charles johnston’s scientific contributions

Mental models have long been considered an important enabler of cognitive performance and a key to understanding educational progress. Yet assessing mental models using straightforward, valid, reliable, and efficient methods remains an elusive challenge. Research suggests that concept mapping holds the promise of the direct analysis of mental models. We stress mapping to emphasize a goal of assessing a dynamic thing (mental models) through the use of a process (concept mapping). Our supposition is that concept mapping-based methods can be used to assess mental models. However, the practicality and feasibility of conducting concept mapping-based assessment (CMA) has to date stifled widespread application of the approaches. To meet this challenge, we have developed a system, Sero!, that implements a robust CMA process in a cloud-based platform. This paper presents an overview and advantages of mental model assessment, a rationale in support of the use of CMA, our development of Sero!, and makes a case for the use of Sero!’s specific instantiation of a CMA as a scalable approach that can support many applications in the assessment of mental models. A demonstration of the implementation in a large training event is presented to bolster the case.

After nearly two decades of knowledge preservation activity, relatively little work has explored the organizational use of Concept Maps elicited from experts. This paper describes an attempt to get back to the roots of Concept Mapping as a means of both representing and evaluating knowledge, in the context of professional work. It describes a pilot project in which the authors used Concept Mapping to elicit and represent knowledge from domain experts, then demonstrated the use of Concept Maps for assessing the mental models of other professionals. The authors introduce Sero! – a prototype Concept Map-based learning assessment platform, and a general model for the organizational use of Concept Mapping and Concept Maps.