The Acquisition of Functional Planning- and Programming Knowledge: Diagnosis, Modelling, and User-Adapted Help

The development of runnable models of human information processing and their empirical validation has become an important research area, especially concerning processes of knowledge acquisition. Since models of this kind explicitly represent hypothetical knowledge structures and processes, they enable detailed hypotheses concerning the representation and change of knowledge, and they enable detailed and sometimes surprising predictions. Thus they contribute to psychological theorizing and to basic research. On the other hand, modelling the acquisition and change of knowledge is also one necessary condition for the design of individualized instruction and help for computer based systems. Individualized, user-centered online instruction and help not only enhances knowledge acquisition processes but is also important for the design and development of various software tools. For example, the acceptance of such tools may depend on their sensitivity to the actual knowledge and intentions of the user.