Module 9

Lesson: Cognitive Processes (Constructivism, Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives –

Revised, Sternberg’s Successful Intelligence Theory and WICS Model)
Lesson Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Identify the principles of different cognitive processes.
2. Appreciate the modern theories on learning.
3. Create sample learning objectives using one of the learning models.
Content:
I. Constructivism 
It is based on the idea that people actively construct or make their own knowledge, and that
reality is determined by your experiences as a learner. Basically, learners use their previous
knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new things that they learn.
Principles of constructivism.
Knowledge is constructed. This is the basic principle, meaning that knowledge is built upon
other knowledge. Students take pieces and put them together in their own unique way,
building something different than what another student will build. The student’s previous
knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and insights are all important foundations for their
continued learning. 
People learn to learn, as they learn. Learning involves constructing meaning and systems of
meaning. For example, if a student is learning the chronology of dates for a series of
historical events, at the same time they are learning the meaning of chronology. If a student
is writing a paper about history, they are also learning principles of grammar and writing as
well. Each thing we learn gives us a better understanding of other things in the future.
Learning is an active process. Learning involves sensory input to construct meaning. The
learner needs to do something in order to learn, it’s not a passive activity. Learners need to
engage in the world so they are actively involved in their own learning and development.
You can’t just sit and expect to be told things and learn, you need to engage in discussions,
reading, activities, etc.
Learning is a social activity. Learning is directly associated to our connection with other
people. Our teachers, our family, or peers, and our acquaintances impact our learning.
Educators are more likely to be successful as they understand that peer involvement is key in
learning. Isolating learnings isn’t the best way to help students learn and grow together.
Progressive education recognizes that social interaction is key to learning and they use
conversation, interaction, and group applications to help students retain their knowledge. 
Learning is contextual. Students don’t learn isolated facts and theories separate from the
rest of our lives—we learn in ways connected to things we already know, what we believe,
and more. The things we learn and the points we tend to remember are connected to the
things going on around us. 
Knowledge is personal. Because constructivism is based on your own experiences and
beliefs, knowledge becomes a personal affair. Each person will have their own prior
knowledge and experiences to bring to the table. So the way and things people learn and
gain from education will all be very different. 
Learning exists in the mind. Hands-on experiences and physical actions are necessary for
learning, but those elements aren’t enough. Engaging the mind is key to successful learning.
Learning needs to involve activities for the minds, not just our hands. Mental experiences
are needed for retaining knowledge.
Motivation is key to learning. Students are unable to learn if they are unmotivated.
Educators need to have ways to engage and motivate learners to activate their minds and
help them be excited about education. Without motivation, it’s difficult for learners to reach
into their past experience and make connections for new learning.
II. Revised Bloom's Taxonomy
A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers, and
testing and assessment specialists (Anderson and Krathwohl) published in 2001 a revision of
Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. This
title draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of “educational objectives” (in
Bloom’s original title) and points to a more dynamic conception of classification.
The theorists underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories
and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy). These “action words”
describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.
A statement of a learning objective contains a verb (an action) and an object (usually a
noun).
The verb generally refers to [actions associated with] the intended cognitive process.
The object generally describes the knowledge students are expected to acquire or
construct.
A. The knowledge dimension represents a range from concrete (factual) to abstract
(metacognitive). Representation of the knowledge dimension as a number of discrete steps
can be a bit misleading. For example, all procedural knowledge may not be more abstract
than all conceptual knowledge. And metacognitive knowledge is a special case. In this
model, “metacognitive knowledge is knowledge of [one’s own] cognition and about oneself
in relation to various subject matters” (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001, p. 44).
The Knowledge Dimension
Factual- The basic elements a student must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve
problems in it.
• knowledge of terminology
• knowledge of specific details and elements
Conceptual- The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that
enable them to function together.
• knowledge of classifications and categories
• knowledge of principles and generalizations
• knowledge of theories, models, and structures
Procedural- How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills,
algorithms, techniques, and methods.
• knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
• knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
• knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures
Metacognitive- Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of
one’s own cognition
• strategic knowledge
• knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional
knowledge
• self-knowledge
B. The cognitive process dimension represents a continuum of increasing cognitive
complexity—from remember to create.
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Remember - Retrieve relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
• recognizing (identifying)
• recalling (retrieving)
 Remember + Factual
• List primary and secondary colors.
 Remember + Conceptual
• Recognize symptoms of exhaustion.
 Remember + Procedural
• Recall how to perform CPR.
 Remember + Metacognitive
• Identify strategies for retaining information.
Understand - Construct meaning from instructional messages, including oral, written and
graphic communication.
• interpreting (clarifying, paraphrasing, representing, translating)
• exemplifying (illustrating, instantiating)
• classifying (categorizing, subsuming)
• summarizing (abstracting, generalizing)
• inferring (concluding, extrapolating, interpolating, predicting)
• comparing (contrasting, mapping, matching)
• explaining (constructing models)
 Understand + Factual
• Summarize features of a new product.
 Understand + Conceptual
• Classify adhesives by toxicity.
 Understand + Procedural
• Clarify assembly instructions.
 Understand + Metacognitive
• Predict one’s response to culture shock.
Apply- Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.
• executing (carrying out)
• implementing (using)
 Apply + Factual
• Respond to frequently asked questions.
 Apply + Conceptual
 • Provide advice to novices.
 Apply + Procedural
• Carry out pH tests of water samples.
 Apply + Metacognitive
• Use techniques that match one's strengths.
Analyze- Carry out or use a procedure in a given situation.
• differentiating (discriminating, distinguishing, focusing, selecting)
• organizing (finding, coherence, integrating, outlining, parsing, structuring)
• attributing (deconstructing)
 Analyze + Factual
• Select the most complete list of activities.
 Analyze + Conceptual
• Differentiate high and low culture.
 Analyze + Procedural
• Integrate compliance with regulations.
 Analyze + Metacognitive
• Deconstruct one's biases.
Evaluate - Make judgments based on criteria and standards.
• checking (coordinating, detecting, monitoring, testing)
• critiquing (judging)
 Evaluate + Factual
• Select the most complete list of activities.
 Evaluate + Conceptual
• Determine relevance of results.
 Evaluate + Procedural
• Judge efficiency of sampling techniques.
 Evaluate + Metacognitive
• Reflect on one's progress.
Create- Put elements together to form a coherent whole; reorganize into a new pattern or
structure.
• generating (hypothesizing)
• planning (designing)
• producing (construct)
 Create + Factual
o Generate a log of daily activities.
 Create + Conceptual
o Assemble a team of experts.
 Create + Procedural
 o Design efficient project workflow.
 Create + Metacognitive
o Create a learning portfolio.

