Education & Cognition

1. The Roots of Constructivism

1.1. Piaget: The importance of connecting experiences and knowledge to the learning environment.

1.1.1. Importance of Accomodation & Assimilation

2. Identity

2.1. Tatum: Black tudents must contend with lack of positive cultural images & the fear of losing identification as a byproduct of succeeding.

2.2. Gladwell: Parents influence over children is often limited to within their homes; peers' influence over students is very significant.

2.3. Wigfield & Eccles: Students' beliefs in their abilities directly impact their motivation for completing tasks & their preferences for areas of study.

2.4. Dweck: Students are likely to demonstrate either anxiety and avoidance or confidence and willingness when presented with challenging material.

3. Memory Retention

3.1. Atkinson-Shiffrin model is basis for...

3.1.1. Role of elaboration/organization

3.1.2. Importance of repetition

3.2. Cognitive Load Theory

3.3. Ogbu: Certain cultures are exposed to certain activities/types of skills

4. Competition & Incentives

4.1. Covington: Competition creates a hostile class atmosphere; competition discourages cooperation and places the teacher (rather than the student) as the gatekeeper to approval.

5. Creativity

5.1. Livingston: Foster motivation through cooperation; tether creativity to the curriculum to foster interest

5.2. Amabile: Challenge students to provide creative answers & create intrinsic motivation; use cooperation as a means to deconstruct culture of evaluation.

5.3. Elkind: Children should not be pressured to accomplish tasks before they are developmentally prepared; play is a vital component of childhood.