Effects of Sequences of Cognitions on Group Performance Over Time

Abstract

Extending past research showing that sequences of low cognitions (low-level processing of information) and high cognitions (high-level processing of information through questions and elaborations) influence the likelihoods of subsequent high and low cognitions, this study examines whether sequences of cognitions are related to group performance over time; 54 primary school students (18 triads) discussed and wrote an essay about living in another country (32,375 turns of talk). Content analysis and statistical discourse analysis showed that within each lesson, groups with more low cognitions or more sequences of low cognition followed by high cognition added more essay words. Groups with more high cognitions, sequences of low cognition followed by low cognition, or sequences of high cognition followed by an action followed by low cognition, showed different words and sequences, suggestive of new ideas. The links between cognition sequences and group performance over time can inform facilitation and assessment of student discussions.

The quality of the assignment matters in hypermedia learning

“…Differences in writing activities have been related to other online learning behaviours and learning outcomes. For example, the number of words that are written as well as the amount of original (not‐copied) text are important in understanding cognitive learning activities (Molenaar & Chiu, ). Additionally, copy‐paste behaviour has been associated with lower knowledge retention as well as with making longer notes (Bauer & Koedinger, ).…”

How social challenges affect children’s regulation and assignment quality in hypermedia: a process mining study

“…In turn, cognitive activities were related to learning outcomes. Low-cognition on its own predicted essay length, whereas high-cognition on its own predicted essay quality (Molenaar and Chiu 2017). When lowcognition occurred in the context of other (either low or high) cognitive activities, however, it too had a positive effect on essay quality.…”

“…In contrast, high-level cognitive processing (hereafter referred to as high-cognition) refers to cognitive activities, such as elaborating, making inferences, or asking questions, that enable the construction of new cognitive schemas, or a deeper understanding of the material (King 2002;Volet et al 2009). While both types of cognitive activities are important for learning, especially highcognition has been related to better learning outcomes (King 2002;Molenaar and Chiu 2017). Metacognitive activities refer to the activities learners use to monitor and control their cognitive activities (Veenman et al 2006).…”

“…Two studies used statistical discourse analysis to examine the sequential pattern of learning activities in primary school children Chiu 2014, 2017). These two studies investigated how sequences of cognitive, metacognitive and relational activities affected subsequent cognition in primary school children (Molenaar and Chiu 2014), and how sequential patterns leading to cognitive activities affected group performance (Molenaar and Chiu 2017). Their analyses indicated that positive interactions, as well as metacognitive planning and monitoring activities could set the stage for cognitive activities.…”

Contextual details, cognitive demand and kinematic concepts: exploring concepts and characteristics of student-generated problems in a university physics course

“…Whether new information is well-connected to prior knowledge influences whether they use novice or expert-like strategies when solving problems [4,8]. According to the semantic network models [9], memory and knowledge are distributed in such a way that well understood information will be strongly and closely connected in the cognitive network. Consequently, ideas for creating problems are likely to emerge from dense sections of this conceptual network, rather than isolated nodes.…”