Cognitive Activation in Spelling Lessons

Author(s):

Anna Hanisch(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 12 A, Literacy at Primary School - Reading and Writing

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-05

09:00-10:30

Room:

B015 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Bernard Schneuwly

Contribution

Cognitive activation established itself as an important quality characteristic in regard to effective teaching since TIMS-Video study in 2001. TIMSS pointed out three significant quality characteristics: classroom management, student orientation and cognitive activation (cf. Klieme et al. 2001). Especially in science lessons a higher level of cognitive activation turned out as an important criterion for challenging and performance-enhancing lessons (cf. Kunter, Voss 2011).

Current studies about the effects of cognitive activation differ on the perception of the concept ‘cognitive activation’ (eg. Kunter et al. 2013): Which tasks are cognitively activating? How can a highly cognitively activating lesson be characterized? A sufficiently substantiated selection of significant components of cognitively activating lessons and exercise formats is still to be made. This leads to the following research question:

What’s a valid description of the educational quality characteristic ‘cognitive activation‘?

Cognitive activation is seen as a quality characteristic for lessons which needs to be transformed and translated into different domains of teaching due to the possible subject-specific differences (cf. Bauer 2011). Hence, a cognitively activating task in a natural-science lesson can differ from such a task in language lesson. Previous studies about cognitive activation are found almost exclusively in natural science and mathematics. In the framework of this study, language lessons with emphasis on spelling are chosen to get a closer look at cognitive activation in non-natural science related lessons. The question above can be extended accordingly:

What’s a valid description of the educational characteristic ‘cognitive activation‘ and how can it be transformed into spelling lessons?

To answer this question, the theoretical part of this study presents an analytical framework for identification of the cognitive activation potential of spelling tasks. This framework – following Pracht and Löffler (2012) – has been modified and supplemented according to general didactical quality characteristics of cognitive challenging tasks (cf. for example Metz et al. 2009).

This enables us to describe the cognitive activation potential of spelling tasks by using the analytical framework developed in this study. It allows teachers to review the quality of their tasks and thus gaining better estimates of the activation potential of their lessons. Furthermore a cognitively activating course schedule was substantiated since the correct implementation of cognitively activating tasks into spelling lessons is of great importance besides their raw cognitive potential (cf. Stein, Grover, Henningsen 1996). The authors show that a potentially activating task doesn’t necessarily lead to cognitively activated students in the course of the lessons. Therewith the research question can be extended as follows:

How can cognitive activation as an educational characteristic be transformed into spelling lessons and described in reference to specific task features as well as regarding to the implementation of tasks into lessons?

In this study cognitively activating spelling lessons aim at establishing spelling consciousness. This includes knowledge of spelling rules and strategies as well as their correct implementation while writing (e.g. Nickel 2006, p. 364). These lessons aim at developing a deep understanding of the German spelling system. Pupils should think about written forms and establish an explicit knowledge which can be verbalized in a highly metacognitive way.

In addition to the theoretical model of cognitive activation in spelling lessons, the research interest is in improving the effectiveness of this sort of teaching. Thus, there is a further research question:

How effective is highly cognitively activating teaching in spelling lessons?

This study supplies empirical approaches to the effectiveness of the developed teaching format. Task formats and teaching in lessons are determined through the theoretical considerations of cognitive activation. Hence, two lesson concepts were formed: One with a high and another with a low cognitive activation level.

Method

The effectiveness of cognitively activating lessons is investigated within an intervention study in pre-post design in the second grade (n=142): Four classes with a high cognitive activation level, four classes as a control group with a lower level of cognitive activation in their spelling lessons. This gives a first estimate on the relevance of cognitive activation as a quality characteristic in spelling lessons in primary school. The result presentation focusses on differences of the pupils spelling ability within both lesson conceptions. The ‘Hamburger Schreibprobe’ (May et al. 2012) is used therefore. In German-speaking areas, this is a widely spread analysis tool to determine spelling ability. Moreover, this test enables to analyse literacy towards the important German spelling principles. Since the focus of the lessons lays on teaching morphological principles, the ‘HSP’ is an appropriate tool to analyse the morphological skills of the pupils. Besides the standardised testing method of HSP another informal procedure (‘Word Puzzle for Advancers’; Brinkmann 2007) was used in order to enhance the variety of words furthermore. Through those two analyse tools it can be determined if the gain in spelling ability in both teaching strategies varies. Thus, correct spelling is one measure for the effectivity of lessons. However, laying focus exclusively on spelling would be too single-sided. Cognitive activating spelling lessons emphasize spelling consciousness. The level of spelling consciousness cannot be determined by analysing written words. Students need to be asked why they wrote a word in a specific way. In order to measure the development of spelling consciousness an interview guideline was designed. Therein the method of ‘loud thinking‘ was adopted: Pupils are asked to verbalize their thinking process while writing. This gives insights into their thoughts. In those single-case studies, teaching conceptions, spelling ability and the outcomes of the interviews are closely interwoven with each other. The pupil interviews are evaluated after the qualitative content analysis method by Mayring (2010).

