COGNITIVISM IN TEACHING PRACTICE

Cognitivism in Practice

Cognitivism in sharp contrast to behaviourism supported the idea that learning is a mental process which starts at the point where information is received and undergoes manipulation, finally stored and eventually used. Level-Duffy, & McDonald, (2008). Cognitivism is rooted in the idea that behaviour can be “controlled and changed by way of reasoning and analysis”
while behaviourism is teacher centred, cognitivism is learner centered, learner becomes more active while the teacher takes the role of a stand-by guide, and he comes in only when necessary. Learners embark on the voyage of self-discovery using discussions, case studies, explorations, questioning, projects and presentations. Learners are always in charge of their own learning and move to the next level in a self directed fashion. The Montessori School based its teaching method on the cognitive theory assumption that “emotional factors and personal growth” must be considered and given priority of highest order if the learners must develop in their learning, and lessons are seen as “experimental interaction” to support learners’ true normal development.which translates to the fact that lesson should be based on what learners can handle at their particular stage of development.
The cognitivist theory based its pedagogy on the assumption that the “black box” in the learner’s mind should be “opened and understood.” The cognitivists believe that human mind is like a processor, capable of processing many and different types of information.

Importance of Cues, Questions and Advanced organizers
Cues, questions and advanced organizers is an instructional strategy developed to make contents attainment easier for learners. This method focused on augmenting students’ ability to “retrieve, organize and use” information. Pitler, (2007). Cues are hints that inform learners about what they will experience, while questions help to invoke learners’ prior knowledge and advanced organizers help learners to arrange, organize and make sense of curriculum contents. This strategy, if used appropriately helps students to focus on important information, arrange information in an organized way and enables learners to personalize their own learning.

Summarizing and note taking strategy focuses on helping learners to “synthesize information” and turn it into a whole new concept. It is very peculiar in that, teachers rarely teach this skill, and students themselves prefer the option not to take notes, especially at the middle school level, whereas this is one of the skills that students need to develop in order to be successful in later years. Down the road, students need to be able to “organize concepts and prioritize data”, and learn how to ignore unimportant distracting details and focus on phrases and words that matter. In order to take notes and summarize successfully, Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, (2001) prescribed that, it is beneficial to explicitly teach students how to take notes, using summary frames and sometimes giving students teacher prepared notes.
Instructional Strategies and Cognitive Learning Theories
Cognitive theory has logical connection with summarizing and note taking strategy as well as cues, questions and advanced organizers. As noted above, cognitivism views learning as series of mental process which starts the moment an information is presented to the learner, while on the other hand, the instructional strategies such as cues, questions and advanced organizers enable learners to organize, retrieve, and use information already stored in the long term memory, furthermore, summarizing and note taking helps learners to aggregate, synthesize and turn information it into a whole new concept. Without any fear of contradiction, the above mentioned strategies combined very well to serve as catalysts in bringing about the efficacy of cognitivism in enhancing students’ leaning. When used effectively, together the above instructional strategies and cognitive theory of learning promote independent learning, critical thinking and learners can think in abstract and arrive at their own point of view. Cognitivism allows learners to develop cognitive maps and engage in higher order thinking because they are self-directed and in-charge of their own learning, they also learn how to work in small groups and collaborate with one another through project based approach to learning.

Relevance of Concept Mapping and Virtual Field Trip

Concept Mapping is described as perceived regularity in events or objects Novak, & Canas, (2008), concepts are events, objects, record of events that are identified by labels. In the same token, virtual field trip allows you to tour without “leaving your classroom”.
Foley (2003), Nix, (1999) defined virtual field trip as “guided exploration through a collection of pre-screned images, supporting text and other media delivered electronically through the internet.” Concept maps help learners to organize, synthesize, and store information in such a way that they can easily retrieve it for use when needed. It allows learners to perceive relationships among concepts, and even create new knowledge. When combined with virtual field trip, there is a very high propensity to tap into learners’ procedural, declarative and episodic memories and help learners to capture, archive and represent their knowledge, in a new and powerful way more than ever before. . According to Novak, & Canas, (2008), quoting Bloom (1956), this process represents high level of “cognitive performance” involving “evaluation and synthesis of knowledge”. Both Concept Mapping and Virtual Field Trip tools complement the basic assumption of cognitivism that learning takes place when learners are able to develop “cognitive maps of their environment”
also corroborating this idea is the Gestalt school of thought led by “Max Werheimer”
by emphasizing that learners reo-organize and restructure their experiences even when there is no structure in the information presented, they believe that learners in an attempt to solve problems mentally re-organize and combine various elements or concepts until a structure that solves the problem appears. Using concepts maps and virtual field trip in the right way is capable of helping learners to re-organize concepts or elements and organize elements in a logical and structured manner, and this is what cognitivism is all about.


References

Foley, K. (2003). The Big Pocket Guide to Using & Creating Virtual Field Trips (3rd ed.).

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. B. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Custom Ediction ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Nix, R. (1999). A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF SCIENCE-RELATED VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS AVAILABLE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB in partial fulfillment of the requirements in SMEC-708 Curtin University of Technology Western Australia June 10, 1999

Marzano, R. J., Picckering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E., (2007). Classroom instruction that works: Research based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Pitler, H. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works . Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ;.

Summarizing and Note-Taking. (n.d.). Gloucester County Public Schools. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/vste/2008/2summarize.htm

Instructor's, e. t. (n.d.). Cognitive. TeachNet. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~Lynda_abbot/Cognitive.html

The Cognitive Approach to Lesson Planning: What is Cognitivism and How can it be Utilized in Teaching. (n.d.). Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writing Community. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.suite101.com/content/the-cognitive-approach-to-lesson-planning-a116006