Psychology of Learning - Thinking

Flashcards covering key concepts, thinking tools, types of thinking, computational thinking, and metacognitive models (KWL Chart and IDEAL) from a Psychology of Learning lecture.

Direct Thinking

A type of thinking that only uses one approach or continues to conclude something, emphasising logical science in conclusions or decisions.

Indirect Thinking

A type of thinking that uses multiple dimensions in making conclusions or decisions, taking more than one approach.

Thinking

A process of building knowledge and understanding involving mental activity in the human brain to understand external stimuli through the senses, forming concepts, making interpretations, and reactions based on existing experiences in memory.

Thinking (Ragbir Kaur, 2013)

A concept that involves: It occurs within the brain of an individual. It occurs when a stimulus is present. It happens like a process that follows specific procedures. It interprets various stimuli by making judgments, decisions and problem-solving. It is a cognitive activity that responds to the stimuli received by the five senses.

Perception (Thinking Tool)

The simplest form of thinking, based on the interpretation of sensation according to one’s experience; also called concrete thinking.

Image/Object (Thinking Tool)

A mental picture formed in the mind in the absence of a stimulus, based on remembered stimulus experiences.

Concept (Thinking Tool)

Personal understandings of a symbol, an individual’s unique way of acquiring meaning from experience.

Symbol & Sign (Thinking Tool)

Represent and stand as substitutes for actual objects, experiences, and activities (e.g., national flag, traffic lights).

Language (Thinking Tool)

The most efficient and developed vehicle used for carrying out the process of thinking, often the language we are most familiar with.

Convergent Thinking

An ability to apply existing knowledge to integrate logic & sequential arrangement, so as to produce an acceptable idea or solution focusing on reaching one well-defined solution to a problem.

Divergent Thinking

Involves more creativity to generate ideas and develop multiple solutions to a problem.

Critical Thinking

Fair-mindedly interpreting, analyzing, or evaluating information, arguments, or experiences with a set of reflective attitudes, skills & abilities to guide our thoughts, beliefs & actions.

Reflective Thinking

Needs the use of existing experience to consider all possible alternatives which would help to achieve the objective of solving the problem and to determine the result for further action.

Lateral Thinking

Refers to a person’s capacity to address problems by imagining solutions that cannot be arrived at via deductive or logical means; the ability to develop original answers to difficult questions.

Computational Thinking

Allows us to take a complex problem, understand what the problem is and develop possible solutions we can then present in a way that a computer, a human, or both, can understand.

Decomposition (Computational Thinking)

Breaking down a complex problem or system into smaller, more manageable parts.

Pattern Recognition (Computational Thinking)

Looking for similarities among and within problems.

Abstraction (Computational Thinking)

Focusing on the important information only, ignoring irrelevant detail.

Algorithms (Computational Thinking)

Developing a step-by-step solution to the problem, or the rules to follow to solve the problem.

KWL Chart

An organizational tool primarily used by students and teachers to direct and facilitate learning in the classroom, standing for Know, Want to Know, and Learned.

IDEAL

A problem-solving method involving Identify, Define, Explore/Evaluate, Act, Look & learn.

IDEAL - Identify

Identify the issue in words. Outline the facts and the unknowns

IDEAL - Define

By deciding on an outlined objective first, it can speed up the process of identifying solutions.

IDEAL - Explore

Once you have an outcome, encourage learner to brainstorm possible strategies.

IDEAL - Act

After evaluating the outcomes, the next step is to take action.

IDEAL - Look and Learn

The final step in the IDEAL problem-solving model is to look and learn from an attempt to solve a problem.