Expected Outcomes

This study discloses how cognitive activation as a quality characteristic for spelling lessons can be realised: The elaboration of an analytical framework for cognitively activating spelling tasks as well as their embedment into an activating teaching practice – which is also presented – leads to a substantiation of cognitively activated spelling lessons. These lessons are based on two pillars: on the one hand, cognitive activation is defined by the specific task formats, on the other hand, by their implementation into the course of lessons which also can be designed as cognitively activating, e.g. by embedding structuring elements (cf. Einsiedler, Hardy 2010). Besides the theoretical work, this study focusses on the empirical effectivity of the presented teaching format. Therefore cognitively activating spelling lessons were conceived for the intervention group with the emphasis on comprehensive teaching of the German spelling system. The emphasis of the control group’s lessons was on the application of deductively taught spelling strategies. The study is conducted in the period between January and April 2014. Theoretical considerations concerning cognitively activation spelling lessons as well as first descriptive findings can be presented in September 2014. A significant difference regarding spelling ability and the expression of spelling consciousness between the two groups can be expected: Cognitively activating spelling lessons raises the awareness for spelling structures and hence can have a positive impact on the spelling ability.

References

Bauer, K. (2011): „Modelle der Unterrichtsqualität“. In: Bauer, K. / Logemann, N. (Eds.): Unterrichtsqualität und fachdidaktische Forschung. Modelle und Instrumente zur Messung fachspezifischer Lernbedingungen und Kompetenzen. Münster u.a. : Waxmann, pp. 51–74. Einsiedler, Wolfgang; Hardy, Ilonca (2010): Kognitive Strukturierung im Unterricht: Einführung und Begriffsklärung. In: Unterrichtswissenschaft 38 (3), pp. 194–209. Klieme, E. ; Schümer, G. ; Knoll, S. (2001): „Mathematikunterricht in der Sekundarstufe I: "Aufgabenkultur" und Unterrichtsgestaltung“. In: BMBF (Eds.): TIMSS - Impulse für Schule und Unterricht. Forschungsbefunde, Reforminitiativen, Praxisberichte und Video-Dokumente. Bonn: BMBF, pp.43–57. Kunter, Mareike; Voss, Thamar (2011): Das Modell der Unterrichtsqualität in COACTIV: Eine multikriteriale Analyse. In: Mareike Kunter, Jürgen Baumert, Werner Blum, Uta Klusmann, Stefan Krauss und Michael Neubrand (Hg.): Professionelle Kompetenz von Lehrkräften. Ergebnisse des Forschungsprogramms COACTIV. Münster, New York, München, Berlin: Waxmann, S. 85–113. Kunter, Mareike; Baumert, Jürgen; Blum, Werner; Klusmann, Uta; Krauss, Stefan; Neubrand, Michael (Ed.) (2013): Cognitive activation in the mathematic classroom and professional competence of teachers. Springer-Verlag. Mayring, Philipp (2010): Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. 11. Auflage. Weinheim, Basel: Beltz Verlag. Metz, Kerstin; Maier, Uwe; Kleinknecht, Marc (2009): Kognitiver Anspruch von Aufgaben im Deutschunterricht. In: Ide 33 (3), pp. 74–87. Nickel, Sven (2006): Orthographieerwerb und die Entwicklung von Sprachbewusstheit. Zu Genese und Funktion von orthographischen Bewusstseinsprozessen im frühen Rechtschreiberwerb in unterschiedlichen Lernkontexten. Norderstedt: Books on Demand. Pracht, Henrike; Löffler, Cordula (2012): Analyse des kognitiven Aktivierungspotenzials von Aufgaben zum Orthographieerwerb. In: Anja Ballis und Ann Peyer (Eds.): Lernmedien und Lernaufgaben im Deutschunterricht. Konzeptionen und Analysen. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt (Beiträge zur historischen und systematischen Schulbuchforschung), pp. 49–68. Stein, Mary Kay; Grover, Barbara W.; Henningsen, Marjorie (1996): Building Student Capacity for Mathematical Thinking and Reasoning: An Analysis of Mathematical Tasks Used in Reform Classrooms. In: American Educational Research Journal 33 (2), pp. 455–488.

Author Information

Anna Hanisch (presenting / submitting)

Universität Koblenz-Landau

Primary Education

Landau

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