I didn't really get much out of this article. I see that mental models can provide a good starting point for understanding new concepts, and I think that that is a valid point for an article. But I didn't glean much information on that subject; instead the author seemed intent on a general overview on teaching information retreval.

I was very disappointed by the article because I thought that there would be some useful information on mental models and teaching by analogy and metaphor. Ranting about how hard it is to "surf the 'Net" isn't of much interest to me.