Feature validity

The feature validity of a knowledge component measures how well the features associated with the mental representation of the knowledge component match the features present during all situations where the component should be recalled.

A student has acquired a knowledge component (KC) with high feature validity when the retrieval features of that knowledge component are all relevant and none are irrelevant. Through the learning process of refinement a learner may modify an existing KC to produce a new one with higher feature validity.

Feature validity is a generalization of the standard concept of cue validity. Cues are usually understood to be perceptual or at least rapidly computed (MacWhinney & Bates, 1989). The term “features” includes cues as well as higher level properties, such as those used by experts but not novices (Chi, Glaser & Feltovitch, 1981).

See the Booth page in Coordinative Learning for one example.