Complex Cognitive Complex Cognitive ProcessesProcesses

Concepts Learning• Categories of similar ideas, events,

objects, people, etc.• Abstractions• Ways to organize information.

Views of Concept Learning

• Defining attributes• Prototype• Exemplars• Concepts and schemas

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

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

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

Teaching Concepts through Exposition

• Expository teaching model: Ausubel• The concept is presented• Focus on meaningful verbal learning• Deductive reasoning• Advance organizers help schema

development

Advance Organizers• An introduction to help the students

understand the coming concept• Comparative• Expository

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

Identify the Problem• Identify that problem exists and

treat it as an opportunity

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

Exploring Possible Solutions

• Algorithms• Heuristics

– Means-ends analysis– Working backwards– Analogical thinking– Verbalization

Anticipate, Act, Look Back

• Anticipate the consequences• Act on the best solution• Look back and evaluate your success

Factors that Hinder Problem Solving

• Functional fixedness• Response set• Lack of flexibility

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

Novice Knowledge

• May possess misinformation• Intuitive ideas are incorrect• Hold on to misconceptions

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

Learning Strategies

• Deciding what is important• Creating summaries • Underlining and highlighting• Taking notes

Applying Learning Strategies

• Learning task must be appropriate• Valuing learning• Effort and efficacy• Epistemological beliefs

Transfer of Learning• Low road and high

road• Forward-reaching• Backward-reaching• Mindful abstraction• Situated learning• Overlearning

Encouraging Transfer• Make learning meaningful• Practical applications: real life problem

solving• Context• Teach critical thinking skills• Teach self-regulation skills

Stages of Transfer• Acquisition Phase

– Teach a new strategy and how to use itTeach a new strategy and how to use it• Retention PhaseRetention Phase

– Practice a strategy; Give feedbackPractice a strategy; Give feedback• Transfer PhaseTransfer Phase

– Give new problems; Use the same strategyGive new problems; Use the same strategy