive and metacognitive activity that is associated with creative design. In a design experiment, a group of 12 architects were handed a design brief. Their drawing activity wa...

Choosing how to represent knowledge effectively is a long-standing open problem. Cognitive science has shed light on the taxonomisation of representational systems from the perspective of cognitive processes, but a similar analysis is absent from the perspective of problem solving, where the representations are employed. In this paper we review how...

We present a framework for assessing the relative cognitive cost of different representational systems for problem solving. The framework consists of 13 cognitive properties. These properties are mapped according to two dimensions: (1) the time scale of the cognitive process, and (2) the granularity of the representational system. The work includes...

New methods for the assessment of drawing strategies are examined that focus on the analysis of perceptual chunking. The methods are demonstrated with four diverse participants as they copied a line-graph and a bar-chart. Video recordings of the transcriptions were analysed stroke by stroke. Diverse global drawing strategies were used for the line...

Are perceptual chunks in memory central to the process of drawing? This study adopts a simple transcription drawing task in which patterns of dots are viewed and reproduced. Data from two experiments (Haladjian & Mathy, 2015) are re-analysed for evidence of chunking. Chunking was evident with long stimuli exposure time but not short (≤200 ms). With...

To achieve efficient human computer collaboration, computers need to be able to represent information in ways that humans can understand. Picking a good representation is critical for effective communication and human learning, especially on technical topics. To select representations appropriately, AI systems must have some understanding of how hu...

A structural theory of visual representations and an accompanying modelling notation are outlined. The theory identifies three types of fundamental representational components, specified as cognitive schemas, that span internal mental and external physical aspects of representations. The structure of diverse and complex example representations are...

Choosing effective representations for a problem and for the person solving it has benefits, including the ability or inability to solve it. We previously devised a novel framework consisting of a language to describe representations and computational methods to analyse them in terms of their formal and cognitive properties. In this paper we demons...

Truth diagrams (TDs) are introduced as a novel graphical representation for propositional logic (PL). To demonstrate their epistemic efficacy a set of 28 concepts are proposed that any comprehensive representation for PL should encompass. TDs address all the criteria whereas seven other existing representations for PL only provide partial coverage....

The study of haptic perception and cognition requires data about how humans interact with tactile surfaces in the context of performing cognitive tasks. MIDAS is a set of three tools for the digital capture, coding, analysis, and interpretation of time-series, multitouch, interactive behaviors on a tactile surface. The MIDAS-logger uses the current...

We present a novel framework for inspecting representations and encoding their formal properties. This enables us to assess and compare the informational and cognitive value of different representations for reasoning. The purpose of our framework is to automate the process of representation selection, taking into account the candidate representatio...

Individual differences in the strategies that control sequential behavior were investigated in an experiment in which participants memorized sentences and then wrote them by hand, in a non‐cursive style. Thirty‐two participants each wrote eight sentences, which had hierarchical structures with five levels. The dataset included over 31,000 letters....

Traditional quantitative research methods of data collection in programming, such as questionnaires and interviews, are the most common approaches for researchers in this field. However, in recent years, eye-tracking has been on the rise as a new method of collecting evidence of visual attention and the cognitive process of programmers. Eye-trackin...

I certify that the information on this cover sheet is correct. I certify that the content of this dissertation is my own work, and that my work contains no examples of misconduct such as plagiarism, collusion, or fabrication of results. Candidate's signature ………………………………………………………………. 2 An empirical study to develop mental models for the functionali...

The widely demonstrated ability of humans to deal with multiple representations of information has a number of important implications for a proposed standard model of the mind (SMM). In this paper we outline four and argue that a SMM must incorporate (a) multiple representational formats and (b) meta-cognitive processes that operate on them. We the...

This paper presents a taxonomy of 19 cognitive criteria for judging what constitutes effective representational systems, particularly for knowledge rich topics. Two classes of cognitive criteria are discussed. The first concerns access to concepts by reading and making inferences from external representations. The second class addresses the generat...

In the fields of artificial intelligence and cognitive science, computational models of scientific discovery have been implemented in computer programs to support the making of scientific discoveries and investigate the nature of the creative processes of discovery. Over the past four decades, computational models and tools have been created to mod...

