Discussion: Cognitive Development

Analyze the following scenario:

You are working with a group of faculty to re-think the teaching of “Introduction to Social Psychology” at your institution. Your team has divided a class of 150 into five smaller sections of 30 each, and it has incorporated more writing, experiential activities, and group work into the course. The faculty report that students are reacting well to some of the new strategies, but not to others. For example, they seem to like the tutorial sessions led by teaching assistants better than the projects where they collaborate with their peers. In addition, they prefer to interact with their peers online, as opposed to in the classroom. Students also report less satisfaction with assignments where they are asked to express personal opinions.

Change almost always results in some level of discomfort. Students and faculty are both somewhat uncomfortable in this scenario. Cite references from your readings about cognitive development to explain students’ discomfort with the new instructional strategies. How can faculty move students past their discomfort to a new level of understanding?

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Patton, L. D. Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & S. J. Quaye. (2016). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

· Chapter 14, “Epistemological and Intelllectectual Development” pp. 314-335

Kolb., A. Y. & Kolb, D. A. (2009) Meta-cognitive aspects of experiential learning. Retrieved from: http://sag.sagepub.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/content/40/3/297.full.pdf+html

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