III. Sternberg’s successful intelligence theory and WICS model

Robert J. Sternberg is a cognitive psychologist and psychometrician, born in New Jersey on

December 9, 1949. After suffering from test anxiety and doing poorly on an exam, he
realized that the test was not an accurate measure of his actual knowledge and abilities. This
fueled his interest in the field that led him to come up with the Triarchic Theory of
Intelligence in the 1980’s. Over the years, his theory evolved from the more complicated,
componential Triarchic Theory to the simpler successful intelligence theory. More recently,
in collaboration with other prominent psychologists, he proposed the WICS (Wisdom,
Intelligence, Creativity, Synthesized) Model.
The triarchic theory describes three distinct types of intelligence that a person can possess.
Sternberg calls these three types practical intelligence, creative intelligence and analytic
intelligence.
1. Memory skills - help us recall facts and pieces of information. It helps us retain the
knowledge we acquire.
2. Analytic skills- help the person determine if a certain idea is good.
3. Creative skills- allow a person to come up with new idea, usually to answer a need or solve
a problem. It makes one flexible and able to adjust changes in one’s situation.
4. Practical skills- enable a person apply what one has learned. It also allows one to carry
through or implement a plan.

“The ability to succeed in life, given one’s own goal, within one’s environmental context.”

In the WICS model, intelligence is viewed as a set of fluid abilities to learn from experience
and to adapt to one’s surroundings. One way that you can apply the WICS Model in
instruction is when you reflect and make choices on the task and activities that you will give
to teach and assess your students. You may choose to teach analytically, creatively,
practically as well as teach for wisdom.

How do you teach analytically? 1. Analyze 2. Critique 3. Judge 4. Compare and contrast
5.Evaluate 6.assess
a. Analyze the development of the character of Ibarra in Noli Me Tangere
b. Critique the design and features of the latest smart phone
c. Judge the artistic merits of Filipino cartoonist, Larry Alcala’s “slice of life”
d. Compare and contrast the Italian approaches of Montessori and Reggio Emilia in early
childhood education.
e. Evaluate the validity the theory of evolution.
f. Assess the strategy of the manila city government to improve the traffic situation around
the city

How do you teach creatively? 1. Create 2. Invent 3. Discover 4. Imagine if… 5.Suppose that…
6.predict
a. Create an alternative ending for Florante at Laura (literature)
b. Invent a dialogue that would transpire if Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino met (AP)
c. Discover a way to explain why heavy ships float at sea. (science)
d. Imagine if EDSA revolution did not happen in 1986. what do you think our country will be
like at present and 10 years later? (AP)
e. Suppose that you were to design a computer game to help children learn about love and
sacrifice. Describe the game you will create (computer education, ESP)
f. Predict changes that will happen if humans had a third eye at the back of their heads.
Choose an appliance or gadget that would need to be changed in order to be useful.
Propose a new functional design (HELE)

How to teach practically? 1. Apply 2. Use 3. Put into practice 4. Implement 5.Employ 6.Render
practical
a. Apply addition concept in determining number of boys and girls in the classroom
(mathematics)
b. Use knowledge of excel to keep track of daily household expenses (computer education,
mathematics)
c. Put into practice what you learn about classroom rules in making your own classroom
rules poster (classroom management)
d. Implement a lesson plan that one has made (principle of teaching)
e. Employ the formula of computing the area of one’s living room to determine the number
of 12’’x12’’ tiles needed to cover the floor.
f. Render practical a proposed assembly design for a computer PC.

How to teach wisdom

1. Try to find a common good
2. See things from others point of view
3. Balance your own interests with those of others and of institutions.
4. Look at the long term as well as the short term
5. Reflect about how one can base his every decision on positive ethical values
6. Appreciate that in life what is seen as true and effective may vary over time and place.
EX. Should parents expect their children to take care of them when they are old? Why?
[Edukasyon ng Pagpapakatao]
Sternberg described the WICS model as follows: “The basic idea is that citizens of the world
need creativity to form a vision of where they want to go and to cope with changes in the
environment, analytical intelligence to ascertain whether their creative ideas are good ones,
practical intelligence to implement their ideas, and wisdom in order to ensure that the ideas
will help achieve some ethically-based common good, over the long and short terms, rather
than just what is good for them and their families and friends”.
The uses of the WICS model also include admission, instruction and assessment.
For effectivity of learning, it is important for teachers to synthesize the various elements of
wisdom, intelligence and creativity. These processes need to interact with each other, not
merely act on their own.
Activity:
Based from your major subject, think of the task and activities that you will give to teach and
assess your students using the WICS model. One task or activity in teaching analytically,
creatively, practically and with wisdom.
Reference:
https://www.psychologydiscussion.net/educational-psychology/6-important-theories-of-
transfer-of-learning/1827