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Article Parta Elc612 Learn Cognition
Article Parta Elc612 Learn Cognition
OF EDUCATION
How
children
learn
By Stella Vosniadou
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY
OF EDUCATION
Preface
This booklet is about how children learn. It has been prepared
for inclusion in the Educational Practices Series developed by
the International Academy of Education and distributed by the
International Bureau of Education and the Academy. As part of
its mission, the Academy provides timely syntheses of research
on educational topics of international importance. This booklet is the seventh in the series on educational practices that
generally improve learning.
The author is Stella Vosniadou, who has written many articles and books in the area of cognitive, developmental and
educational psychology. She has taught at the University of
Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and at the University of Athens,
and was president of the European Association for Research on
Learning and Instruction. She is currently the director of a graduate programme in cognitive science in the Department of
Philosophy and History of Science at the University of Athens.
The officers of the International Academy of Education are
aware that this booklet is based on research carried out primarily in economically advanced countries. The booklet, however,
focuses on aspects of how children learn that appear to be
universal in much formal and informal schooling. The practices
presented here are likely to be generally applicable throughout the world. Even so, the principles should be assessed with
reference to local conditions, and adapted accordingly. In any
educational setting or cultural context, suggestions or guidelines for practice require sensitive and sensible application, and
continuing evaluation.
HERBERT J. WALBERG
Editor, IAE Educational Practices Series
University of Illinois at Chicago
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6.
Table of contents
Introduction, page 6
1. Active involvement, page 8
2. Social participation, page 9
3. Meaningful activities, page 11
4. Relating new information to prior knowledge, page 12
5. Being strategic, page 14
6. Engaging in self-regulation and being reflective, page 16
7. Restructuring prior knowledge, page 18
8. Aiming towards understanding rather than memorization,
page 20
9. Helping students learn to transfer, page 22
10. Taking time to practice, page 23
11. Developmental and individual differences, page 25
12. Creating motivated learners, page 27
References and further reading, page 29
This publication has been produced in 2001 by the International
Academy of Education (IAE), Palais des Acadmies, 1, rue Ducale,
1000 Brussels, Belgium, and the International Bureau of Education
(IBE), P.O. Box 199, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. It is available
free of charge and may be freely reproduced and translated into other
languages. Please send a copy of any publication that reproduces
this text in whole or in part to the IAE and the IBE. This publication
is also available on the Internet. See the Publications section,
Educational Practices Series page at:
http://www.ibe.unesco.org
The author is responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts
contained in this publication and for the opinions expressed therein,
which are not necessarily those of UNESCO/IBE and do not commit
the organization. The designations employed and the presentation
of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any
opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO/IBE concerning the legal
status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or
concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Introduction
The psychological principles described in this booklet summarize
some of the important results of recent research on learning
that is relevant for education. They attempt to integrate research
coming from diverse areas of psychology, including educational,
developmental, cognitive, social and clinical psychology. This
research has offered us new insights into the learning process
and the development of knowledge in many subject-matter
areas. As a result, curricula and instruction are changing in
schools today. They are attempting to become more studentcentred than teacher-centred, to connect the school to real-life
situations, and to focus on understanding and thinking rather
than on memorization, drill and practice.
Although each principle is explained on its own, all twelve
principles are best understood as an organized whole with
one supporting the others. As a whole, these principles are
meant to provide a comprehensive framework for the design
of curricula and of instruction. Indeed, they are found behind
a number of innovative programmes in schools across the
world today.
We begin with a discussion of three principles that are
widely recognized as forming the basis on which teachers
should design the learning environments of todays schools;
namely, learning environments that encourage students to be
active learners, to collaborate with other students, and to use
meaningful tasks and authentic materials. We continue with
seven principles that focus on cognitive factors that are primarily
internal, but also interact with environmental factors in
important ways. Teachers need to take these principles into
consideration in order to design more effective curricula and
instruction. We end with a discussion of developmental and
individual differences, and with motivational influences on
learning. These last two areas are very important for learning
and instruction, andto be treated adequatelydeserve to
become independent booklets.
We have not dealt with a subject that is becoming very
important in the schools of todaythe use of information and
communication technology to support learning. We have not
done so because this area is too vast and we believe that a
special booklet needs to be devoted to it.
