Complex Cognitive Processes

1. Complex Cognitive Processes

2. Concepts Learning • Categories of similar ideas, events, objects, people, etc. • Abstractions • Ways to organize information.

3. Views of Concept Learning • Defining attributes • Prototype • Exemplars • Concepts and schemas

4. Strategies for Teaching Concepts: Components • Examples and non-examples • Relevant and irrelevant attributes • Name of the concept • Definition of the concept • General category • Defining attributes (if appropriate) • Use visual aids

5. Lesson Structure • Start with prototype • Less obvious examples help prevent undergeneralization • Close non-examples help prevent overgeneralization • Think back on hypothesis • Extending and connecting concepts

6. Teaching Concepts through Discovery • Understanding the structure of the subject • Teacher presents examples • Students discover the interrelationships • Inductive reasoning • Requires intuitive thinking • Guided vs. unguided discovery approaches

7. Teaching Concepts through Exposition • Expository teaching model: Ausubel • The concept is presented • Focus on meaningful verbal learning • Deductive reasoning • Advance organizers help schema development

8. Advance Organizers • An introduction to help the students understand the coming concept • Comparative • Expository

9. Problem Solving • General or domain-specific? • IDEAL: Five steps of problem solving • Identify the problem • Define goals and represent the problem • Explore possible strategies • Anticipate outcomes and Act on the strategies • Look back and Learn

10. Identify the Problem • Identify that problem exists and treat it as an opportunity

11. Defining the Problem • Focusing attention • Understanding the words • Understanding the whole problem • Translation and schema training • Results of problem representation

12. Exploring Possible Solutions • Algorithms • Heuristics • Means-ends analysis • Working backwards • Analogical thinking • Verbalization

13. Anticipate, Act, Look Back • Anticipate the consequences • Act on the best solution • Look back and evaluate your success

14. Factors that Hinder Problem Solving • Functional fixedness • Response set • Lack of flexibility

15. Effective Problem Solvers • Large store of domain knowledge • Quickly recognize patterns • Organized knowledge schemas • Condition-action schemas • Elaborated and well practiced knowledge • Spend time analyzing

16. Novice Knowledge • May possess misinformation • Intuitive ideas are incorrect • Hold on to misconceptions

17. Expert Students • Are cognitively engaged • Invest effort • Process information deeply • Monitor understanding

18. Learning Strategies • Deciding what is important • Creating summaries • Underlining and highlighting • Taking notes

19. Applying Learning Strategies • Learning task must be appropriate • Valuing learning • Effort and efficacy • Epistemological beliefs

20. Transfer of Learning • Low road and high road • Forward-reaching • Backward-reaching • Mindful abstraction • Situated learning • Overlearning

21. Encouraging Transfer • Make learning meaningful • Practical applications: real life problem solving • Context • Teach critical thinking skills • Teach self-regulation skills

22. Stages of Transfer • Acquisition Phase • Teach a new strategy and how to use it • Retention Phase • Practice a strategy; Give feedback • Transfer Phase • Give new problems; Use the same strategy