Cognitive Science And Instruction

From grade school to graduate school, from the poorest public institutions to the most affluent private ones, our educational system is failing students. In his provocative new book, cognitive scientist and bestselling author Roger Schank argues that class size, lack of parental involvement, and other commonly-cited factors have nothing to do with why students are not learning. The culprit is a system of subject-based instruction and the solution is cognitive-based learning. This groundbreaking book defines what it would mean to teach thinking. The time is now for schools to start teaching minds!

This book sets forth ideas from cognitive science that can be applied in the design of instruction. It is not itself a guide for the design of instruction. The application of cognitive science to the design of instruction is still in its infancy, and the development of a fully prescriptive guide is still in the future. This book is oriented toward the prospective instructional designer or those presently practicing in the field who want to enrich their work with insights from cognitive science.

This volume presents and discusses current research that makes the connection between cognitive theory and instructional application. Addressing two general issues, the first set of chapters specifies the relation between cognitive theory and the development and evaluation of instruction, while the second set deals with the questions involved in understanding and assessing cognitive skills. The outstanding feature of these chapters is that they all present in-depth discussions of the theoretical issues underlying instructional decisions. Many present specific implementations that provide examples of concrete applications of theory. In addition, the settings for implementing these examples span a broad range of instructional areas and environments, illustrating the generality and transferability of the application of theory to practice.

Investigators have moved back and forth between design efforts and basic studies in cognition to improve both application and fundamental knowledge. This volume's theme is this interaction between practice and science with the opportunity for reflecting on findings in order to understand them and suggesting improved forms of application and their underlying explanation. This is seen in various arenas including theory-based computer-assisted instruction for teaching mathematics, the design of communities of learning in elementary schools, teaching in the context of problem-solving situations and reasoning with models, self-explanation as a highly effective learning activity, conceptual change in medical training and health education, and workplace training in electronic troubleshooting. The results of extensive long-term experience and analysis in each of these areas are insightfully reported by the well-known contributors to this volume. Special features of this fifth edition include: * The work of eminent cognitive scientists in the design and evaluation of educational and training environments to increase current understanding of learning and development, as this understanding is applied to innovative instructional programs and teaching methods. * A description of learning theory and principles as well as implications and examples on research and development on educational application. * A presentation on the 10-year change in perspective on research and development in problem solving environments that invite inquiry about academic information and skills in the context of instruction of elementary school children. * An innovative approach to math and science instruction in which teaching is oriented around constructing, evaluating, and revising models. * An examination of the process of self-explaining, which involves explaining to one's self in an attempt to make sense of a new situation. * A description of a long-term program of cognitive task analysis and instructional design on problem solving in the operation of complex equipment. * An investigation on the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills and the understanding of biomedical concepts in both professional medicine and the health practices of the lay population.

This volume is based on papers presented at the 30th Carnegie Mellon Symposium on Cognition. This particular symposium was conceived in reference to the 1974 symposium entitled Cognition and Instruction. In the 25 years since that symposium, reciprocal relationships have been forged between psychology and education, research and practice, and laboratory and classroom learning contexts. Synergistic advances in theories, empirical findings, and instructional practice have been facilitated by the establishment of new interdisciplinary journals, teacher education courses, funding initiatives, and research institutes. So, with all of this activity, where is the field of cognition and instruction? How much progress has been made in 25 years? What remains to be done? This volume proposes and illustrates some exciting and challenging answers to these questions. Chapters in this volume describe advances and challenges in four areas, including development and instruction, teachers and instructional strategies, tools for learning from instruction, and social contexts of instruction and learning. Detailed analyses of tasks, subjects' knowledge and processes, and the changes in performance over time have led to new understanding of learners' representations, their use of multiple strategies, and the important role of metacognitive processes. New methods for assessing and tracking the development and elaboration of knowledge structures and processing strategies have yielded new conceptualizations of the process of change. Detailed cognitive analysis of expert teachers, as well as a direct focus on enhancing teachers' cognitive models of learners and use of effective instructional strategies, are other areas that have seen tremendous growth and refinement in the past 25 years. Similarly, the strong impact of curriculum materials and activities based on a thorough cognitive analysis of the task has been extended to the use of technological tools for learning, such as intelligent tutors and complex computer based instructional interfaces. Both the shift to conducting a significant portion of the cognition and instruction research in real classrooms and the increased collaboration between academics and educators have brought the role of the social context to center stage.

This book on the teaching and learning of physics is intended for college-level instructors, but high school instructors might also find it very useful.Some ideas found in this book might be a small 'tweak' to existing practices whereas others require more substantial revisions to instruction. The discussions of student learning herein are based on research evidence accumulated over decades from various fields, including cognitive psychology, educational psychology, the learning sciences, and discipline-based education research including physics education research. Likewise, the teaching suggestions are also based on research findings. As for any other scientific endeavor, physics education research is an empirical field where experiments are performed, data are analyzed and conclusions drawn. Evidence from such research is then used to inform physics teaching and learning.While the focus here is on introductory physics taken by most students when they are enrolled, however, the ideas can also be used to improve teaching and learning in both upper-division undergraduate physics courses, as well as graduate-level courses. Whether you are new to teaching physics or a seasoned veteran, various ideas and strategies presented in the book will be suitable for active consideration.

A timely complement to John Bruer's Schools for Thought, Classroom Lessons documents eight projects that apply cognitive research to improve classroom practice. The chapter authors are all principal investigators in an influential research initiative on cognitive science and education. Classroom Lessons describes their collaborations with classroom teachers aimed at improving teaching and learning for students in grades K-12. The eight projects cover writing, mathematics, history, social science, and physics. Together they illustrate that principles emerging from cognitive science form the basis of a science of instruction that can be applied across the curriculum. The book is divided into three sections: applications of cognitive research to teaching specific content areas; applications for learning across the curriculum; and applications that challenge traditional concepts of classroom-based learning environments. Chapters consider explicit models of knowledge with corresponding instruction designed to enable learners to build on that knowledge, acquisition of specified knowledge, and what knowledge is useful in contemporary curricula. Contributors Kate McGilly. Sharon A. Griffin, Robbie Case, and Robert S. Siegler. Earl Hunt and Jim Minstrell. Kathryn T. Spoehr. Howard Gardner, Mara Krechevsky, Robert J. Sternberg, and Lynn Okagaki. Irene W. Gaskins. The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. Marlene Scardamalia, Carl Bereiter, and Mary Lamon. Ann L. Brown and Joseph C. Campione. John T. Bruer. A Bradford Book

Servg bth to chronicle th advnces in the field linking cog psych & instuctionl dsign & to lay out challengs for th future, volume addresses issues of contnt, prcess, & contxt of learng. Will be of intrst to scholars & practionrs through out cog sci & edu