Higher Level Cognitive Processes

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Higher Level Cognitive Processes

• EDC 312
• Session 8
• Dr. Diane Kern

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Admit activity

• Take a look at your chapter 4 vocabulary sheet.
  How do you remember all of these terms? What
  memorization or metacognition strategies do you
  use?
• Be sure to use at least 3 vocabulary terms and
  define vocabulary in the context of your response.

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Samples from Nas exit/admit activity

• These responses are a strong start to a short
  answer response on our quiz 1 and future course
  assessments.
• Be sure to clearly state the theory and provide
  specific examples.

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Thinking about ones own thinking

• Metacognitiondefine, example, teach?
• What research tells us
• Metacognitive knowledge and skills gradually
  improve with age
• Learners views about the nature of knowledge and
  learning influence their approach to learning
  tasks
• Lets take a look at students thinking at a
  variety of ages
• Notetaking guide

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Self-regulation

• Establishing goals and standards for their own
  performance
• Planning a course of action for a learning task
• Controlling and monitoring cognitive processes
  and progress during learning
• Monitoring and controlling motivation and
  emotions
• Seeking support when needed
• Evaluating final outcomes of effort
• Self-imposing consequences for performance

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Transfer

• When previously learned knowledge and skills
  affect how one learns in a new context transfer
  is occurring!!
• So, what does this mean? When can students use
  what youve taught again!! (This is why we
  teach!!)
• Informational theorists call this conditional
  knowledge

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Hold upthink back and connect

• Declarative knowledge What and why?
• Procedural knowledge How to?
• Conditional knowledge When again? (aka So
  what?!)
• Example

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Problem-Solving and Creativity

• Problem-solving involves using what we know to
  address an unanswered question or problem.
• Creativity involves new and original behavior
  yielding a product for ones culture.
• Convergent and divergent thinking

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Critical Thinking

• Involves evaluating the worth and accuracy of
  information and lines of reasoning.
• Critical thinking is a cognitive process as well
  as a disposition
• Blooms taxonomy/levels of thinking (more on this
  in future workshops)analysis, judgment,
  evaluation

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So whatTeaching higher-level thinking processes

• Teach thinking across the curriculumreally?
  Math teachers teach thinking? Pre-K teachers
  teach thinking? How so?!
• Less is more (teach in depth)
• Allow opportunities to practice in a variety of
  situations (think transfer)
• Actively nurture metacognitive awareness and
  self-reflection (You are Dr. Thinking Strategy!)
• Explicitly teach effective comprehension and
  study strategies in your content area and for the
  level of learners you teach.

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More ideas for teaching higher-level thinking

• Learning as on-goingone never completely knows
  something!
• Encourage self-regulation and learning to learn
• Encourage critical thinking and problem solving
• Need opportunity for group projects and
  discussions
• Assess and value metacognition, higher level
  thinking in your classroom/clinic setting