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Are we training teachers to develop ‘routine expertise’ or adaptive expertise?

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Cognitive Science in Education: achieving an overview

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Cognitive Science in Education: achieving an overview

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Cognitive Science in Education- achieving an overview - Chris Tay

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Examples of planning decisions that show consideration of CLT and theories of memorisation processes from cog sci

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Examples of planning decisions that show consideration of CLT and theories of memorisation processes from cog sci

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Primary Languages - one aspect of learning within primary languages involves children learning to recall vocabulary items in the target language. Within planning, you will see teachers considering CLT when making decisions about how many new language items to introduce (e.g. Ofsted Research Review suggests 4-6 new items per hour of learning would be appropriate).  You will notice that teachers may make decisions around the number of language items that can be taught within a single session that fall outside of this recommendation. Here, the teacher is likely to still be considering CLT but to be taking a more nuanced approach, considering the specific situation, what they believe their individual class/students can manage, the number of cognates (words similar to English words), etc.

You will also be likely to see examples of spaced practice (returning to the same vocabulary after a gap) and interleaving (returning to sets of vocab previously seen in other subsequent units of work) within planning and when observing lessons/lesson sequences. These choices are thought to support the strengthening of neural pathways involved in longer-term memory, in line with theories of memory from cognitive science.

Music - you will notice teachers considering CLT when teaching a new skill or new repertoire within music lessons. This will been seen in their decisions around how they breakdown the task (for example, teaching a line at a time of a song, or right hand working slowly and independently of a two-hand keyboard piece).

You are likely to notice teachers employing spaced repetition and interleaving in their approach to reading western staff notation, for example. This is to support learners in building automaticity of recall of note names/duration from staff symbols. These activities will likely also link sound and symbol (so the students will be reading notation that they will also be playing) as this is a key principle of music education (see the writing of Professor Keith Swanwick for more on this).

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How much do teachers really need to know about cognitive science?

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How much do teachers really need to know about cognitive science?

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director of education and research, Chartered College of Teaching

20 Jan 2020, 5:00

The last few years have seen an explosion of interest in the science of learning from the education sector. It is informing teachers, whole schools and even national policy, but rethinking our approaches is never completely straightforward.

A number of key principles from cognitive science have emerged, as set out in the Deans for Impact report and Ambition Institute's Learning Curriculum 2.0, and many of those principles heavily inform the Department for Education's Early Career and Initial Teacher Training frameworks.

Yet Turvey and colleagues have already raised concerns that the DfE's coverage is overly narrow and too focused on recall. Of course, given huge pressures on teachers' time, it is never possible to cover everything - but we clearly need to think carefully about both priorities and implementation.

To begin with, do teachers need to understand the detail of research in the field, or is an understanding of key implications mediated by research translators sufficient? A superficial understanding of complex research risks ineffective implementation or worse, 'lethal mutations', but digesting lengthy research is time-consuming and requires specialist expertise. One way or another, collaboration between teachers and researchers seems critical.

It's also worth thinking about what teachers already know about the science of learning. Research from the US found that whilst teachers were significantly less likely than the general public to believe myths around cognition and learning, a relatively large number still believed 'neuromyths'.

Strikingly, 76 per cent of teachers (compared to 93 per cent of the general population) believed that pupils learn better when they receive information in their preferred 'learning style'. This echoes earlier findings from research into teachers' beliefs in the UK and Netherlands, which found that over 90 per cent of teachers believed in 'learning styles'.

Critically, teachers' professional autonomy needs to remain central

Whilst some of the myths tested in these surveys relate to how the brain works from a neuroscience perspective - which Dylan Wiliam has suggested provides little of use in terms of findings for teachers - others have real implications for classroom practice. Belief in 'learning styles', for example, can create huge unnecessary workload implications for teachers developing multiple versions of each resource.

