Exam 9: Complex Cognitive Processes

The students in Mr.Walker's class are engaged in a creative activity designed to help them become effective problem solvers.Mr.Walker held up a large rubber band and told students to list as many ways to use the rubber band as possible.He gave them 90 seconds.How is this activity most likely intended to increase students' problem solving effectiveness?

Ken is reading his notes from science class.He wants to organize information the teacher presented about erosion-the causes,the effects,and relationships between weather conditions and erosion.He needs an effective learning strategy.Which of the following tools seems most likely to help Ken meet his goal?

Matthew is a brilliant student who seems rather arrogant about his intelligence and academic success.He corrected a comment made by his English teacher in class yesterday.The teacher complimented him for his analytical thinking and provided information to support her comment.After class,Matthew told his buddy that the teacher was wrong.His buddy said,"Well she gave you the source of her information.I don't think you have a leg to stand on." What specific problem solving attribute is Matthew demonstrating?

Students in Mr.Kester's class are practicing the strategy of organizing lecture information by using Cornell notes.Mr.Kester is circulating the classroom and giving students feedback about their notes.Some of the students have used the strategy effectively and the feedback from Mr.Kester is positive.Others are struggling,and the feedback provides additional instruction.Mr.Kester's class is at what stage of transfer of this strategy?

Ms.Gromberg taught her students how to use the CAPS strategy for reading literature.Teo learned the strategy,but it takes extra time.As he reads the assignment for tomorrow,Teo wants to hurry and decides to skip the strategy.He hopes Ms.Gromberg doesn't give a quiz tomorrow.Teo's situation is an example of:

Carrie is preparing her school lunch and sees leftovers in the refrigerator.She doesn't remember when her mom cooked the meal,so it may not have been very recently.She's running late and needs to make a quick decision.She says to herself,"When in doubt,throw it out" and chooses something else.What problem solving method is she using?

Mrs.Gomez is in her third year of teaching fourth grade.This year one student's dad visited with Mrs.Gomez during the second week of school and described his son Gabe as very creative.He mentioned Gabe's skill in crafting witty statements,his love of writing and creating characters and settings with distinctive traits,his insatiable curiosity,and his intensity.Mrs.Gomez discussed with the dad some of the things she would like to do to encourage Gabe's creativity and help him acclimate to classroom rules and procedures without feeling stifled.Gabe's dad felt like she was on the right track. On the way home from school,Mrs.Gomez is reflecting on the conversation and realizing that she would like to encourage creativity in all of her students.She believes she can work effectively with Gabe and use some of the same ideas to help other students think outside the box. Describe at least four things Mrs.Gomez might do that will foster Gabe's creativity and encourage other students to be creative.

Morris is a high school student preparing for the SAT.As he studies vocabulary for the test,he realizes that he needs to stay focused rather than multitasking.He knows he will take longer and spend more time revisiting the words if he texts friends and checks email.What kind of metacognitive knowledge does Morris demonstrate about himself as a learner?

Mick has always done very well in math.Through elementary school,he was one of the first to answer the teacher's questions,solve the new types of problems,and turn in assignments.Now he's in seventh grade and is having trouble with math.He recognizes that the concepts are more complex,but feels certain he is capable of understanding and performing better.He believes he has identified the problem.He doesn't approach his homework with the same focus he did in the past.He has a habit of multitasking when he does his homework. Based on Mick's identification of the problem,describe the steps he might take to use a general problem-solving strategy to solve the problem. Explain specifically what he needs to do at each step.

Enika is doing her homework for her middle school classes.In which assignment is she using procedural knowledge?

Ms.Kovalik works with her third grade reading groups to teach her students the skill of identifying the main idea when they read a passage.She wants the students to transfer the skill to reading in content areas.Which of the following is most likely to help her achieve the goal?

Mr.Soria wants to teach his students strategies that will improve their metacognitive knowledge and skills.Based on guidelines for teaching such strategies to students,which of the following approaches should be used?

A new student just arrived at Jackson Elementary.The principal led the student to Mrs.Kimble's class and motioned for the student to take a seat.When Mrs.Kimble spoke to the student,he didn't answer.He was wearing sneakers,and he carried a backpack.He had dark hair and wore glasses.If Mrs.Kimble is a problem solver,what information about this student will receive her attention?

Based on the following descriptions,which of these students seems to exhibit the highest degree of creativity?

The following students are engaged in learning.Which student's processing is metacognitive?

During history class,one of the students rolled a baseball on the floor toward the front of the classroom.Ms.Durango saw the rolling ball as she turned from the front marker board.She saw the direction from which the ball rolled,determined that she needed to identify the disruptive student immediately,and quickly called the name of the only boy sitting on that row.Her identification was not correct.What probably hindered her from solving the problem of identifying the disruptive student?

In the second grade,Danielle was identified as a student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.During the elementary school years,she had such a busy brain that she failed to learn some of the strategies that have become automatic for her friends.Now Danielle is in high school and has made up her mind to be a medical doctor.She realizes some of the demands of the profession because her mom is a doctor.Danielle is serious about learning and determined to teach herself some learning strategies to improve her academic achievement. Identify at least one learning strategy that will transfer to many of the subjects Danielle will take in high school and college. Describe the stages of learning she will experience as she teaches herself the strategy and develops the ability to transfer the strategy to new learning situations.

At the beginning of the year,Mr.Doniphan taught his eighth graders a strategy for comprehending their history lessons when they read the chapters in their text.He has found over his three years of teaching that many of the students get bogged down in the details and fail to understand how one event relates to another.The class is working on chapter four and Mr.Doniphan is leading discussion about the assigned reading.He finds that most of the students are unable to participate.They are getting bogged down again and are not applying the strategy they learned earlier. What does Mr.Doniphan need to do when he teaches the learning strategy in order for students to continue using it all year?

Ms.Anderson wants to encourage creative thinking in her students.She uses all of the following strategies and responses.Which one is LEAST likely to promote creativity?

Based on what you know about critical thinking,which of the following students seems to be thinking critically?