"COGNITION AND TEACHING: Part 1"
Short Course for College Faculty Ruth S. Day
Many professors are delightful outside the classroom. They are fluent, clear, and engaging. However, some undergo a peculiar transformation when they enter the classroom. In the worst cases, they may become confusing and even downright boring. Why? Although many factors may be involved, we will examine cognitive aspects of college teaching, according to the following plan.
Throughout the discussion, we will acknowledge that there is no one "best" way to teach. For example, some successful professors use verbatim text as lecture notes while others use outlines or spatial maps. We will examine the cognitive consequences of using each of these alternative forms of representation; to do so, participants will give 5-minute "mini-talks" based on material from their own classrooms. For college professors of: all disciplines. Prerequisites: be scheduled to teach at least one lecture course during the current or next academic year. Individuals with all levels of teaching "ability" are welcome.
Dr. Day has done extensive research in cognitive psychology, including Basic Cognition (perception, memory, comprehension, mental representation, problem solving, knowledge structures, linguistic coding, individual differences), and Everyday Cognition (including medical cognition and courtroom cognition). Her forthcoming book, Cognition and Teaching, incorporates some of the material from this course. She was on the faculty at Stanford and Yale before going to Duke and was also a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. She was designated one of the "Ten Best Teachers" at Yale, "Distinguished Teacher" at Duke, and "All Star Teacher" by the Smithsonian Institution/Teaching Company. |
"COGNITION AND TEACHING: Part 2"
Short Course for College Faculty Ruth S. Day
In "Cognition and Teaching: Part 1" we examined various cognitive processes (such as attention and memory) and their implications for teaching and learning. Since then, participants have returned to their classrooms and used course materials in both explicit and implicit ways. After a brief review of the major concepts examined in Part 1, we will discuss their effects on subsequent teaching. New material on "higher" cognitive functions will then be presented, including knowledge representation, alternative representations, problem solving, writing, and relationships between language and thought. This material will be applied to teaching in the traditional divisions of inquiry - natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Small Focus Groups will also meet to discuss the material in terms of specific disciplines (e.g., physics, chemistry, biology, math, computer science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, philosophy, literature), and report their observations to the entire class. Concluding discussion will focus on cognitive aspects of teaching in the various disciplines - and the possibility that each can benefit from including approaches characteristic of other disciplines. For college professors of: all disciplines. Prerequisites: completion of the Chautauqua course, "Cognition and Teaching: Part 1," given by Dr. Day.
Dr. Day has done extensive research in cognitive psychology, including Basic Cognition (perception, memory, comprehension, mental representation, problem solving, knowledge structures, linguistic coding, individual differences), and Everyday Cognition (including medical cognition and courtroom cognition). Her forthcoming book, Cognition and Teaching, incorporates some of the material from this course. She was on the faculty at Stanford and Yale before going to Duke and was also a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. She was designated one of the "Ten Best Teachers" at Yale, "Distinguished Teacher" at Duke, and "All Star Teacher" by the Smithsonian Institution/Teaching Company. |