And in a recent smaller-scale survey that sought to explore teachers' awareness of the value of practices based in cognitive science (such as spacing and interleaving), only 31 per cent of respondents thought retrieval practice was more effective than re-reading learned content.

Even when teachers do have good understanding of the principles of cognitive science in theory, practical application is not straightforward. Rob Coe has written about the challenges teachers face in effectively translating even a well-evidenced approach into the classroom.

On the other hand, teachers and researchers alike have shared examples of cognitive science being successfully adopted in the classroom, for example in improving slideshow presentations through application of cognitive load theory and dual coding. A wide range of blogs and articles are also included in this reading list, and the next issue of the Chartered College's journal, Impact focuses specifically on cognition and learning.

Critically, teachers' professional autonomy needs to remain central to how approaches based on cognitive science are implemented. Imposing inflexible school-wide policies is not only likely to be unhelpful for pupils' learning, but fails to recognise the need for teachers to be trusted to make informed decisions.

And the same approaches do not work in all contexts. Research on the expertise reversal effect suggests that the approaches that are most effective with novice learners may be less effective when working with more expert ones. Primary-age pupils are likely to need more prompts and structure than older pupils for retrieval practice to work well.

In the end, cognitive science does not provide a recipe for what teachers should do, but rather should inform their repertoire of approaches. And of course, it forms only one part of teachers' extensive knowledge and expertise.

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How much do teachers need to know about cognitive science?

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There has been an explosion of interest in the cognitive science from the education sector, but implementation requires careful consideration, writes Cat Scutt

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Often students confuse active learning within constructivist learning theory with hands-on practical work. In science, where constructivist learning theory dominates, it's understandable that they shoe-horn active learning into practical work. But within constructivism, active learning relates to the brain and how it makes sense of experience. Constructivism sees the brain as active in deciding what it can assimilate or accommodate ( in Piagetian terms) or what it can't make sense of. The brain is not seen as a passive entity which soaks up knowledge like a sponge. The brain actively makes sense of new experiences depending on what information it already holds ( schemata); hence the fundamental role of prior learning in determining what the brain can learn next. Misconceptions ( and identifying misconceptions... a key role of the teacher in constructivist theory) assume great importance within this theory of learning. Challenging misconceptions through providing children/students with new learning experiences that give learners cognitive challenge is seen as a crucial part of the educator's work.

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Meta-cognition in the Early Years PR5826

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Meta-cognition in the Early Years PR5826

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Meta-cognition is considered in relation to executive function and emotional and motivational dispositions (Sutton Trust, 2019). Longitudinal studies such as that of the High Scope pre-schools are considered in terms of the link between meta-cognition and lifetime effects. EEF research is used to inform strategies for supporting children's development of metacognition with relevant links made to real life early years practice. (PSED sessions in this module. R. Hunter)

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Self regulation in the Early Years PR5826

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Self regulation in the Early Years PR5826

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We look at definitions which are appropriate to the Early Years including the work of Mine Conkbayir and David Whitebread. ATs reflect on instances where they have observed children struggling with self-regulation and the effect that this may have on the classroom environment. Links are made between the EYFS statutory frameworks and how self regulation is covered in this document. Supportive factors for the development of self regulation are considered (Asquith, 2020). EEF guidance for how to support children to develop their self regulation is considered for its practical application to the early years classroom. (PSED sessions in this module. R. Hunter)

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MFL - learning to communicate or communicating to learn - a false dichotomy

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MFL - learning to communicate or communicating to learn - a false dichotomy

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Waters 2015 Cognitive architecture and the learning of language knowledge

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Scaffolding and Blooms in context of CLT -  Dissertation PR6822

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Scaffolding and Blooms in context of CLT -  Dissertation PR6822

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Numerous strategies (scaffolding) deployed to break down complex tasks into manageable steps, and by providing relevant and timely information

The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy informs applied learning activities as to what knowledge and cognitive processes are being exercised, which translates directly into cognitive load depending upon the current proficiency of learners, and their exposure to prior modeling of the activity’s solution.

