C H A P T E R 9
Complex Cognitive
Processes
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Learning Goals
1.
Discuss conceptual understanding and
strategies for teaching concepts.
2.
Describe several types of thinking and
ways that teachers can foster them.
3.
Take a systematic approach to problem
solving.
4.
Define transfer and explain how to
enhance it as a teacher.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Complex Cognitive Processes
Conceptual
Understanding
What Are
Concepts?
Promoting
Concept
Formation
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Conceptual Understanding
Concepts are categories that group objects, events, and
characteristics on the basis of common properties.
Concept Formation
1. Identify the features of a concept.
2. Define the concept and give clear examples.
3. Concept maps offer a visual representation of a concept’s
hierarchical organization.
4. Develop hypotheses about what the concept is and what it
is not.
5. Prototype matching compares the
item with similar items in a category.
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Concept Map
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Promoting Concept Formation
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Use the rule-example strategy
Help students learn what a concept is and what
it is not
Provide clear, concrete examples
Relate new concepts to already-known concepts
Create concepts maps
Generate hypotheses about concepts
Prototype matching
Check for understanding and generalization
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Enter the Debate
Can teachers teach students to think?
YES
NO
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Complex Cognitive Processes
Thinking
Creative
Thinking
What Is
Thinking?
Reasoning
Critical
Thinking
Decision
Making
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Thinking
…involves manipulating and transforming
information in memory.
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Critical Thinking…
is thinking reflectively and productively, and
evaluating the evidence.
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Ways Teachers Encourage Thinking
Help students construct their own thinking
Use thinking-based questions
Provide positive role models for thinking
Be a thinking role model for students
Keep up-to-date on latest developments in
thinking
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Decision Making
Decision making involves thinking in which
individuals evaluate alternatives and make
choices among them.
Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for
information that supports our ideas rather than
refutes them.
Belief perseverance: The tendency to hold on to a
belief in the face of contradictory evidence.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Decision Making
Overconfidence bias: The tendency to have more
confidence in judgments and decisions than we
should, based on past experience.
Hindsight bias: The tendency to
falsely report, after the fact, that we
accurately predicted the event.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Creative Thinking
…is the ability to think about something in novel and unusual ways
and come up with unique solutions to problems.
Convergent
Thinking
Produces one
correct answer.
Divergent
Thinking
Produces many
answers to the
same question.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Ways to Improve Creativity
Encourage creative thinking on an
individual and group basis
Encourage
internal
motivation
Provide stimulating
environments
Involve creative
people
Guide students to be persistent
and delay gratification
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Ways to Improve Creativity cont’d
Guide students to help them think
in flexible ways
Don’t
overcontrol
students
Encourage
students to take
risks
Build students’
confidence
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Complex Cognitive Processes
Problem
Solving
Problem-Based
Learning &
Project-Based
Learning
Steps in
Problem
Solving
Obstacles to
Solving
Problems
Developmental
Changes
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Problem Solving
…involves finding an appropriate way to attain a goal.
1. Find and frame problems
2. Develop good strategies:
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3.
4.
Subgoaling
Algorithms
Heuristics
Means-ends analysis
Evaluate solutions
Rethink and redefine problems and solutions
over time
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Obstacles to Problem Solving
Fixation
Lack of Motivation
Lack of Persistence
Inadequate Emotional Control
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Developmental Changes
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Children’s ability to use rules increases
Children become better planners
Increased complexity of problem solving
More effective strategic problem solving
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Problem- and Project-Based
Learning
Problem-Based
Project-Based Learning
Learning emphasizes
emphasizes students
solving authentic
working on real,
problems like those that meaningful problems to
occur in daily life.
create tangible
products.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Problem-Based Learning
Problem-Based Learning emphasizes solving
authentic problems like those that occur in daily life.
1. Provide opportunities to solve real-world
problems
2. Monitor effective/ineffective strategies
3. Involve parents
4. Improve students’ use of rules, knowledge, and
strategies
5. Use technology effectively
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Complex Cognitive Processes
Transfer
What Is
Transfer?
Types of
Transfer
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Types of Transfer
Learning Situation:
Near transfer
Is similar to initial learning.
Far transfer
Is different from initial learning
situation.
Low-road
Almost unconsciously transfers
to new situation.
High-road
Is conscious and effortful
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High-road transfer can be …
Learning Situation:
Forward-reaching
transfer
Occurs when student thinks about
how to use information in a new
situation.
Backward-reaching
transfer
Occurs when students look back to
previous situations for information
to solve problems in a new context.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Crack the Case
The Case of the Statistics Test
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are the issues in this case?
What went wrong for Cassandra?
What should she do differently if she
wants to do better on the next test?
If you were the teacher of Cassandra’s
class, how would you help your students
to prepare for this type of test?
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Reflection & Observation
Reflection:
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What strategies have your teachers
used to encourage complex
thinking?
Why were they effective?
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.