Cognitive Science

Epistemic Scaffolding: Understanding and Designing the Support for Epistemic Growth in Science

In this paper, we introduce an epistemic scaffolding framework for understanding the nature of support for epistemic growth in science. Our framework distinguishes between two patterns of epistemic scaffolding: implicit and explicit. Implicit epistemic scaffolding encompasses support integrated into contexts, activities, discourse, or tools, exerting an unconscious influence on learners’ epistemic thinking and practices. On the other hand, explicit epistemic scaffolding involves intentionally explicating the underlying epistemology of learners’ knowledge work.

Author/Presenter

Feng Lin

Sadhana Puntambekar

Year
2024
Short Description

In this paper, we introduce an epistemic scaffolding framework for understanding the nature of support for epistemic growth in science.

Measuring and Visualizing Space in Elementary Mathematics Learning

Measuring and Visualizing Space in Elementary Mathematics Learning explores the development of elementary students’ understanding of the mathematics of measure, and demonstrates how measurement can serve as an anchor for supporting a deeper understanding of number operations and rational numbers.

Author/Presenter

Richard Lehrer

Leona Schauble

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Measuring and Visualizing Space in Elementary Mathematics Learning explores the development of elementary students’ understanding of the mathematics of measure, and demonstrates how measurement can serve as an anchor for supporting a deeper understanding of number operations and rational numbers.

Language Systematizes Attention: How Relational Language Enhances Relational Representation by Guiding Attention

Language can affect cognition, but through what mechanism? Substantial past research has focused on how labeling can elicit categorical representation during online processing. We focus here on a particularly powerful type of language—relational language—and show that relational language can enhance relational representation in children through an embodied attention mechanism.

Author/Presenter

Lei Yuan

Miriam Novack

David Uttal

Steven Franconeri

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2024
Short Description

Language can affect cognition, but through what mechanism? Substantial past research has focused on how labeling can elicit categorical representation during online processing. We focus here on a particularly powerful type of language—relational language—and show that relational language can enhance relational representation in children through an embodied attention mechanism.

Uncovering Middle School CS Students’ Understanding of Variables and Control Structures: A Cognitive Think-Aloud Approach

This poster presents findings on middle school students’ understanding of core computer science (CS) concepts, such as variables and control structures, using cognitive think-aloud interviews with eight students. Each student worked on 16-22 formative assessment tasks designed to assess understanding on the ‘Algorithms and Programming’ middle school CS standards. Our study describes students’ interpretations of the CS concepts and discusses potential factors influencing student interpretations. Significance and next steps are described.

Author/Presenter

Hui Yang

Satabdi Basu

Daisy Rutstein

Arif Rachmatullah

Carol Tate

Christopher Ortiz

Eliese Rulifson

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This poster presents findings on middle school students’ understanding of core computer science (CS) concepts, such as variables and control structures, using cognitive think-aloud interviews with eight students.

Iterative Cognitive Interview Design to Uncover Children’s Spatial Reasoning

Cognitive interviews play an important role in articulating the intended construct of educational assessments. This paper describes the iterative development of protocols for cognitive interviews with kindergarten through second-grade children to understand how their spatial reasoning skill development aligns with intended constructs. We describe the procedures used to gather evidence of construct relevance and improved alignment to task-based interview items through multiple pilot rounds before conducting cognitive interviews.

Author/Presenter

Elizabeth R. Thomas

Robyn K. Pinilla

Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller

Cassandra Hatfield

Year
2023
Short Description

Cognitive interviews play an important role in articulating the intended construct of educational assessments. This paper describes the iterative development of protocols for cognitive interviews with kindergarten through second-grade children to understand how their spatial reasoning skill development aligns with intended constructs.

Reasoning About Data in Elementary School: Student Strategies and Strengths when Reasoning with Multiple Variables

The need for data literacy is an increasingly pressing priority in society, but most of the work in data-centred education has focused on developing skills at the middle school, secondary, and post-secondary levels, with little attention on the potential for engaging elementary-aged students in reasoning with and about data. This paper reports findings from a foundational study to explore the natural strengths, skills, and strategies that upper elementary students bring to reasoning about data-centred problems.

Author/Presenter

Jessica Sickler

Michelle Lentzner

Lynn T. Goldsmith

Lauren Brase

Randall Kochevar

Year
2024
Short Description

The need for data literacy is an increasingly pressing priority in society, but most of the work in data-centred education has focused on developing skills at the middle school, secondary, and post-secondary levels, with little attention on the potential for engaging elementary-aged students in reasoning with and about data. This paper reports findings from a foundational study to explore the natural strengths, skills, and strategies that upper elementary students bring to reasoning about data-centred problems.

