Knowledge Structures: What They Are and How They Can be Used in Cognitive Psychology, Test Theory, and the Design of Learning Environments.

In this first chapter of the book, we try to give a comprehensive introduction into the theory of knowledge structures. The general idea and the basic notation is outlined. In particular, we describe the background for our own approach to the formal theory. This approach may be characterized by three components: the derivation of a specific knowledge structure (by means of psychological task analysis, principles of test construction, individualized process modeling etc.), the interpretation of the theory within various knowledge domains, and its application in diagnostic and tutoring procedures. Thus, this chapter is an elementary introduction to the theory as well as an overview for the following contributions.