The pedagogical approach that focuses on what happens inside the mind, drawing on theory about processing facts and cognitive load, so a teacher chunks explanations into small parts and uses worked examples as an effective strategy.
Facts
Central QuestionWhat internal mental processes, plans and strategies does a learner use to make sense of new information? 1 Most Effective ForWell-structured instruction that helps learners build plans and strategies rather than habits, and that accounts for individual differences in cognitive style and prior knowledge. 1 Cognitivism
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Associated With
Classifies cognitive processes; widely used across pedagogical approaches but rooted in cognitivist thinking about levels of understanding.
Developed By
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Includes
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source UIC Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence, Teaching GuidesBloom's Taxonomy guide, cognitive domain
Additional Source WikipediaPiaget's theory of cognitive development, lead section
Sources
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
The cognitive orientation to learning page
Where behaviourists looked to the environment, those drawing on Gestalt turned to the individual's mental processes. In other words, they were concerned with cognition, the act or process of knowing.
The cognitive orientation to learning page, Hartley's principles
Learning results from inferences, expectations and making connections. Instead of acquiring habits, learners acquire plans and strategies, and prior knowledge is important.
View the SourceStructural Learning, Pedagogy Explained
Structural LearningPedagogy Explained, Five Pedagogical Approaches Explained, CognitivismQuote, Pedagogy Explained, Five Pedagogical Approaches Explained, Cognitivism
focuses on what happens inside the mind...chunk their explanations into small parts
Teaching in a Digital Age
Tony Bates Associates LtdCh 2.4 Cognitivism, section 2.5.3 Applications of cognitivist learning theoryQuote, Ch 2.4 Cognitivism, section 2.5.3 Applications of cognitivist learning theory
Cognitive approaches to learning, with a focus on comprehension, abstraction, analysis, synthesis, generalization, evaluation, decision-making, problem-solving and creative thinking, seem to fit much better with higher education than behaviourism, but even in school/k-12 education, a cognitivist approach would mean for instance focusing on teaching learners how to learn, on developing stronger or new mental processes for future learning, and on developing deeper and constantly changing understanding of concepts and ideas.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development, Piaget's theory of cognitive development, lead section
To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganisation of mental processes resulting from biological maturation and environmental experience.
Includes: Multiple Intelligences Theory, Theory of multiple intelligences article, cognitive framing
In 1983, the field of cognitive neuroscience was embryonic, but Gardner was one of the early psychological theorists to describe direct links between brain systems and intelligence.
View the Source UIC Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence, Teaching Guides
Includes: Bloom's Taxonomy, Bloom's Taxonomy guide, cognitive domainQuote, Includes: Bloom's Taxonomy, Bloom's Taxonomy guide, cognitive domain
The cognitive domain is focused on intellectual skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creating a knowledge base.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is cognitivism only useful for higher education?
No. It fits higher education especially well, but the same source says it still applies to school-age teaching as a way of building learners' own mental processes rather than just their behaviour.
Teaching in a Digital Age argues that cognitive approaches, with their focus on comprehension, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and problem-solving, fit much better with higher education than behaviourism does. The same source adds that a cognitivist approach still has a place in school-age education, where it means teaching learners how to learn and building stronger mental processes for future learning, rather than only shaping their observable behaviour.
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