Mental+Models

Mental Models

__Summary__
 * A mental model** is an explanation of someone's thought process about how something works in the real world. It is a representation of the surrounding world, the relationships between its various parts and a person's intuitive perception about their own acts and their consequences. Our mental models help shape our behavior and define our approach to solving problems.

__History__

The term is believed to have originated with Kenneth Craik in his 1943 book //The Nature of Explanation//. Philip Johnson-Laird published Mental Models: Towards a Cognitive Science of Language, Inference and Consciousness in 1983. Since then there has been much discussion and use of the idea in human-computer interaction and usability by researchers including Donald Norman and Steve Krug in his book Don't Make Me Think. Walter Kintsch and Teun A. van Dijk, using the term situation model (in their book Strategies of Discourse Comprehension, 1983), showed the relevance of mental models for the production and comprehension of discourse. []

__Strengths__ - Encourages communication between people so that others may learn from our personal experiences that have helped shape and develop our personal mental models.

__Weaknesses__ - The opportunity for frustration and difficulty may easily arrise when people are not open to learning and accepting others perspectives as valid bits of knowledge.

__Relevancy/Application__ - Mental Models easily play out in the dynamic between co-teachers. Each teacher has his/her own opinion as to how material can and should be taught. If co-teachers are in disagreement, the planning of lesson can be very difficult. If co-teachers share similar mental models, than the lessons can easily be developed and implemented in the classroom.