Cognition and Learning

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Cognition and Learning

• and the conversational framework

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Conceptualization

• Three Perspectives
• Behaviorist/Empiricist
• Cognitive/Rationalist
• Situative/Pragmatist/Sociohistoric
• Teaching Perspective

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• Conversational framework (CF)
• Key Concept - academic learning as learning
  mediated through conversations between learners
  and teachers,
• Elements
• The need to understand the structure of the
  academic discourse organise and structure the
  content, through some kind of narrative.
• Understand and practice the forms of
  representation.
• Learn to manipulate these (acting on
  descriptions).
• Use feedback actively.
• Learn to reflect on the goal-action-feedback
  cycle.
• Designing Learning Environments
• Guiding principle consideration of the
  practical issues differs depending on the
  theoretical perspective that is taken, (p. 27).

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Teaching Perspectives

• Behaviorist/Empiricist

• Cognitive/Rationalist

Situative
Teacher-centred Predetermined Teacher-led
Student-centred Spontaneous student-led
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Teaching Perspectives
Situative
Behaviorist/Empiricist
Cognitive/Rationalist
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Conclusions

• Greeno et al. does not link learning experience,
  technologies, or media forms to epistemic
  beliefs. What do you think?
• Not a static position, and/or
• Not a equal distribution
• Context-dependent
• External influences
• Institutional values
• Students' values
• Logistics
• Culture

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Implications for practice

• Teaching as partnership
• Common goal
• Designated responsibility
• Discursive
• Assessment should reflect perspective

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My Teaching Perspective

• Philosophy
• Dynamic
• Evolving
• Initially behaviourist
• Inherent structure
• Control
• Predictability
• Passive unmotivating

• Cognitive
• 2 agendas
• Learn subject matter
• Become adept learners

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Personal assumptions about teaching and design

• Historically situated in the behaviorist camp
• Structured
• Content-driven
• Teacher-directed
• Teacher-centred
• Information transmission
• Lecture-based
• Limited media forms

• Recent shift
• Group work
• Extended projects
• Active
• Authentic
• Encourage discourse
• Ill-structured problems
• Critical thinking
• Self-reflection

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Implications for practice

• De-emphasis content
• Emphasize process
• Encourage discourse
• Invite students' perspectives
• Reduce presence
• Integrate students' prior knowledge

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Questions?