A review of mental models research in child-computer interaction

Research in cognitive science, science education, and developmental psychology has long investigating how children, based on their everyday experience, construct mental models of the world they live in. This paper provides a review of the research investigating the nature of mental models in the context of child-computer interaction, review elicitation techniques used within the field, and discusses its potential to further inform the design process. Exploring children's mental models of new technologies may bring about some further understanding in their cognitive and conceptual development, thus promting parents and teachers to guide them in exploring the new technological environment.