Cognitive Science & PLTL

1. Cognitive Science & PLTL HOPE J. HARTMAN, PH.D. PLTL INSTITUTE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK JULY 11, 2012

2. Overview • Self-Directed Learner • Constructivism • Expertise • Assessment

3. 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 partner’s ideas to the rest of us.

4. My Conception of a Self-directed Learner

5. 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 don’t 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!

6. Strategies for developing self-directed learners • Self-talkbefore, 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 don’t make the same mistakes I made this time?” (Schoenfeld)

7. 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?

8. 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/ejse/geer.pdf • Two major types of constructivism: cognitive and social.

9. 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.html • Schemas: add, refine, change • Disequilibrium: produce conflict for cognitive reorganization to think at a higher level

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 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?

13. 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?

14. 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/homepage/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

15. 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