COGNITIVISM

LESSON 2
 Cognitivism, supported by Gestalt psychologists, is the
acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental or cognitive
processes.

In contrast to behaviorism, Cognitivism is less concerned with

outward behaviors, and more concerned with inner processes or
inner mental activities to understand how people learn. The results
of watching, touching, or experiencing are major points in cognitive
learning.
According to the cognitive theory, learning happens
through a process of taking in information they receive
through the senses, organizing and storing the information,
and retrieving it to form new meanings when needed.
Processes of cognitive learning include creating mental
representations of objects and events, as well as other
forms of information processing.
 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
 Jean Piaget's (1936, 1950) theory of cognitive
development presents how a child creates a mental
model of the world. He believes that cognitive
intelligence is not a fixed trait, but rather a process
which occurs as a child's biological maturation and
his/her interaction with the environment. This theory
is focused on the development rather than the process
of learning specific information or specific behaviors.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Sensorimotor stage (0 to 2 years).
 At this stage, the Infant learns about the world using its senses
(hearing, smell, sight, touch, taste) and through hi her actions,
starting with the reflexes, then moving around and exploring
his/he environment. The child begins to use imitation, memory,
and thought. At this stage they recognize people, texture,
objects, sights, and emotions. By 4 months old the infant
becomes aware of things beyond its own body, then later on
learns to do things intentionally. With an increase in mobility,
there is a consequent increase in cognitive development.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years).
 By this stage, the toddler incorporates language in his/her
understanding of the world. He/she acquires the ability to
internally represent the world through language and mental
imagery.
 At this stage, the child will have difficulty seeing other people's
point of view. The child's thinking starts out as "egocentric" or
centered on the child's own view of the world. Later on, he/she
will develop from egocentric speech ("I," "me," "myself, name
of child) to "socialized speech."
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years).
 Around age 4, the child starts to ask so many
questions. This can be called the birth of primitive
reasoning (intuitive age).
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years).
 At this stage, the child can process events and information
as it is. However, he/she will not be able to accommodate
abstract or hypothetical concepts yet. He/she can solve
concrete. hands-on problems. He/she will understand laws
of conservation. This means that he/she will understand
that even if things may change in appearance, certain
properties remain the same. The child can conserve number
by age 6, mass by age 7, and weight by age 9.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years).
 During this stage, the child will start to think logically
about concrete events, and will be able to classify and put
things in a series. The reason that this stage is called
"concrete operational" is because at this stage, the child can
think logically more successfully if they can manipulate
real (concrete) materials or pictures of them. This stage is
when the child starts to think logical (operational) thought.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years).
 The child's brain can classify, seriate, and build concrete
operational mental structures. These new mental abilities
are applied in conversations, in activities when learning to
write, and when attending school. The child thus gets to
know himself/herself better. The child starts to understand
that his/her thoughts and feelings are unique and may be
different from others. The child consequently learns to see
the points of view of other people.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Formal operational stage (12 years and up).
 By this stage, the child would be able to perform thought processes like
abstract thinking, being able to envision hypothetical scenarios, creating
strategies, and looking through various perspectives. He/she will be able
to solve abstract problems, think scientifically, and show concern for
social issues. He/she learns about abstract concepts like love and hate,
and success and failure. He/she forms a deeper understanding of his/her
identity and morality, and starts to understand why people behave the
way they do this results in becoming more compassionate.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Formal operational stage (12 years and up).
 At this stage, the adolescent can follow an argument without having
to think in terms of specific examples. He/she can discuss
hypothetical problems, speculate, and brainstorm many possible
solutions or consequences to certain scenarios, situations, or cases.
At this age, you can talk to the adolescent using questions similar to
"what would happen if..." to help assess logical consequences of
options. They start using logical operations in a systematic fashion.
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Formal operational stage (12 years and up).
 The adolescent can now do deductive reasoning, being able to
compare two statements to reach a generalization. With this, he/she
can plan his/her life systematically and learn to prioritize. He/she
can also make assumptions about events that may not be real.
He/she can now philosophize, thinking about thinking. Although
Piaget believes in lifelong learning, he also believes that the formal
operational stage is still the last stage of cognitive development
 Cognitive stages of Jean Piaget
 Formal operational stage (12 years and up).
 According to Piaget, knowledge cannot emerge only from sensory
experiences without the necessary structure to make sense of the world.
Piaget proposes that a child is born with a basic mental structure
(genetically inherited), on which all knowledge and learning are based.
Piaget further explains that he believes the inborn reflexes of infants are
genetically programed neonatal schemas. Examples are the sucking reflex
for sucking a nipple (or anything that comes near a baby's mouth), or the
grasping reflex when something touches its palms.
 Adaptation processes

Are adjustments people make to live in this world.

