Theory of Nuclear Concepts

Abstract

The Theory of Nuclear Concepts (TNC) is based on prior theories and ideas coming from Ausubel and Novak among others, who argue that concepts are organized hierarchically around general concepts. But the TNC differs from them in holding that the students’ cognitive structure is organized around specific concepts that are not the most general, but only the most significant for the students. TNC also argues that, as a result of the learning progresses, the students’ cognitive structure is transformed into a simpler structure. The associated technique to represent the cognitive structures is “Pathfinder Associative Networks” and to obtain them, it was developed GOLUCA software, which serves as a support on the analysis and representation of cognitive networks. The TNC has been used to understand and evaluate the cognitive structures of students and teachers in real situations.