Cognition and Language Characteristics Chapter 3

Cognitive Processes Intelligence Attention Memory Cognitive Style Language

Intelligence Measures of intelligence in Western culture is dependent on verbal skills A unified construct that represents a sum total of all the abilities of an individual. Gardner’s multiple intelligences challenge the premise of unified construct

Attention Time-on-task: % of time a student attends to a task  Students without LD on-task 60-85%  Students with LD on-task 30-60% Focus of attention: essential to learning  Distractibility: attending to external stimuli Selective Attention: ability to identify the important aspects of a stimulus and disregard other stimuli in the environment

Memory Short-term memory: (unconscious process) storage of a limited amount of information (6-8 bits) for a limited amount of time (less 15 sec.) Long-term memory: storage for longer duration Working memory: (conscious process) ability to hold a small amount of information in short-term and integrating it with other information

Memory Cont. Encoding: translating sensory input into a representational form for storage Storage: durability of memory Retrieval: process of recovering an encoded representation of a stimulus from memory

Learning Style Field dependence/independence: ability to organize information based on dependence or independence from the perceptual field  field dependent: interprets a visual stimulus based on the visual background – more prone to go along with the crowd Impulsive/reflective dimension: how one reacts to their environment (reacting immediately or thinking before act)

Learning Style Cont. Cognitive Mode: refers to the type of information coding that a student prefers to use – associated with the physiology of the brain, also known as:  Modality preference  Brain hemispheric preference  Spatial-linguistic thinking  See pg. 88 for tips for teaching

Language Phoneme: smallest unit of sound that carries meaning – refers to speech sounds (e.g., C/A/T [3], C/O/M/E [3]) Semantics: knowledge and comprehension of words – receptive vocabulary Syntax: formal relationships between words and phrases, subject/verb agreement Pragmatics: use of language in social contexts

Pragmatic Difficulties Code switching: ability to switch simplistic language skills when speaking to children and switching to complex when speaking to adults. Thought Units: less-sophisticated thought units during conversations. Functional communication: make more unjustifiable or inappropriate comments when interacting with peers.