The study investigated the effects of chunking and perceptual patterns that guide the drawings of Rey complex figure. Ten adult participants (M age = 22.2 yr., SD = 4.1) reproduced a single stimulus in four drawing modes including delayed recall, tracing, copying, and immediate recall across 10 sessions producing a total of 400 trials. It was hypot...

In the fields of artificial intelligence and cognitive science, computational models of scientific discovery have been implemented in computer programs to support the making of scientific discoveries and investigate the nature of the creative processes of discovery. Over the past four decades, computational models and tools have been created to mod...

How can knowledge acquisition, modeling, problem solving, and discovery be facilitated in domains where systems involve complex, heterogeneous, and multi-scale processes? This paper presents the conceptual developments of a research program that aims to support higher-level cognition in such demanding contexts. These process domains present a major...

Five notations for standard and multi-premise syllogisms are examined. Four are existing notations (verbal propositions, Euler diagrams, Venn diagrams and Englebretsen's Linear diagrams) and one a novel diagrammatic system – Category Pattern Diagrams (CPDs). CPDs integrate spatial location, linear ordering and properties of graphical objects in a c...

This research is aimed at evaluating the usability of notational systems that are used for specifying programs. We provide a conceptual analysis of the development of constraint diagrams (CD) as a diagrammatic notation which developed to support program specification. A detailed analysis of multi-case comparisons of formal languages and graphical s...

An empirical evaluation of constraint diagrams (CD) as a program specification language is conducted by comparing it to natural language (NL) with computer science students included two experiments, one on the interpretation of CD to evaluate the comprehension of notational system, and the other on the construction of program specifications. The fi...

A diagrammatic notation for algebra is presented - Hierarchical Algebra Network Diagrams, HANDi. The notation uses a 2D network notation with systematically designed icons to explicitly and coherently encode the fundamental concepts of algebra. The structure of the diagrams is described and the rules for making derivations are presented. The key de...

Truth Diagrams, TDs, are a new diagrammatic notation for propositional logic. TDs provide: (1) representations of logical states of affairs and relations; (2) operators on such relations; (3) a test of the validity of derivations. A proof of one of de Morgan's laws is given as an illustration of TDs.

The representational epistemic approach to the design of visual displays and notation systems advocates encoding the fundamental conceptual structure of a knowledge domain directly in the structure of a representational system. It is claimed that representations so designed will benefit from greater semantic transparency, which enhances comprehensi...

Constraint diagrams [1, 2] constitute a graphical notation for program specification. This paper presents an experiment that compares the efficacy of constraint diagrams (CD) with natural language (NL) for understanding program specification statements. In a web-based competition 33 participants were given training either on CD notation or equivale...

An assumption behind much work on the use of tangibles for learning is that there are benefits related to the physical manipulation of materials. However, previous work that has shown learning benefits of using physical materials often hasn’t adequately controlled for the covariates of physicality. In this paper, we describe a study where we compar...

REpresentational EPistemic Interface Design (REEP-ID) advocates exploiting the abstract structure of a target domain as the foundation for building cohesive diagrammatic representations. Previous research explored the application of this approach to the display and optimisation of solutions to complex, data rich, real world problems with promising...

This paper describes the initial work in a program of research that aims to create diagrammatic tools for the modeling and discovery of an extremely challenging domain: Complex multi-dynamic (CMD) processes. Diagrams play a central role in the approach because they provide a range of representational, cognitive and computational properties that may...

The article considers a perspective on token representation in diagrams and its relation to other properties typical of diagrammatic external representations (ERs). We distinguish between direct and indirect cognitive modes of token reference based on whether a referential attribute of ER tokens, represented by a cognitive system, is used as a surr...

Abstract Evidence is provided that the patterns of pauses that occur during the process of writing simple word phrases constitute a substantial temporal signal that reflects the structure of the chunks in working memory. This temporal signal is apparent in un-aggregated data for individual participants in single trials. Five and six word phrases, w...

The overall aim of the ROLLOUT project is to evaluate an approach to the design of user-centered information technology to support complex problem solving. Production planning and scheduling in bakeries has been chosen, because it presents many substantial and diverse challenges. This paper interprets them as requirements that tools to support bake...