Reasoning About Data in Elementary School: Student Strategies and Strengths when Reasoning with Multiple Variables

The need for data literacy is an increasingly pressing priority in society, but most of the work in data-centred education has focused on developing skills at the middle school, secondary, and post-secondary levels, with little attention on the potential for engaging elementary-aged students in reasoning with and about data. This paper reports findings from a foundational study to explore the natural strengths, skills, and strategies that upper elementary students bring to reasoning about data-centred problems.

Author/Presenter

Jessica Sickler

Michelle Lentzner

Lynn T. Goldsmith

Lauren Brase

Randall Kochevar

Year
2024
Short Description

The need for data literacy is an increasingly pressing priority in society, but most of the work in data-centred education has focused on developing skills at the middle school, secondary, and post-secondary levels, with little attention on the potential for engaging elementary-aged students in reasoning with and about data. This paper reports findings from a foundational study to explore the natural strengths, skills, and strategies that upper elementary students bring to reasoning about data-centred problems.

Understanding the Cognitive Processes of Mathematical Problem Posing: Evidence from Eye Movements

This study concerns the cognitive process of mathematical problem posing, conceptualized in three stages: understanding the task, constructing the problem, and expressing the problem. We used the eye tracker and think-aloud methods to deeply explore students’ behavior in these three stages of problem posing, especially focusing on investigating the influence of task situation format and mathematical maturity on students’ thinking.

Author/Presenter

Ling Zhang

Naiqing Song

Guowei Wu

Jinfa Cai

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This study concerns the cognitive process of mathematical problem posing, conceptualized in three stages: understanding the task, constructing the problem, and expressing the problem. We used the eye tracker and think-aloud methods to deeply explore students’ behavior in these three stages of problem posing, especially focusing on investigating the influence of task situation format and mathematical maturity on students’ thinking.

MindHive: An Online Citizen Science Tool and Curriculum for Human Brain and Behavior Research

MindHive is an online, open science, citizen science platform co-designed by a team of educational researchers, teachers, cognitive and social scientists, UX researchers, community organizers, and software developers to support real-world brain and behavior research for (a) high school students and teachers who seek authentic STEM research experiences, (b) neuroscientists and cognitive/social psychologists who seek to address their research questions outside of the lab, and (c) community-based organizations who seek to conduct grassroots, science-based research for policy change.

Author/Presenter

Suzanne Dikker

Yury Shevchenko

Kim Burgas

Kim Chaloner

Marc Sole

Lucy Yetman-Michaelson

Ido Davidesco

Rebecca Martin

Camillia Matuk

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2022
Short Description

MindHive is an online, open science, citizen science platform co-designed by a team of educational researchers, teachers, cognitive and social scientists, UX researchers, community organizers, and software developers to support real-world brain and behavior research for (a) high school students and teachers who seek authentic STEM research experiences, (b) neuroscientists and cognitive/social psychologists who seek to address their research questions outside of the lab, and (c) community-based organizations who seek to conduct grassroots, science-based research for policy change.

Remote Chemistry Teacher Professional Development Delivery: Enduring Lessons for Programmatic Redesign

COVID-19 has thrust educators into a period of uncertainty, complicating conventional ways of teaching and learning. We suspect that the pandemic has magnified the challenges that some high school teachers already experience, particularly when they are the sole chemistry teacher at their school. The pandemic has likely inhibited collegial interactions and access to professional development (PD).

Author/Presenter
Meng-Yang M. Wu

KatieMarie Magnone

Roy Tasker

Ellen J. Yezierski

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2021
Short Description

COVID-19 has thrust educators into a period of uncertainty, complicating conventional ways of teaching and learning. We suspect that the pandemic has magnified the challenges that some high school teachers already experience, particularly when they are the sole chemistry teacher at their school. The pandemic has likely inhibited collegial interactions and access to professional development (PD). Our reflections from redesigning a face-to-face PD program to one that is remotely delivered provide recommendations that advance PD accessibility and interactivity to mitigate isolation and other longstanding challenges teachers may face. In this article, we discuss how the cognitive learning model informed emergent teaching practices that guided the transformation of the PD’s implementation for 20 high school chemistry teachers.