Compréhension et utilisation des connaissances dans la résolution de problèmes en électronique

The main objective of the present work is to investigate the nature of the cognitive processes responsible for the problem-solving operations of novices, intermediates, and experts in a semantically rich and complex domain, i.e. electronics trouble shooting, in relation to their knowledge of the task. The performance for each group of subjects shows a varying degree of knowledge integration (theoretical and procedural). The results show (1) that novices lack theoretical knowledge and make theoretical errors, (2) that intermediates do not lack theoretical knowledge but they have some difficulty in applying it, and (3) that experts have well-integrated knowledge and troubleshooting procedures for circuits and that they are able to apply procedures and correctly interpret the results to identify the reasons for failure in the circuits. Expertise in troubleshooting circuits is an ability to adaptively apply debugging procedures and interpret the results in terms of a mental model of the circuit's behavior and structure