The article considers the merits of a heuristic for the design of problem solving interfaces that focuses on capturing the relational structure of the system underlying the problem. We argue that this is a powerful and economical method that will tend to satisfy unspecified information requirements for a broad range of interpretive tasks. We descri...

The article discusses an application of the Representational Epistemology (REEP) approach to the development of a graphical interface for production planning and scheduling called ROLLOUT. The paper reports two studies conducted with bakery planning and scheduling professionals that focus on the cognitive support provided by ROLLOUT in reasoning ab...

Three semantic traits are considered central in the design of interfaces for scheduling: (1) expressive richness, (2) dependency constraints and (3) global homogeneity. These traits are exploited by diagrammatic representations that 'structurally integrate' systems of domain relations through analogous systems of diagrammatic relations. These trait...

In HCI research there is a body of work concerned with the development of systems capable of reasoning about users’ attention and how this might be most effectively guided for specific applications. We present eight issues relevant to this endeavour: What is attention? How can attention be measured? How do graphical displays interact with attention...

How should problem-solving representations for complex knowledge domains be designed? Traditional approaches typically address the problem of semantic complexity by designing systems that offer multiple and often heterogonous forms of representation. The REEP approach advocates structure preserving integration of the different classes and perspecti...

This research applied a cognitive model to identify item features that lead to irrelevant variance on the Test of Spoken English™ (TSE®). The TSE is an assessment of English oral proficiency and includes an item that elicits a description of a statistical graph. This item type sometimes appears to tap graph-reading skills—an irrelevant construct; T...

A pilot study was designed to investigate the plausibility of construing fictive motion from function lines in Cartesian graphs.Participants (n=18) were presented with a series of lines graphs and required to judge which of two lines of expressed the greatest rate of change in the value of Y.Some of the graphs had arrows pointing in a direction of...

By building computational models, Larkin and Simon (1987) showed that the effects of locational indexing give an explanation of ’Why a diagam is (sometimes) worth ten thousand words’, to quote the title of their seminal paper. This paper reports an experiment in which participants solved three versions of Larkin and Simon’s simple pulley system pro...

STARK-Roster is a novel diagrammatic interface for a complex rostering problem. It may overcome the problems caused by the inevitable visual complexity of interfaces for such a complex domain. It encodes the inherent conceptual structure of the personnel scheduling task using a globally coherent and transparent representational scheme. This furthe...

Part 1 of this paper (Cheng and Shipstone, International Journal of Science Education, 2003) described anew approach to the teaching of electric circuit theory using box and AVOW diagrams and discussedthe potential of the diagrams for supporting learning and problem solving. This, second paper presentsthe results of preliminary trials which suggest...

We have developed a novel diagrammatic approach for understanding and teaching probability theory — Probability Space diagrams [1]. Our studies of learning and instruction with Probability Space (PS) diagrams have demonstrated that they can significantly enhance students' conceptual understanding. This article illustrates the utility of PS diagrams...

We report an investigation into the processes involved in a common graph-reading task using two types of Cartesian graph. We describe an experiment and eye movement study, the results of which show that optimal scan paths assumed in the task analysis approximate the detailed sequences of saccades made by individuals. The research demonstrates the c...

A new approach to the teaching of electricity is described that uses box and AVOW diagrams, novel representations of the properties of the electric circuit which portray current, voltage, resistance and power. The diagrams have been developed as aids to learning, understanding and problem solving. They also have the potential to promote conceptual...

Six characteristics of effective representational systems for conceptual learning in complex domains have been identified. Such representations should: (1) integrate levels of abstraction; (2) combine globally homogeneous with locally heterogeneous representation of concepts; (3) integrate alternative perspectives of the domain; (4) support malleab...

This paper addresses the design of representational systems for complex knowledge rich problems, focussing on scheduling in particular. Multiple tables are ubiquitous in representations of schedule information, but they impose large cognitive demands and inhibit the comprehension of high- level patterns. The application and evaluation of representa...

An approach to the teaching of electricity is described which uses AVOW diagrams, a novel diagrammatic representation to visualize the laws of electricity. AVOW diagrams can help learners develop useful concepts and a more integrated understanding of electric circuit behavior than alternative teaching methods. In this study the practical potential...

