Is Inquiry Learning Unjust? Cognitive Load Theory and the Democratic Ends of Education

Cognitive load theorists Paul Kirschner, John Sweller and Richard Clark argue that an array of inquiry-based pedagogies widely promoted in teacher preparation programmes are out of step with current cognitive science and should be eliminated for novice learners. According to these cognitive load theorists, inquiry-based pedagogies are likely to increase achievement gaps between the lowest and highest achieving students while reducing total learning. On almost any theory of justice in educational provision, an educational practice that results in the acquisition of fewer total educational goods by students and greater inequality in the distribution of goods will be considered unjust. I argue that inquiry-based pedagogies can be defended, even for novice learners, not as means to other goods but as embodiments of the least controversial liberal-democratic educational ends. I claim that once understood as part of the ends of liberal democratic education, inquiry-based pedagogies cannot be rightly eliminated from educational pathways. In addition, I argue that by interpreting cognitive load theory in light of uncontroversial liberal democratic educational ends, central claims about instructional design that are advanced by both cognitive load theorists and their opponents are either moderated or overturned. Most notably, the claim that there are no domain-general inquiry skills which need to be taught, which is advanced by cognitive load theorists against inquiry theorists, is revealed to be self-refuting. Integrating cognitive load theory into processes of liberal democratic problem-solving turns out to be a biologically secondary domain-general inquiry skill of just the sort cognitive load theorists deny exists.     

The International Adult Literacy Survey: What Does It Really Measure?

The paper evaluates the work of the International Adult Literacy Survey as reported in OECD 1997. It assesses its contribution to understanding literacy in terms of the perspective of the New Literacy Studies. It outlines this perspective as a basis for a critique that is mostly concerned with the validity of the test. Three criticisms of the survey are made: that it provides only a partial picture of literacy; that culture is treated as bias; and that the test items do not represent the real-life items as claimed. Finally, the paper concludes with an overall evaluation of what the IALS achieves in terms of its own aims.     

How Many Penniey?

It was Timmy’s birthday.His father said,“timmy! Youare old enoughnow to havemoney of yourown.Fromnow on, youwill get tenpennies eachSaturday. Youmay do as you     

A Problem for Cognitive Load Theory—the Distinctively Human Life-form

Cognitive load theory has challenged contemporary approaches to teaching by arguing that they are ineffective because of a neglect of the psychology underpinning learning and, specifically, the high demand placed on working memory. This paper challenges the presuppositions involved not only in arguments for guided instruction by those supporting cognitive load theory, but also in opposed pedagogic approaches involving discovery and inquiry learning. Both approaches are in danger of presupposing what C.B. Macpherson criticised as ‘possessive individualism’—i.e. capacities, beliefs and desires viewed as possessions of an individual. As a result, they fail to pay attention to mediation and normativity, both of which are distinctive aspects of human action. Examining this in more detail entails consideration of fundamental issues concerning human knowledge and understanding. An appreciation of the significance of normativity and mediation leads us to the philosophic works of Marx, Vygotsky and Wittgenstein, and in particular to Brandom's Inferentialism. The philosophical ideas here have direct implications for pedagogy.     

Culturalizing Science Instruction: What Is It,What Does It Look Like and Why Do We Need It?

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

After Six Decades of Systematic Study of Creativity: What Do Teachers Need to Know About What It Is and How It Is Measured?

With creativity now being emphasized in schools, it is important for teachers to understand what it is and how it is measured. This review of the literature is an attempt to make sense of the many definitions and measures of creativity. As a result, this comprehensive review shows that most definitions agree that there are at least two criteria to judge whether a person or a product is creative or not, originality and usefulness. Organized according to Rhodes’s 3 P conceptualization of creativity—person, process, product, and press—more than 40 assessments used in creativity research were reviewed. Familiarity with the definitions, views of, and measurement of creativity can help teachers recognize and foster creativity in their students.     

How Does Motivation Develop and Why Does It Change? Reframing Motivation Research

In this article, we argue for a change in how researchers study motivation to learn. We believe that research can provide better explanations of the origins and outcomes of behavior, and thus be more useful, if we focus on how motivation develops and why it changes. We suggest reframing motivation research in education by extending the current focus on beliefs to studying the transactions among persons engaged in specific classroom activities over time. We present one approach from developmental psychology—Rogoff's three planes—that attempts to account for this transaction. We then present examples of current motivation research to illustrate how this approach has been applied. We believe that using this framework can produce new results that are meaningful for both researchers and practitioners who want to understand and foster motivation in education.     