These adaptation processes allow the learner to
transition from one stage to another. These are
assimilation, equilibration, and accommodation.
 Adaptation Process in Learning Something
New

✓Assimilation is the process of fitting new information into existing cognitive

schemas, perceptions, and understanding. This is when you are faced with
new Information, you try to make sense of it by referring to the information
you already have (learned previously). For example, when a toddler sees an
elderly man who is bald at the top but with hair on the sides around the ears,
he might say "clown"!
A child who happens to see a Chihuahua might say "puppy" even if the said
dog is already 7 years old simply because of its size.
Another child might see a chubby man with luscious white beard and the
child might say "Santa Claus." Another child may call a large dog a horse.
 Adaptation Process in Learning Something
New

✓Accommodation is the process of revising our existing schemas, perceptions,

and understanding in order to incorporate new information. This happens
when our existing schema does not work and needs to be changed in order to
deal with a new situation or a new object.
For example, a schema for bird (having feathers and wings, and flies) and
seeing an airplane (which also has wings and flies but no feathers), or when a
bald man looks like a clown because of his hair, but he does not wear a funny
costume. Accommodation can be used to remove overgeneralization.
 Adaptation Process in Learning Something
New

✓Equilibration is a state when a child's existing schemas can

explain what it can perceive around it. It is a state of mental
(cognitive) balance. Since we find it difficult to live with
contradictions and inconsistencies in knowledge structures, we
seek equilibrium.
When we incorporate new information through assimilation and
this causes discomfort because of some inconsistencies, we seek to
do accommodation to restore the feeling of equilibrium or balance.
 Jerome Bruner
 Introduction
• An American Psychologist who made important contributions
to cognitive psychology and educational psychology.
• The goal of education should be intellectual development
• The need for ‘learning how to learn’
Bruner introduced a three-step process(Modes of
Representation) where a child will learn best.
 Bruner introduced a three-step process(Modes of
Representation) where a child will learn best.

 Enactive mode
o Based around actions and reactions
o Performing actions, observe reactions
o Learn best by first hand experience
o Example: An infant wants to understand a circular object. It
would touch and feel the objects and its curvature
 Bruner introduced a three-step process(Modes of
Representation) where a child will learn best.

 Iconic Mode
o Visual summarization of objects.
o Storing a mental picture of an object
o Example: The child can now draw an image of a circular
object or think of an image.
 Bruner introduced a three-step process(Modes of
Representation) where a child will learn best.

 Symbolic Mode
o Information is stored in the form of a code or symbol, like a
language.
o Stored, classified and manipulated
o Example: The child can use the circle/balls as part of a
language or as a mathematical equation.
 Spiral Curriculum
o Any subject of any difficulty can be taught to a child at any
stage of development.
o A gradual increase in difficulty.
o Each learning step be linked to the previous step.
 Scaffolding
o Students are benefited by the help and guidance of adults to
shape up their learning.
o Teachers should build a structure to aid the existing
knowledge of students
 Why is Bruner’s theory important?
o Prior knowledge of the students more important than age.
o Developing the memory and imagination power of students.
o Effective learning process
Ausubel’s Theory of Meaningful Verbal
Learning/Subsumption Theory
 David Paul Ausubel

He believes that “The most important

single factor influencing learning is what
the learner already know.” This is what
we know as the Subsumption Theory.
Subsumption- incorporating something under a more general category.
 Advance organizer
o Ausubel believes learning should be well organized, that is
why he advocates the use of Advanced Organizers.
o Advanced Organizer- Is a major tool proposed by Ausubel and
it gives 2 benefits:
1. You will find it easier to connect new information with what
you already know about the topic.
2. You can readily see how the concepts in a certain topic are
related to each other.
 Advance organizer
 The advanced organizer is a relatively short arrangement of
introductory material presented to the learner before the lesson. It
relies on relevant prior knowledge. There should be a bridging of
the gap between what the learner knows and what he/she needs to
know before he/she can successfully learn the task at hand. Since
many students find it challenging to listen carefully during a
lecture, providing an organizational framework(Advance
Organizer) can help.
Three phases in using the advanced organizer.
 Three phases in using the advanced
organizer.
 Phase 1- Presentation of the advanced organizer. This
phase has three steps.
Step 1. Clarify the aims of the lesson.
Step 2. Present the advanced organizer
Step 3. Prompt awareness of relevant knowledge and
experience.
 Three phases in using the advanced
organizer.
 Phase 2- Presentation of the learning task. In this
phase, the present learning task is presented in a
systematic order, while discussing each aspect one by
one, with very interactive class discussion between the
teacher and the students.
 Three phases in using the advanced
organizer.
 Phase 3- Strengthening of cognitive organization. This
phase has four steps.
Step 1. Compare and contrast key points.
Step 2. Accurate reception
Step 3. Elicit critical approach
Step 4. Clarify
 In using the advanced organizer model, the
teacher is more active. Sometimes, collaboration
should take place. Even if the teacher plays a
major role in this setup, he/she is a facilitator. The
teacher provides the learning experiences and
clarifies when students have questions.
 Robert Gagne(1965)