1.
Active involvement
2.
Social participation
10
3.
Meaningful activities
11
4.
12
13
5.
Being strategic
14
15
6.
Engaging in self-regulation
and being reflective
16
17
7.
Restructuring prior
knowledge
18
19
8.
Aiming towards
understanding rather
than memorization
20
21
9.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Gardner, H. 1991. The unschooled mind: how children think and how
schools should teach. New York, Basic Books.
. 1993. Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice. New York,
Basic Books.
Halpern, D.F., ed. 1992. Enhancing thinking skills in the sciences and
mathematics. Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum.
Heath, S.B. 1983. Ways with words: language, life and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge
University Press.
Lepper, M.; Hodell, M. 1989. Intrinsic motivation in the classroom. In:
Ames, C.; Ames, R., eds. Research on motivation in education, Vol.
3, p. 73-105. New York, Academic Press.
Marton, F.; Booth, S. 1997. Learning and awareness. Hillsdale, NJ,
Erlbaum.
Mayer, R.E. 1987. Educational psychology: a cognitive approach. Boston,
MA, Little, Brown.
Palincsar, A.S.; Brown, A.L. 1984. Reciprocal teaching of comprehension monitoring activities. Cognition and instruction (Hillsdale, NJ),
vol. 1, p. 11775.
Perkins, D. 1992. Smart schools: better thinking and learning for every
child. Riverside, NJ, The Free Press.
Piaget, J. 1978. Success and understanding. Cambridge, MA, Harvard
University Press.
Resnick, L.B.; Klopfer, L.E., eds. 1989. Toward the thinking curriculum:
current cognitive research. Alexandria, VA, ASCD Books.
Rogoff, B. 1990. Apprenticeships in thinking: cognitive development in
social context. New York, Oxford University Press.
Scardamalia, M.; Bereiter, C. 1991. Higher levels of agency for children
in knowledge building: a challenge for the design of new knowledge media. Journal of the learning sciences (Hillsdale, NJ), no. 1,
p. 3768.
Schnotz, W.; Vosniadou, S.; Carretero, M. 1999. New perspectives on
conceptual change. Oxford, United Kingdom, Elsevier Science.
Spaulding, C.L. 1992. Motivation in the classroom. New York, McGraw
Hill.
Vosniadou, S.; Brewer, W.F. 1992. Mental models of the earth: a study
of conceptual change in childhood. Cognitive psychology (San Diego,
CA), no. 24, p. 53558.
Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press.
White, B.Y.; Frederickson, J.R. 1998. Inquiry, modelling and metacognition: making science accessible to all students. Cognition and
instruction (Hillsdale, NJ), vol. 16, no. 1, p. 13117.
30
NOTES
31
The International
Bureau of
EducationIBE
An international centre for the content of
education, the IBE was founded in Geneva
in 1925 as a private institution. In 1929, it
became the first intergovernmental
organization in the field of education. In
1969, the IBE joined UNESCO as an integral,
yet autonomous, institution.
It has three main lines of action: (a)
organizing the sessions of the International
Conference on Education; (b) collecting,
analysing and disseminating educational
documentation and information, in particular
on innovations concerning curricula and
teaching methods; and (c) undertaking
surveys and studies in the field of
comparative education. At the present time,
the IBE: (a) manages World data on
education, a databank presenting on a
comparative basis the profiles of national
education systems; (b) organizes regional
courses on curriculum development; (c)
collects and disseminates through its
databank INNODATA notable innovations on
education; (d) co-ordinates preparation of
national reports on the development of
education; (e) administers the Comenius
Medal awarded to outstanding teachers and
educational researchers; and (f) publishes a
quarterly review of educationProspects, a
quarterly newsletterEducational
innovation and information, as well as
other publications.
In the context of its training courses on
curriculum development, the Bureau is
establishing regional and sub-regional
networks on the management of curriculum
change and developing a new information
servicea platform for the exchange of
information on content.
The IBE is governed by a Council
composed of representatives of twenty-eight
Member States elected by the General
Conference of UNESCO. The IBE is proud to
be associated with the work of the
International Academy of Education and
publishes this material in its capacity as a
clearinghouse promoting the exchange of
information on educational practices.
http://www.ibe.unesco.org