Cognitive Science

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Cognitive Science PLTL

• HOPE J. HARTMAN, PH.D.
  PLTL INSTITUTE
• CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
  JULY 11, 2012

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Overview

• Self-Directed Learner
• Constructivism
• Expertise
• Assessment

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Think-Pair-Share

• Think and Write (briefly) What is your
  conception of a self-directed learner?
• Pair Briefly describe your ideas to a partner.
• Share Report your ideas or your partners ideas
  to the rest of us.

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My Conception of a Self-directed Learner
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Developing Self-Directed Learners

• Research shows that students who have strengths
  in the areas identified in my graphic organizer
  usually achieve at higher levels than students
  who do not.
• PLTL Leaders are not there to answer students
  questions about content. Rather, their role is to
  help students find or figure out answers on their
  own so they dont become dependent upon others
  and so they feel control over their own destiny.
• Training peer leaders should include attention to
  students content knowledge, thinking and
  learning s skills, affect, and to transferring
  what they have learned to various new situations.
• Training peer leaders to develop self-directed
  learners can begin with leaders self-evaluating
  their own strengths and weaknesses in these
  areas. Because they did well enough the course
  to be selected as peer leaders, they are likely
  to have substantial strengths in these areas, but
  everyone can make improvements!

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Strategies for developing self-directed
learners

• Self-talk before, during and after engaging in an
  academic tasks to promote awareness and control
  over thinking processes and products. It includes
  silent self-talk (Vygotsky) and thinking aloud .
• Self-questioning to guide thinking before, during
  and after engaging in academic tasks. For
  example, What do I know about problems like
  this one? How can I judge whether this
  approach is headed in the right direction? How
  can I make sure that next time I dont make the
  same mistakes I made this time? (Schoenfeld)

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Strategies for self-directed learners

• Set both short and long-term goals.
• Budget time for tasks using the 3x expected rule
• Experiment with study strategies to determine
  what works best for particular situations.
  Include experimenting with a variety of graphic
  organizers.
• Tailor test taking strategies to particular types
  of tests, courses and professors.
• Analyze errors on tests to determine why they
  were made and how they can be prevented in the
  future.
• PLANNING PEER-LEADER TRAINING, HOW MIGHT YOU USE
  THE IDEAS ON THESE SLIDES TO PREPARE PEER LEADERS
  FOR HELPING STUDENTS BECOME MORE SELF-DIRECTED
  LEARNERS?

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CONStrUCtIVISM

• Research on learning in higher education has
  shown extensive benefits of using constructivist
  approaches to teaching and learning when compared
  with traditional, lecture-based approaches. In
  particular, they tend to lead to more
  meaningful learning, deeper understanding, and
  greater ability to apply what has been learned.
• What is constructivism?
• Misconceptions physical vs. mental activity
  small vs. large group settings
• Link to article on constructivism with resources
  on pedagogy and specific references for biology
  , chemistry, geosciences, and physics (Geer
  Rudge) http//wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/crowther/ej
  se/geer.pdf
• Two major types of constructivism cognitive and
  social.

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Cognitive Constructivism (Dewey, Piaget,
Bruner)

• Active Learning mental activity instead of
  passive reception
• Constructing Meaning personal processing creates
  understanding
• Prior Knowledge valid, invalid conceptual
  change http//www2.ucsc.edu/mlrg/proc4abstracts.ht
  ml
• Schemas add, refine, change
• Disequilibrium produce conflict for cognitive
  reorganization to think at a higher level

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Social Constructivism (Vygotsky)

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) reach a
  higher level of intellectual performance with
  assistance.
• More Knowledgeable Other source of development
  within the ZPD. Originally it was just people,
  now it includes computers!
• Scaffolding providing temporary support to
  perform at a higher level.
• Tools Mediating Thought such as language,
  writing, mathematical symbols, periodic table,
  equations, Punnet Square, Laws of Motion

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Expertise

• Combination of knowledge, skills, understandings
  dispositions/attitudes includes reflective
  practice
• General Characteristics of Experts Includes
• pattern recognition, extensive content knowledge,
  fluid information retrieval, contextualized
  applications, flexible approaches,
• BUT no guarantee expert can teach! (National
  Research Council, 2000)
• Characteristics of Expert Teachers
• extensive content knowledge general pedagogy
  content-specific pedagogy know learner
  characteristics, context, purpose of learning
  (Shulman 1987)
• HOW CAN YOU HELP PEER LEADERS THINK MORE LIKE
  EXPERTS?

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Assessment

• Formative Evaluation
• -questions
  - discussions
  -observations of
  group work -homework
  - nonverbal communication
  - exit slips
• Summative Evaluation - unit tests
  -midterm -final exam -course grade
• HOW CAN YOU TRAIN PEER LEADERS USE THESE
  ASSESSMENTS?

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Exit Slip

• Write the answers on a slip of paper, without
  your name, submit it.
• 1. What is something from this session that you
  found difficult to understand?
• 2. What are two topics from this session that you
  would like to know more about?

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References

• Bruner, J. ( 1960). The Process of Education.
  Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA
• Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. Heath Publishing.
  New York
• Geer, U.C., Rudge, D.W. A Review of
  Research on Constructivist Strategies in Large
  Lecture Science Classes. http//wolfweb.unr.edu/ho
  mepage/crowther/ejse/geer.pdf
• Accessed 7/9/12
• Hartman, H. J. (2009). A Guide to Reflective
  Practice for New and Experienced Teachers.
  McGraw-Hill New York
• Hartman, H. J. (2009- ) Discovering and
  Uncovering Piaget. http//zunal.com/webquest.php?w
  22695 Accessed 7/11/12

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References continued

• National Research Council (2000). How People
  Learn. National Academies Press. Washington,
  D.C.
• Piaget, J. (1971). To Understand is to Invent.
  Viking Press, New York
• Schoenfeld, A. (1989). Teaching mathematical
  thinking and problem solving. In L.B. Resnick
  L. Klopfer (Eds.) Toward the Thinking Curriculum
  Current cognitive research (pp. 83-103). Yearbook
  for the American Association for Supervision and
  Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA.
• Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and Teaching.
  Harvard Educational Review. 57(1), 1-21
• Vygotsky, L ( 1962) Thought and Language. The
  M.I.T. Press Cambridge, MA
• Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society. Harvard
  University. Cambridge, MA