Bridging Theory, Instruction & Technology
Week 3: Cognitivism in Practice
Cognitivist theorists attempt to explain learning in terms of how one thinks...Learning and problem solving, according to cognitivists, represent mental processes that are undetectable by mere observation ( Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). Using cues, questions and advance organizers as well as summarizing and note taking are just two of many strategies that correlate with the cognitivist theory.
The instructional strategy cues, questions, and advance organizers focuses on enhancing students' ability to retrieve, use and organize information about a topic (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). This strategy supports the cognitivist theory because it accounts for every step of a students' understanding. Cues and questions help activate prior knowledge and give students a hint before they have the experience. The advance organizer allows students to make sense of their learning by helping them organize what they have learned.
Summarizing and note taking allows teachers to work on helping students separate important information from extraneous information and state the information in their own words (Pitler. Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).One such example of this strategy is through the use of concept mapping from the program Inspiration. Here, students can fill in any map that has been created by their teacher for a specific purpose such as problem/solution, using a definition frame to watch a video, and even character trait note taking. I find that these strategies come in particularly handy with non-fiction text and the subject content of Science and Social Studies.
Using cues, questions and advance organizers and summarizing and note taking can truly help students make sense of their learning according to the cognitivist theory. Of the two instructional strategies introduced, I think cues, questions and advance organizers would truly benefit the English Language Learners as well as the younger students. Text could be replaced with a graphic.
Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
As I reviewed your page, I couldn’t help but notice the links to your kindergarten pages. I teach junior and senior level classes, so in the field of education we are about as far apart as possible, yet the cognitive tools we use in our classrooms are still similar. I have also used advance organizers for mapping character traits. I find these tools particularly helpful when introducing works that contain many complex characters. This is a technique that seems to transcend the age/grade level. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteErika,
ReplyDeleteUsing prior knowledge to fuel future teachings is so important. I know that the use of pre-assessments helps me to determine some of the prior knowledge at times. I think that the idea of replacing text with pictures can be beneficial for younger students, but even older students may find success and make connections with pictures as well. Great thoughts!
Kendra
I love that you teach Kindergarten, that has always been my favorite grade to teach. Students at this level need us to use cognitive learning theories in the classroom to help build their knowledge(memory) base. Student in Kindergarten need teachers to use cues and even concept mapping. I love the idea of virtual field trips at this level because the world is constantly changing and they get the opportunity to visual the world around them!
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ReplyDeleteThank goodness for note-taking. My students, of course, feel just the opposite of that statement, although many of their tasks evolve around summarizing and note-taking. Currently, our school has implemented Cornell note-taking. Students must use this system regularly in each of their classes. It allows them to look at the main concepts within a lesson, develo questions for the concepts, and end with a summary. Although they complain, they, in some ways look forward to it. It's school-wide, test scores have improved, and it's not going anywhere in the near future! Here is the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://coe.jmu.edu/LearningToolbox/cornellnotes.html
Note taking is a crucial part of the learning process. In my class, the students are given cloze notes that often have blanks that they fill in the key concepts I want them to learn. I have found this to be very beneficial to all different types of learners. It makes it easier for slower students to keep up, and faster students don't get bogged down in details.
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