Applying cognitive science to education : thinking and learning in scientific and other complex domains / Frederick Reif.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reif, Frederick, 1927-2019.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cognitive learning.

Learning, Psychology of.

Cognitive science.

Education.

Physical Description:

xviii, 471 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, [2008]

Summary:

An accessible introduction to some of the cognitive issues important for thinking and learning in scientific or other complex domains (such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, or expository writing), with practical educational applications and implementation methods.

Contents:

I Basic Issues 1

1 Performance, Learning, and Teaching 3

1.1 Thinking about thinking 3

1.2 Basic issues 4

1.3 Importance of these issues 5

2 Intellectual Performance 11

2.1 Description of performance 11

2.2 Performance in complex domains 13

2.3 Characteristics of good performance 15

2.4 Analysis of performance 18

2.5 Analysis of good performance 21

2.6 Comparisons and overview 23

II Good Performance 27

II-A Usability 29

3 Important Kinds of Knowledge 31

3.1 Declarative and procedural knowledge 32

3.2 Comparative advantages and disadvantages 33

3.3 Uses of declarative and procedural knowledge 34

3.4 Condition-dependent knowledge 37

3.5 Educational implications 38

4 Specifying and Interpreting Concepts 43

4.1 Knowledge and concepts 44

4.2 Types of concepts 47

4.3 Kinds of concept specifications 51

4.4 Scientific importance of concept specifications 54

4.5 Educational implications 57

5 Interpreting Scientific Concepts 61

5.1 Students' interpretation of the concept acceleration 62

5.2 Motion and the concept of acceleration 66

5.3 Specification of acceleration 69

5.4 Causes of interpretation deficiencies 71

5.5 Requirements for usable concept knowledge 77

5.6 Educational implications 80

6 Managing Memory 85

6.1 Properties of human memory 86

6.2 Basic memory processes 88

6.3 Practical memory management 94

6.4 Educational implications 98

II-B Effectiveness 101

7 Methods and Inferences 103

7.1 Methods and procedures 104

7.2 Specification of procedures 106

7.3 Making inferences 109

7.4 Educational implications 113

8 Describing Knowledge 119

8.1 Descriptions and their referents 120

8.2 Alternative descriptions 122

8.3 Characteristics of different descriptions 126

8.4 Complementary use of different descriptions 129

8.5 Educational implications 132

9 Organizing Knowledge 137

9.1 Importance of knowledge organization 138

9.2 Some forms of knowledge organization 139

9.3 Dealing with large amounts of knowledge 142

9.4 Knowledge elaboration 143

9.5 Hierarchical knowledge organization 145

9.6 Examples of hierarchical knowledge organizations 149

9.7 Educational implications 155

II-C Flexibility 163

10 Making Decisions 165

10.1 Importance of decision making 166

10.2 Kinds of decisions 168

10.3 Making complex decisions 170

10.4 More refined option assessments 173

10.5 Limitations of analytic decisions 177

10.6 Practical decision making 180

10.7 Decisions in scientific domains 183

10.8 Educational implications 185

11 Introduction to Problem Solving 189

11.1 Problem Characteristics 190

11.2 Challenges of improving problem solving 196

11.3 Educational implications 199

12 Systematic Problem Solving 201

12.1 A useful problem-solving strategy 201

12.2 Describing a problem 204

12.3 Analyzing a problem 207

12.4 Constructing a solution 210

12.5 Examples of solution constructions 214

12.6 Assessing a solution 221

12.7 Exploiting a solution 223

12.8 Educational implications 224

13 Dealing with Complex Problems 229

13.1 Managing complexity by task decomposition 229

13.2 Planning 231

13.3 Supportive knowledge 235

13.4 Helpful form of solution 237

13.5 Quantitative and qualitative problems 238

13.6 Writing as problem solving 243

13.7 Applying the problem-solving strategy to writing 244

13.8 Educational implications 249

II-D Efficiency 255

14 Efficiency and Compiled Knowledge 257

14.1 Importance of efficiency 258

14.2 Compiling knowledge 260

14.3 Routine performance 261

14.4 Automatic performance 263

14.5 Benefits and dangers of efficient performance 266

14.6 Educational implications 267

II-E Reliability 271

15 Quality Assurance 273

15.1 Ensuring good quality 274

15.2 Preventing defects 276

15.3 Assessing performance 278

15.4 Improving performance 280

15.5 Metacognition 281

15.6 Educational implications 282

15.8 Good performance and the instructional challenge 285

III Prior Knowledge 287

16 Unfamiliar Knowledge Domains 289

16.1 Prior knowledge and new learning 290

16.2 Everyday and scientific domains 293

16.3 Contrasting scientific and everyday cognitions 297

16.4 Scientists' and students' conceptions of science 302

16.5 Educational implications 306

17 Naive Scientific Knowledge 311

17.1 Characteristics of naive scientific knowledge 312

17.2 Students' prior knowledge about science 314

17.3 Naive conceptions about motion 316

17.4 Naive notions about the causes of motion 319

17.5 Force as a cause of motion 322

17.6 Educational implications 327

IV Learning and Teaching 333

18 Developing Instruction 335

18.1 Instructional development as a problem-solving task 335

18.2 Stages of instructional development 337

18.3 Overview of instructional development 339

19 Designing the Learning Process: Goals 343

19.1 Describing the learning problem 343

19.2 Analyzing the learning problem 347

19.3 Comparative analysis 354

20 Designing the Learning Process: Means 357

20.1 Decomposing and sequencing the learning process 357

20.2 Encoding new knowledge 360

20.3 Managing cognitive load 361

20.4 Exploiting useful organization 365

20.5 Ensuring the utility of acquired knowledge 372

20.6 Ensuring the reliability of acquired knowledge 373

20.7 Assessing a learning design 374

20.8 Achieving genuinely good performance 375

21 Producing Instruction to Foster Learning 377

21.1 Describing the instructional problem 377

21.2 Analyzing instructional needs 380

21.3 Helpful instructional interactions 381

21.4 Managing instruction 384

21.5 Learning by teaching 388

21.6 Assessing instruction 394

V Implementing Practical Instruction 401

22 Traditional Instructional Methods 403

22.1 The instructional delivery problem 403

22.2 Lectures 406

22.3 Textbooks 408

22.4 Homework assignments 409

22.5 Small instructional groups 411

22.6 Assessment of instructional delivery 412

23 Innovative Instructional Methods 417

23.1 Modified lecture forms 417

23.2 Cooperative learning 420

23.3 Packaged instruction 423

23.4 Technology-supported instruction 428

23.5 Potential benefits of educational technology 432

24 Some Educational Challenges 439

24.1 Providing more individual learning assistance 439

24.2 Teaching general thinking and learning skills 440

24.3 More scientific approaches to education 443

24.4 More significant educational role of universities 445.

Notes:

"A Bradford book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [451]-464) and index.

ISBN:

9780262182638

0262182637

OCLC:

85484917