Models of graph-based reasoning have typically accounted for the variation in problem solving performance with different graph types in terms of a task analysis of the problem relative to the particular visual properties of each graph type [e.g., Human Computer Interaction 8 (1993) 353; Proceedings of the Twenty-first Annual Conference of the Cogni...

Creating effective examination timetables in practice is a difficult task, and while automation can bring enormous benefits, it is still essential that a human expert can modify timetables and have input into their creation, to handle constraints, objectives and trade-offs between them which are unmodellable or which it is not economically feasible...

The development of automated examination and lecture scheduling systems currently available has tended to be concentrated upon the construction of a solution by automating the elimination of constraints by algorithmic means. The interface presented to the user often appears to be almost an afterthought. Little recognition is usually shown to the fa...

AVOW diagrams are a novel representational system for electricity. This chapter describes how the representation comprehensively covers many aspects that are essential to the full conceptualisation of this domain. AVOW diagrams provide a relatively homogeneous characterisation of diverse electrical components and give a uniform analysis of the diff...

In this paper we present a system for producing good examination timetables, by integrating the search capabilities of computer heuristics and the cognitive capabilities of timetabling users. We allow users to view and easily edit a cognitively manageable representation of each timetable, using the STARK (Semantically Transparent Approach to Repres...

We discuss the relation of TEC to a computational model of expert perception, CHREST, based on the chunking theory. TEC’s status as a verbal theory leaves several questions unanswerable, such as the precise nature of internal representations used, or the degree of learning required to obtain a particular level of competence: CHREST may help answer...

Pioneering work in the 1940s and 1950s suggested that the concept of 'chunking' might be important in many processes of perception, learning and cognition in humans and animals. We summarize here the major sources of evidence for chunking mechanisms, and consider how such mechanisms have been implemented in computational models of the learning proc...

discover laws found early in the history of solution chemistry, but also to explain, at an abstract level, the origins of other relations that scientists proposed and later rejected. Early discovery research also downplayed the role of diagrams, which occupy a central place in many aspects of science. For example, Huygens' and Wren's first presenta...

Cartesian graphs constitute an important class of knowledge representation devices. As part of a project on diagrammatic knowledge acquisition we have formulated principles that can underpin the construction, interpretation and use of Cartesian graphs in general and in the specific context of knowledge acquisition. Cartesian graphs are distinguishe...

Through a wide variety of approaches cognitive sciencehas given us various important insights into thenature of diagrammatic representations. This papersurveys the findings, issues and approaches todiagrammatic representations in cognitive science. Important current issues that are highlighted include:the relation between the parts of the represent...

Computational models of learning provide an alternative technique for identifying the number and type of chunks used by a subject in a specific task. Results from applying CHREST to chess expertise support the theoretical framework of Cowan and a limit in visual short-term memory capacity of 3-4 items. An application to learning from diagrams illus...

How students learn to use diagrammatic representations is an important topic in the design of effective representations for problem solving or conceptual learning, but few good models of their learning exist. In this paper, we explore the learning process with an experiment using AVOW diagrams as a representation for solving problems in electric ci...

This paper describes the underlying principles of a computer model, CHREST+, which learns to solve problems using diagrammatic representations. Although earlier work has determined that experts store domain-specific information within schemata, no substantive model has been proposed for learning such representations. We describe the different strat...

This paper describes the underlying principles of a computer model, CHREST+, which learns to solve problems using diagrammatic representations. Although earlier work has determined that experts store domain-specific information within schemata, no substantive model has been proposed for learning such representations. We describe the different strat...

This paper describes principles for representing and organising planning knowledge in a machine learning architecture. One of the difficulties with learning about tasks requiring planning is the utility problem: as more knowledge is acquired by the learner, the utilisation of that knowledge takes on a complexity which overwhelms the mechanisms of t...

The representational analysis and design project is investigating the critical role that representations have on conceptual learning in complex scientific and mathematical domains. The fundamental ideas are that the representations used for learning can substantially determine what is learnt and how easily this occurs, and that to improve conceptua...