Cognativism

Essentially, through my research of cognativism over the past few weeks, I've relearned much of want I explored during my undergraduate ed. psych. class: 1) if students are motivated to process information because of interest in a topic, then they are more likely to understand new material and revise previous knowledge, and 2) lasting conceptual change is likely to occur only if students truly engage in reflective practices and make an effort to elaborate/change previous knowledge basis. Conversely, students are likely to disengage if the material is unfamiliar or incomprehensible. If they are pressured to learn material (testing), then they may learn it for the short term and then return to their original thoughts.

I see much of this last point in my teaching currently with regards to the curriculum we are required to teach. If students have no basis for learning algebra or geometry at the middle school level, then they may learn it for the short term, but will likely not retain it in the long term. However, if we make these things meaningful to them in the form of helping them plan the layout for their new bedroom, etc. then they are more likely to remember these things. Part of my educational philosophy entails giving students a certain amount of choice, so that they are more invested and interested. This is why I allow them to choose their independent reading pieces for me, rather than assigning those. I find that I get far better products from them in terms of products, and have much more meaningful conversations with them about literature if they truly enjoy what they're reading.

For me in a library setting, this would translate also. I would love to have a book club for students who enjoy reading where they could discuss what they're reading, and perhaps help to write some reviews to post throughout the library, to encourage other students to read the same literature. The Battle of the Books program is very successful at our school, but only a small number of students are engaged in that because it is an after school activity and they are not interested in the books on the list. It would be an interesting idea to explore the possibility of developing a few teams similar to Battle of the Books, but use a list of books that students developed. In terms of collection development, I think it would be beneficial to have a place in the library for students to place requests for books that are not within the collection, with the understanding that not every book put into the box would or could be purchased (which many public libraries have).