EDUC 6711--Walden University--Week 3 Application--Cognitivism in Practice

         During the completion of the requirements for this week in my Walden University course I was provided with many ideas and strategies that involve the cognitive learning theory.   However, many of the instructional strategies described this week can already be located within my classroom.  This is very reassuring as I begin to analyze the importance of these strategies.  It seems as if the majority of these strategies help learners to begin to think about their thinking.  At first the may seem a little strange, as adults this is something usually comes naturally.  Children, on the other hand may need assistance with this concept and the strategies provided this week help them to actually visualize their own thinking and analyze new situations or information

In fact, the majority of these strategies encourage the use of cognitive tools, which allows students to encounter new ideas, relate those ideas to prior knowledge, and then contruct new information or understanding (Orey, 2001).  Furthermore, when these strategies are combined with the use of technology even greater amounts of self-reflection and information processing can occur.  According to Orey (2001) thse cognitive technologies help learners move past the limitations of their own minds.

The instructional strategy that I currently find beneficial within my own classroom is the use of cues, questions, and organizers.  Kindergarteners respond well to these strategies.  Not only do these strategies provide them with an avenue for organizing their thoughts, but they also give them a starting point and help them to feel successful.  The following is clip I found to help illustrate the use of an organizer with the cognitive learning theory:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmfVOaPnIls (Carnighan, 2011).  Furthermore, as a teacher I can use questioning to encourage critical thinking (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Finally, these questions can give my students a clear sense of my expectations for their learning.

The next instructional strategy that I have decided to focus on is the ability for students to track their own learning by summarizing and note taking.  Unfortuately, I do not use this strategy to often with my Kindergarteners.  However, I was provided with some ideas to modify this strategy and make it beneficial for use with a younger audience.  For example, I could provide my studetns with teacher prepared notes that are age appropriate.  Furthermore, I could replace big sets of information with one word or phrase (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  I could definitely see myself using this strategy during our reading time as we attempt to create understanding and make connections.

Finally, my favorite instuctional strategies which were proposed during the instruction this week were the use of virtual field trips and concept maps.  I was pleasantly surprised by te deep connections my children were able to construct during our virtual field trip to a chocolate factory.  When coupled with a concept map these connections were strengthened.  Furthermore, concept maps can allow students to organize their own learning (Novak, 2008).  Our concept map allowed my students to take the information from this trip and visually make sense of their understanding. 

Ultimately, this week refreshed my ability to use certain strategies within my classroom.  I was also encourage to use further strategies.  Not only will these techniques help my students to understand their thinking, but they will also help me to identify with my own thinking and information processing.  While the cognitive learning theory is defenitely present within my classroom, it is very helpful to be provided with tools for recognizing this theory and creating visuals to even observe it in practice.

References

Carnighan, D.  (Producer).  (2011).  A lesson in cognitivism [Video podcast].  YouTube.  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmfVOaPnIls

Novak, J. D., & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site:  http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.