 He is known for the science of instruction. His

book The Conditions of Learning presented
mental conditions needed for effective learning.
He created the 9 steps of instruction that
detailed each element needed for effective
learning.
 Robert Gagne(1965)

9 steps of instruction
 1. Gain attention
 2. Inform the learners of the objectives of the lesson
 3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
 4. Present the stimulus/material
 5. Provide learning guidance
 6. Elicit performance
 7. Provide feedback
 8. Assess performance
 9. Enhance Retention and transfer arranging practice
 Benjamin Bloom (1956)

 Developed a classification of learning levels

known as the Bloom’s Taxonomy. It is
commonly used as a guide in education when
writing objectives of a lessons, in creating
presentations, in learning activities, or in
creating assessment.
 Benjamin Bloom (1956)

 Blooms believes that there are three main

domains of learning:
 1. Cognitive (thinking)
 2. Affective (feeling)
 3. Psychomotor (doing)
Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy
OLD NEW
Evaluation Create
Synthesis Evaluate
Analysis Analyze
Application Apply
Comprehension Understand
Knowledge Remember

 Create – Produce new or original work

 Evaluate – Justify a stand or decision
 Analyze – Draw connection among ideas
 Apply – Use information in new situations
 Understand – Explain ideas or concept
 Remember – Recall facts and basic concepts
 Cognitivism and its Implications for Teaching

Cognitivism is widely used in education from analysis of errors in

learning, prior learning misconceptions, memory, how to store new ideas
in long-term memory, to teaching strategies and methods.

 For more student-centered learning, cognitivism is used to:

 Understand student’s thinking and match instructional strategies to
student abilities
 Use concrete props and visuals
 Make instruction relatively short
 Consider that children may have different meanings or prior
knowledge the same word
 Cognitivism and its Implications for Teaching

For more student-centered learning, cognitivism is used to:

 Provide a wide range of experiences to build a foundation

of learnings
 Encourage individual learning
 Allow children to learn through play
 Allow students to actively solve problems for assimilation
and accommodation to occur
 Allow students to learn from each other through
collaboration and discussion
 Use discovery learning (learning by doing and exploring)
 The role of the teacher should be a facilitator of learning
instead of being the sole source of information through
direct teaching and helping student learn how to learn.
Teachers should focus on the process of learning,
instead of the end-product. Teacher should use active
teaching methods that requires students to rediscover or
reconstruct “truths”. Teachers can use collaborative and
individual activities, allowing children to learn from each
other.
 ASSESS.
DIRECTIONS: Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer.
1. The stage of representation in J. Bruner’s theory where an object can be directly manipulated,
but without an internal representation of that object:
a. Enactive representation
b. Iconic representation
c. Symbolic representation
d. Constructive representation

2. The person promoting the use of advanced organizers is:

e. J. Bruner
f. D. Ausubel
g. B. Bloom
h. R. Gagne
 ASSESS.
DIRECTIONS: Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer.
3. The process of revising our existing schemas, perceptions, and understanding in order to
incorporate new information:
a. Organization
b. Equilibrium
c. Accomodation
d. Assimilation
4. The person who provided a nine-step guide for instructional planning is:
e. J. Bruner
f. J. Piaget
g. B. Bloom
h. R. Gagne
 ASSESS.
DIRECTIONS: Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer.
5. Inventing or designing is an example of ________ in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
a. Remembering
b. Understanding
c. Analyzing
d. Creating

II. Essay.
1. In your own words, explain what is cognitivism.
2. Create a Venn diagram, chart, table, or concept map comparing behaviorism and
cognitivism.