Abstract
The objective of this research into teacher education was to provide teachers with a deeper understanding of the cognitive goals of an inquiry-based learning program — Schools for Thought (SFT), and how these might be fostered using specific classroom activities. The classroom activities the workshops analyzed are derived from cognitive research aimed at fostering constructivist learning environments and include various strategies for facilitating collaborative learning and discussion among students (Bruer, 1993; Brown & Campione, 1994). The study documents 13 workshop sessions with teachers from grade 6,7, and 8. Teachers were asked to videotape segments of classroom activities in each of four phases of the SFT research cycle. The videotapes were edited by the authors and then discussed with teachers focusing on their effectiveness at implementing the cognitive goals for each unit phase. Analysis of these sessions reveal a shift in the focus of teachers' discussion from identifying procedures or the planning sequence of inquiry-based activities, to the usefulness these activities have for fostering specific cognitive and pedagogical goals. However, important differences remain in what researchers and teachers consider important when reflecting on teaching.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bereiter, C. (1992). Referent-centered and problem-centered knowledge: Elements of an educational epistemology. Interchange, 23(4), 337–361.
Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. (1989) Intentional learning as a goal of instruction. In L.B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 361–392). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bickel, W.E. & Hattrup, R.A. (1995). Teachers and researchers in collaboration: Reflections on the process. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 35–62.
Brown, A.L. & Palincsar, A.S. (1989). Guided, cooperative learning and individual knowledge acquisition. In L.B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 393–451). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Brown, A.L., & Campione, J.C. (1994). Guided discovery in a community of learners. In K. McGilly (Ed.), Classroom lessons: Integrating cognitive theory and classroom practice (pp. 229–272). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Brown, A.L. & Campione, J.C. (1996). Psychological theory and the design of innovative learning environments: On procedures, principles, and systems. In L. Schauble & R. Glaser (Eds.), Innovations in learning: New environments for education (pp. 289–325). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bruer, J.T. (1993). Schools for thought: A science of learning in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds and possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1992). The Jasper experiment: An exploration of issues in learning and instructional design. Educational technology research and development, 40, 65–80.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1993). Designing learning environments that support thinking: The Jasper series as a case study. In T.M. Duffy, J. Lowyck, & D.H. Jonassen (Eds.), Designing environments for constructive learning (pp. 9–36). NY: Springer-Verlag.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1994). From visual word problems to learning communities: Changing conceptions of cognitive research. In K. McGilly (Ed.), Classroom lessons: Integrating cognitive theory and classroom practice (pp. 157–200). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Fredericksen, J.R. & White, B.Y. (1997). Metacognitive facilitation: A method for promoting reflective collaboration. CSCL 97, Proceedings of the second international conference on computer support for collaborative learning (pp. 2–3). Mahwah, NJ: Elbaum.
Griffin, S. (1997). Building conceptual bridges: Creating more powerful models to improve mathematics learning and teaching. A report to the James S. McDonnell Foundation. St. Louis, MO: Cognitive Studies in Educational Practice.
Keefer, M.W. & Henderson, F. (1999, April). An inquiry based approach to professional development: Assisting teachers' reflection on practice. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.
Keefer, M.W. & Klein, C. (1998, April). Reflecting on teachers' practice: Creating cognitive tools for inquiry-based teaching. Paper presented in a symposium Building a culture of reflective practitioners: Cognitive science research and the educational reform movement at American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
Keefer, M.W., Zeitz, C.M., & Resnick, L.B. (2000). Judging the rational quality of peer-led student dialogues. Cognition and Instruction, 18(1), 55–83.
Krajcik, J.S., Blumenfield, P.C., Marx, R.W., & Soloway, E. (1994). A collaborative model for helping teachers learn project-based instruction. Elementary School Journal, 94, 483–497.
Marx, R.W., Blumenfield, P.C., Krajcik, J.S., & Soloway, E. (1998). New technologies for teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14, 33–52.
McGilly, K. (1994). (Ed.). Classroom lessons: Integrating cognitive theory and classroom practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
National Research Council. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Research Council: National Academy Press.
Palincsar, A.S. & Brown, A.L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1, 117–175.
Putnam, R.T. & Borko, H. (2000). What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning. Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4–15.
Resnick, L.B., Bill, V.L., Leer M.N., & Reams, L.E. (1992). From cupcakes to equations: The structure of discourse in a primary mathematics classroom. Verbum, 1–2, 63–85.
Resnick L.B., & Collins, A. (1994). Cognition and learning. In T. Husen & T.N. Postlethwaite (Eds), International encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., pp. 835–838). Oxford: Pergamon.
Salomon, G. (1996). (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Savery, J.R. & Duffy, T.M. (1995). Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. Educational Technology, September/October, 31–38.
Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 51, 1–22.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keefer, M. Designing Reflections on Practice: Helping Teachers Apply Cognitive Learning Principles in an SFT — Inquiry-Based Learning Program. Interchange 33, 395–417 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021516205050
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021516205050