A class practice and its evaluation for understanding cognitive information processing by constructing computational cognitive models

When people understand an object, they construct a mental model of the object. A mental model is a structural, behavioral, or functional analog representation of a real-world or imaginary situation, event, or process. We conducted a class practice in which newcomers to cognitive science constructed a mental model by implementing and simulating a computational model of cognitive information processing, i.e., a cognitive model. We quantitatively evaluated the learning outcomes of the class. The participants were required to implement a complete cognitive model of subtraction processing. Furthermore, they were required to implement bug models, which are cognitive models with bug rules that cause several types of errors. Pre- and post-tests were performed before and after implementing and using these models, respectively. The results indicate that the class intervention led to the increase of the number of the participants who constructed the correct mental model and promoted more accurate mental simulations. However, the significant effects were confirmed only with participants who correctly completed the bug model, but the effects were limited with those who failed.