How Does Parental Reading Influence Children’s Reading? A Study of Cognitive Mediation

Cognitive processes underlying a behavioural outcome (like reading ability) and the impact of familial risk (e.g., for dyslexia) have been studied in isolation. We present a novel design, linking the two avenues. How do familial influences impact on children’s cognitive skills, which subsequently underlie reading development? Participants from the Familial Influences on Literacy Abilities (FIOLA) Project included 373 children and their parents. We considered three causal routes from parental reading and children’s putative cognitive endophenotypes to children’s reading. Path analyses showed that half of parental effects on children’s reading bypassed and half operated through children’s cognitive underpinnings. Spousal correlation was small but significant. Findings do not support a strong hypothesis of cognitive endophenotypes with full mediation. Furthermore, we discuss the use of parental skills as a proxy for offspring’s liability. Finally, familial reading difficulties are not fully accounted for by known cognitive skills, which has implications for dyslexia diagnosis.     

The Simple View of Reading: Is It Valid for Different Types of Alphabetic Orthographies?

We present a meta-analysis to test the validity of the Simple View of Reading Gough & Tunmer (Remedial and Special Education, 7:6–10, 1986) for beginner readers of English and other, more transparent, orthographies. Our meta-analytic approach established that the relative influence of decoding and linguistic comprehension on reading comprehension is different for readers of different types of orthography during the course of early reading development. Furthermore, we identified key differences in the relations among different measures of decoding and reading comprehension between readers of English and other more transparent orthographies. We discuss the implications for reading instruction and the diagnosis of reading difficulties, as well as our theoretical understanding of how component skills influence reading comprehension level.     

The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?

We argue that an understanding of the faculty of language requires substantial interdisciplinary cooperation. We suggest how current developments in linguistics can be profitably wedded to work in evolutionary biology, an-     

Cognitive Neuroscience and Educational Psychology: What Season Is It?

Byrnes and Fox get much right in their review of the relevance of cognitive neuroscience for educational psychology. They are correct that theoretical reduction is to be welcomed. They are also right that neurophysiological findings can constrain psychological theory and that this too is to be welcomed. Their review is on the mark in recommending that educational psychologists must become bilingual in their understanding of neurological terms and their analogous psychological constructs. The one difference in our positions that I do highlight is one of calibration rather than strong disagreement—my level of enthusiasm for scientific reduction in domains related to education is somewhat more muted than that of Byrnes and Fox because of wariness bom of the premature reductive attempts that litter our field.     

Advocates for Access: Do We Really Need a European Access Network?

The “European Access Network” is the only European‐wide non‐governmental body that focuses exclusively on widening participation in higher education, but in an age of “mass” higher education, who needs advocates for access? Surely the case for greater equity has already been made and won? A close look at the evidence, however, indicates that those who were under‐represented before are often under‐represented still. The European Access Network highlights this problem, demolishes the myths by examining the evidence, identifies solutions, promotes good practice, and puts on pressure for a more equitable higher education. This article investigates the progress that is being made, identifies what remains to be done, and suggests the most effective strategies for success.     

A Management Skills Course: Did It Really Make a Difference?

Our research examines whether students who completed a required M.B.A.‐level management skills course believe their management skills improved consequently. We also asked whether the skills they were taught have subsequently proved to be the skills they have needed to succeed at work. Responses from 446 M.B.A. students and graduates who took the course over the past five years reveal that significant numbers do believe that their management skills improved as a result of the course teachings. They also believe that the management skills they were taught have proven useful in their workplaces. Implications for structuring such skill courses and the need for further research into their efficacy are discussed.     

How Long Did It Take to Build It?

Peter,anAmericanboy ,ispayinghisfirstvisittoParis.Hesetsoutto　 1　somefamousplacesinthecitywithafriend .Whentheycome　 2　theEiffelTower(埃菲尔铁塔 ) ,Peteraskshisfriend ,“Howlongdidittaketobuildthistower?”“Twoyears,”sayshisFrenchfriend .“Twoyears ?”shoutsPeter,“Wecan　 3　itjustinsixmonthsin　 4　city.”Thetwo　 5　attheTriumphalArch (凯旋门 )whenPeterasksthe　 6　question .Afterhehearsthatittooksixmonths ,hecan’thelp　 7　 .Hetellshisfriend ,“Weonlyneedonemonthtodothejob .”…     

The Job Interview and Cognitive Performance: Does Structure Reduce Performance on Selection Batteries,and Can Explanation of Purpose Improve It?

Structuring job interviews is a method of decreasing bias and increasing the predictive validity of job performance, but research suggests that applicants can react negatively to structure (Chapman & Zweig, 2005) and that negative attitudes about selection tools can predict performance (Hausknecht, Day, & Thomas, 2004). The current exploratory study investigates how structuring the job interview in conjunction with priming the ethnicity and sex of the applicant, and in some conditions providing an explanation of the structure, affected post‐interview cognitive ability performance. Three levels of structure were randomly assigned. Those who experienced a structured interview without an explanation of its purpose scored lower than those who experienced an unstructured interview, but those who experienced a structured interview with an explanation of its purpose did not score lower than those who experienced an unstructured interview. Scores differed for females and Hispanics depending on the structure condition, but not in the same manner. Implications for recruitment, selection, and performance management are discussed.