* Link with constructivism * by providing scaffolding this can decrease cognitive load by structuring a task that guides the learners to focus on aspects of the task that are relevant to the learning goals.

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Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) - coined in 1988 by John Sweller, suggests that our working memory is only able to hold a small amount of information at any one time and that instructional methods should avoid overloading it in order to maximise learning (Sweller, 1988).

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Abstract

How critical thinking is understood has a logical impact on pedagogy and curriculum design in a critical thinking education. If critical thinking is seen as a complex mix of knowledge, skills and dispositions that can be articulated and made an object of study in themselves, then there is scope for intentional and explicit targeting of such things. If, however, critical thinking is seen as a general skill more or less impermeable to pedagogical influence and best realised through the development of content knowledge, then an explicit focus on developing thinking skills is misplaced and potentially distracting. The latter view is that of cognitive load theory (CLT), a theoretical framing of thinking and learning that has gained traction in education including with practitioners. This paper will explore some of the assumptions of CLT and show that they are either (1) in error, (2) vaguely or confusingly expressed and/or (3) the conclusions drawn within the theory are often errors of inference. Moreover, I point out that important educational research that weakens the claims of CLT is often not engaged with or addressed.

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CLT v Constructivism ..or both?          

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CLT v Constructivism ..or both?          

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Constructivism on the one hand, gives preeminent value to the development of students' self-regulated process of constructing knowledge. Its basic tenet is that students acquire their own understanding by constructing them from the inside rather than by internalizing them from the outside. Cognitive load theory, on the other hand, suggests that the free exploration of a highly complex environment may cause a heavy working memory load and led to poorer learning. Advocates of this view further argue that constructivist strategies provide learners with information that exceeds their working memory capacity, and thus fail to efficiently guide learners' acquisition of knowledge.

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The Link: Cognitive Science/Learning Sciences Glossary

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The Link: Cognitive Science/Learning Sciences Glossary

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Cognitive Science in the CCF Shared doc.docx

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Constructivism/ Socio-constructivism/ Metacognition - Modelling Geographical Enquiry PR0026, PR4824/ PR5824/ PR6824

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Constructivism/ Socio-constructivism/ Metacognition - Modelling Geographical Enquiry PR0026, PR4824/ PR5824/ PR6824

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Here are some ways in which geographical enquiry relates to Constructivism/ Socio-constructivism & Meta-cognition:

1. Active learning: Geographical enquiry encourages learners to actively engage in the learning process. Instead of passively receiving information, students take an active role in formulating questions, conducting research, and interpreting data.

2. Prior knowledge and experiences: Constructivism recognizes the importance of learners' prior knowledge and experiences in constructing new understanding.

3. Social interaction: Constructivism/ Socio -constructivism highlights the social aspect of learning, emphasizing the importance of interactions with peers and teachers. Through these social interactions, learners can engage in dialogue, negotiate meaning, and construct knowledge together.

4. Authentic context: Constructivism emphasizes the importance of learning in authentic contexts that reflect real-world situations.

5. Reflection and metacognition: Constructivism recognizes the role of reflection and metacognition in the learning process. Geographical enquiry encourages students to reflect on their learning experiences, evaluate their understanding, and think about the strategies they used during the enquiry process.

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Interleaving - Secondary English PR7223/4

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Interleaving - Secondary English PR7223/4

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Studying longer texts - to support student understanding of character, plot and theme development. Questions can be interleaved (and/or "spaced") which refer to earlier moments in the text.

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Cultural Literacy - Secondary English PR7223/4

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Cultural Literacy - Secondary English PR7223/4

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We discuss in depth how "background" knowledge impacts student understanding - particularly in relation to analysis and inference. We relate this to all kinds of texts from prose to poetry and discuss how this impacts how we teach the subject and how children learn English.