Learning & Cognition
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This theme deals with research on the processes that take place when students solve information-based problems c.q. carry out different types of information-based tasks as well as on instructional support within the learning environment to foster acquisition of information problem solving – IPS - skills (e.g., information literacy). The research questions that are characteristic for this research theme relate to uncovering the strategies and processes that students employ when learning from multiple hypertext documents, how students judge the trustworthiness of information and sources that they find on the internet, and how they integrate information from different sources to construct knowledge. Finally, research on innovative ways of assessing IPS is carried out. Tools for providing instructional support to foster the acquisition of IPS skills (e.g., process worksheets) will be designed, developed and their effects will be studied.
The development of domain-specific, vocational and professional expertise extends from school – often rooted in and affected by pre- or non-school learning – far into adulthood and - depending on the learner - reaching very high levels of performance often never reached within the school. The dynamics of domain-specific expertise development is not only affected by teaching and (self-directed) learning including the personal factors associated with those learning processes, but also by the features of the domain (e.g., the half-time of professional knowledge) and by the context / learning environment where learning and performance take place (e.g., the assessment of learning and the feedback quality of the workplace). Research is carried out in close cooperation with the domains, recognizing that domain and workplace characteristics influence learning, at the same time searching for principles that can be generalised across domains. Examples are: the development of knowledge structures, the design of learning tasks, principles of deliberate practice, principles of learning in workplaces and workplace simulations, the changing role of the teacher with increasing levels of expertise, or ways to improve transitions from school to work.
The research questions in this theme aim
(1) to describe and explain these processes, taking both personal and environmental factors into account, and
(2) to develop ways to improve these processes through measures (i.e., tasks, environments and assessments) that support and optimise learning and performance.
Objective | Research effective and efficient arrangements of education and training |
| Target users | Teachers, trainers, managers in schools, universities, training companies/departments |
| Programme director |
Watch the interview with prof. dr. Paul Kirschner on Learning & Cognition!
Research of the Learning and Cognition programme aims at promoting lifelong learners and groups of learners to transfer skills, knowledge, and attitudes to a variety of settings and to regulate and maintain their own further learning.
This is realised by uncovering the cognitive processes that underlie learning and using the resulting knowledge on cognitive processes in combination with knowledge on the learner’s cognitive system to develop theory and grounding principles to inform the design of effective and efficient learning tasks, learning environments, and learning assessments.
Themes of the programme
Three themes of the research in Learning and cognition:
1. Creating flexible environments for acquiring complex cognitive skills
Theme leader: dr. Liesbeth Kester
Theme leader: dr. Liesbeth Kester
Flexible learning environments - that are not necessarily computer-based - follow learners during the learning process and monitor their progress in the acquisition of knowledge and/or skills in order to adapt the learning content or instruction to their current needs. Research shows that such environments facilitate learning. This theme focuses on the following aspects of these environments: (1) prior knowledge activation, (2) learning tasks, (3) assessments/tests and (4) the adaptation loop. For each of these aspects research topics are identified. The first topic focuses on choosing prior knowledge activation strategies (e.g., mobilising, perspective taking or self-explaining) as a function of knowledge and/or skill level to enhance complex cognitive skill acquisition. The second topic focuses on choosing learning content (i.e., assignments/problems and information in single, multi or hypermedia format) and/or instruction (e.g., support, guidance, feedback, or learner control) as a function of knowledge and/or skill level to facilitate complex cognitive skill acquisition. The third topic focuses on using assessments and tests as learning instruments. Finally, the fourth topic focuses on (automatically) diagnosing assessment/test products, (automatically) determining the instructional consequences and, the role of learner control during these processes.
2. Solving complex information problems
Theme leader: dr. Saskia Brand-Gruwel
This theme deals with research on the processes that take place when students solve information-based problems c.q. carry out different types of information-based tasks as well as on instructional support within the learning environment to foster acquisition of information problem solving – IPS - skills (e.g., information literacy). The research questions that are characteristic for this research theme relate to uncovering the strategies and processes that students employ when learning from multiple hypertext documents, how students judge the trustworthiness of information and sources that they find on the internet, and how they integrate information from different sources to construct knowledge. Finally, research on innovative ways of assessing IPS is carried out. Tools for providing instructional support to foster the acquisition of IPS skills (e.g., process worksheets) will be designed, developed and their effects will be studied.
3. Development of domain-specific expertise
Theme leader: prof. dr. Els Boshuizen
The development of domain-specific, vocational and professional expertise extends from school – often rooted in and affected by pre- or non-school learning – far into adulthood and - depending on the learner - reaching very high levels of performance often never reached within the school. The dynamics of domain-specific expertise development is not only affected by teaching and (self-directed) learning including the personal factors associated with those learning processes, but also by the features of the domain (e.g., the half-time of professional knowledge) and by the context / learning environment where learning and performance take place (e.g., the assessment of learning and the feedback quality of the workplace). Research is carried out in close cooperation with the domains, recognizing that domain and workplace characteristics influence learning, at the same time searching for principles that can be generalised across domains. Examples are: the development of knowledge structures, the design of learning tasks, principles of deliberate practice, principles of learning in workplaces and workplace simulations, the changing role of the teacher with increasing levels of expertise, or ways to improve transitions from school to work.
The research questions in this theme aim
(1) to describe and explain these processes, taking both personal and environmental factors into account, and
(2) to develop ways to improve these processes through measures (i.e., tasks, environments and assessments) that support and optimise learning and performance.
The output of the studies under (1) are input for the studies of type (2), using design studies to improve practices.
