1. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. C H A P T E R 9 Complex Cognitive Processes

2. © 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.

3. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Complex Cognitive Processes What Are Concepts? Promoting Concept Formation Conceptual Understanding

4. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 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.

5. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Concept Map

6. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Promoting Concept Formation 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

7. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Enter the Debate Can teachers teach students to think? YESNO

8. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Complex Cognitive Processes Thinking What Is Thinking? Reasoning Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Decision Making

9. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Thinking …involves manipulating and transforming information in memory.

10. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Critical Thinking… is thinking reflectively and productively, and evaluating the evidence. 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

11. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 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. Decision making involves thinking in which individuals evaluate alternatives and make choices among them. Decision Making

12. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 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. Decision Making

13. © 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.

14. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Ways to Improve Creativity Provide stimulating environments Encourage creative thinking on an individual and group basis Encourage internal motivation Involve creative people Guide students to be persistent and delay gratification

15. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Ways to Improve Creativity cont’d Don’t overcontrol students Build students’ confidence Guide students to help them think in flexible ways Encourage students to take risks

16. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Complex Cognitive Processes Problem Solving Obstacles to Solving Problems Problem-Based Learning & Project-Based Learning Steps in Problem Solving Developmental Changes

17. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Problem Solving …involves finding an appropriate way to attain a goal. 1. Find and frame problems 2. Develop good strategies:  Subgoaling  Algorithms  Heuristics  Means-ends analysis 3. Evaluate solutions 4. Rethink and redefine problems and solutions over time

18. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Obstacles to Problem Solving Inadequate Emotional Control Lack of Motivation Fixation Lack of Persistence

19. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Developmental Changes Children’s ability to use rules increases Children become better planners Increased complexity of problem solving More effective strategic problem solving

20. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Problem- and Project-Based Learning Problem-Based Learning emphasizes solving authentic problems like those that occur in daily life. Project-Based Learning emphasizes students working on real, meaningful problems to create tangible products.

21. © 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

22. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Complex Cognitive Processes Transfer Types of Transfer What Is Transfer?

23. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Types of Transfer Learning Situation: Near transferIs similar to initial learning. Far transferIs different from initial learning situation. Low-roadAlmost unconsciously transfers to new situation. High-roadIs conscious and effortful

24. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 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.

25. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Crack the Case The Case of the Statistics Test 1. What are the issues in this case? 2. What went wrong for Cassandra? 3. What should she do differently if she wants to do better on the next test? 4. If you were the teacher of Cassandra’s class, how would you help your students to prepare for this type of test?

26. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Reflection & Observation Reflection: What strategies have your teachers used to encourage complex thinking? Why were they effective?