Reflective approach: This approach to representation stresses that there is a real material world out there which can be represented through thought.
Constructivist approaches: These approaches acknowledge that there is a material world, but emphasize that there are multiple realities and individuals draw on the tools and concepts of their culture to make meaning and to communicate meaning about the world.
Intelligent reasoning: Davis, Shrobe, and Szolovits (1993) point out that one of the roles of knowledge representation is that it provides some insights into how people reason intelligently or what it means to engage in intelligent reasoning. They describe several approaches or traditions: including mathematical (intelligent reasoning is a formal calculation), psychological (reasoning is a characteristic of human behaviour), biological (it is a stimulus-response behaviour), probabilistic (follows probability theory), and economic (follows utility theory).
Jerome Bruner: Educational theorist Jerome Bruner was important in translating the theories of scholars such as Piaget and Vygotsky into the classroom. His work in knowledge representation led him to suggest that individuals represent their learning through three modes (enactive, iconic, and symbolic).
Enactive mode of representation: Bruner’s enactive mode of representation suggests that individuals represent their learning and the world in which they live through action if they cannot do so using images or words. For example, a child might show others they know how to float in water, kick a ball, or use a computer rather than explaining or drawing it.
Iconic mode of representation: Bruner’s iconic mode of representation suggests that one way in which individuals represent their learning and the world in which they live is through images. For example, a child might draw a detailed diagram showing their project plan as a way of representing what they know about building.
Symbolic mode of representation: Bruner’s symbolic mode of representation suggests that one way in which individuals represent their learning and the world in which they live is through language. For example, a child solving a math equation is representing their knowledge symbolically by using numbers. A child might also tell the teacher what they know about a particular topic.
Theory of mind: Theory of mind involves understanding one’s own mental states (thoughts, desires, motives, intentions, and feelings, and beliefs) as well as gaining an awareness that other people may have different mental states from oneself. It is often linked to children’s social development. You can view some examples of tests that have been used to assess “theory of mind” by doing an online search. One of the critiques of these kinds of tests is that the development of theory of mind depends on the sociocultural context of the child’s upbringing and needs to be understood within that context.
Narrative: Bruner proposed that individuals represent their reality in narrative or story form. For example, children orally relay accounts of events in their lives to others as a means of making sense of them. Each story has a specific plot, characters, and a sequential structure. Characters who have a specific role are seen to follow a script associated with that role.
