Complex Cognitive
Processes
Chapter 8
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Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Overview
 Learning
and Teaching about
Concepts
 Problem Solving
 Becoming an Expert Student
– Learning strategies
 Teaching
for Positive Transfer
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Chapter 8
Teaching for
Transfer
Importance of
Understanding
Complex Cognitive
Processes
Becoming an
Expert Student
Problem
Solving
Learning & Teaching
about Concepts
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Learning and Teaching Concepts
 Most
of what we know about the world
is a result of our understanding of
concepts and concept relationships =
Manageable life
 Concepts are
– categories of similar ideas, events, objects,
people, etc. (e.g., student)
– abstractions.
– ways to organize information.
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
View of Concept Learning

Defining attribute or distinctive feature
(traditional view)
– E.g., book
– May not be clear-cut, but you can recognize one (e.g.,
party)

Prototype: Representative member of the
concept (bird: turkey vulture?; fruit: olive?)
– Graded membership (better or worse examples)

Exemplars
– Actual memories

Schemas - help us recognize concepts
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Strategies for Teaching Concepts
 Concept
attainment
• One of these things is not like the others,
one of these things doesn’t belong.
–
–
–
–
–
Examples
Non-examples
Hypothesis
Compare & contrast
Concept constructed through
discussion
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Strategies for Teaching Concepts – Four
essential components

1. Examples and non-examples
– Consider difficulty, age, ability

2. Relevant and irrelevant attributes
– E.g., not all birds fly (penguins, ostriches)

3. Name of the concept
– Label does not equal understanding
(isosceles triangle)

4. Definition of the concept
– General category (fruit)
– Defining attributes (seeds in the part we eat)

Bonus: Use visual aids to help clarify
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Concept Attainment Lesson Structure
 Phase
1: Presentation of Data and
Identification of Concept
– Present labeled examples/non-examples
• Undergeneralization (too narrow/red fruit)
• Overgeneralization (too broad/ things we eat)
– Students compare negative and positive
examples
– Students generate and test hypotheses
– Students state a definition of the concept
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Concept Attainment Lesson Structure
 Phase
2: Testing Attainment of the
Concept
– Students identify additional unlabeled
examples as “yes” or “no”
– Teacher confirms hypothesis, names
concept, restates definition
– Students generate examples
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Concept Attainment Lesson Structure
 Phase
3: Analysis of Thinking
Strategies
– Students describe their thoughts
• How did I get here?
– Students discuss role of hypothesis and
attributes
– Students discuss type and number of
hypotheses
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Keys to Teaching Concepts
 Less
obvious examples help prevent
undergeneralization (open your mind)
 Non-examples help prevent
overgeneralization (can’t be everything)
 Concept mapping can help connect the
new concept to other concepts they
know = advancement of knowledge
(intelligence?)
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Lab Assignment – Prepare a lesson
plan to teach a concept

1.Choose a concept.
 2.Identify a prototype.
 3.Are there defining attributes?
 4.Identify examples and non-examples.
 5.What are the irrelevant attributes?
 6.What thinking was required to analyze
your chosen concept?
 7.How will you evaluate your students’
attainment of the concept?
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Teaching Concepts through
Discovery - Jerome Bruner

Understanding the structure of the subject
 Teacher presents examples
 Students discover the interrelationships
 Inductive reasoning (eg-rule method/fruit ex.)
– Formulating general principles based on
knowledge of examples and details
 Requires intuitive thinking (make guesses &
refine; is this encouraged?

*Guided vs. unguided discovery approaches
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Teaching Concepts through
Exposition/Explanation – David
Ausubel

Knowledge through reception rather than
discovery (more passive style)
 Focus on meaningful verbal learning( not
rote memorization). Make the connections
& build.
 Learning progresses deductively (rule-eg
method/broad to specific)
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Learning Strategies –big plan comprised of
tactics

Deciding what is important
– “Have the experience but miss the
meaning.” (missing the central
idea)

Creating summaries - An acquired
skill

Underlining and highlighting - Be
selective

Taking notes
– Focuses attention
– External storage for later review
– In some cases it may distract
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Visual Tools for Organizing identifying connections and relationships between
concepts
 Maps and charts
 Venn or tree diagrams
 Timelines
 Reading strategies * be sure you review these in your text
– READS
– PQ4R
– CAPS
– KWL
You have to teach the strategies if you
want them to be of value to your
students.
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Teaching to Encourage Transfer:
previous learning affects current problem solving = a
useable knowledge base

Make learning meaningful & useful
 Practical applications: link to real life problem
solving (can’t wake up in a new world everyday)

Context – learning may be bound by context or situation.
How can you avoid this? “Why do we need algebra?”

Teach critical thinking skills – to apply in changing
situations

Overlearning = greater transfer and increased speed of
processing
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon
Stages of Transfer

Acquisition Phase
– Teach a new strategy and how to use it

Retention Phase
– Practice a strategy; Give feedback

Transfer Phase
– Give new problems; Use the same strategy
EXAMPLE: identifying topic sentences
How would you teach this skill?
Copyright © 2004 by Allyn and Bacon