... to fit into existing knowledge and structures. Representations relate to the manner by which a human retains information about the world, and much of what we see and hear is retained. Any new information must also be represented in some way and stand as a copy or symbol for the real thing. In the external world we have signs, symbols, maps and diagrams, all forms of representing something such as objects or locations. In the same way, the internal mental representations within the brain are used to stand for real things and are mental representations of the environment. Our knowledge is actively used to aid understanding and learning, and is acquired, retrieved, revised and updated along the way to help influence decisions and actions. For all this to occur and function, there must be processing and interaction between new and existing information, between short and long-term memory and in our ...

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