Using Models of Cognitive Development to Design College Learning Experiences

Abstract

Many studies document the importance of learner-centered active teaching to improve college students' critical engagement with challenging problems presented by our information-rich twenty-first-century environment. Others indicate that students from less privileged backgrounds often struggle even in well-designed classrooms. What is lacking is a mechanism for understanding these divergent outcomes and designing courses that better meet the needs of the diverse students in the college classroom. In this chapter, an argument is presented for understanding college student learning and curriculum design through the lenses of epistemological development and behaviors of learning. The consensus model presents descriptions of four epistemological stages, creating a framework to help classroom practitioners and administrators better understand the abilities of their students. The foundational assumption is that using appropriate curricular components will support student engagement and epistemological and self-regulation growth. To support this assumption, the model is accompanied by research-supported activities and strategies that benefit learners at different developmental stages and with different degrees of self-regulation. Moreover, intentional and reflective teaching has the potential to improve faculty understanding about the nature of learning and acceptance of learner-centered pedagogies, which will also have positive consequences for students. The end result will be a more inclusive learning environment with improved outcomes for a wider range of students.

Citation

Higgins, L. (2021), "Using Models of Cognitive Development to Design College Learning Experiences", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M. (Ed.) Humanizing Higher Education through Innovative Approaches for Teaching and Learning (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 35), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000035013