The Identification of the Antecedents and Consequences of Developing a cognitive approach in elementary education Through Meta-Synthesis
Atena Masnabadi
1
(
Phd student of philosophy of education, Islamic Azad University, Lamard branch, Shiraz, Iran.
)
Seyed Ahmad Hashemi
2
(
Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies, Lamerd Branch, IAU
)
Abas Gholtash
3
(
Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University of Marvdasht, Marvdasht, Iran.
)
Keywords:
Abstract :
The Identification of the Antecedents and Consequences of Developing a cognitive approach in elementary education Through Meta-Synthesis
The main purpose of this research is to identify the antecedents and consequences of the development of the cognitive approach in elementary education through Meta-Synthesis. This research was carried out in terms of practical purpose and with the qualitative method of Meta-Synthesis. To search for keywords, the time range of 1370-1399 was considered for Persian articles and 1990 to 2021 for foreign articles. Purposive sampling and the validity basis of this research is theoretical validity. Strauss and Corbin's open, axial and selective coding method was used to analyze the data. The studied documents were searched using the keywords of developing a cognitive approach in databases such as SID and Magi ran periodicals for Persian articles and Emerald and Elsevier were compiled for foreign articles. Qualitative articles were systematically identified, also, the articles were critically appraised for quality by employing the CASP method. Result Review that the antecedents of the development of the cognitive approach are: Critical Thinking, motivation, creativity and innovation and Memory. Also, the consequences of cognitive approach development include: Strengthen multiple intelligences, Emotional Intelligence, Learning and solving problems, metacognition, Constructivism and Active learning. It is concluded that based on various researches, many factors play a role in the development of the cognitive approach, and by identifying these factors, the development of the cognitive approach in elementary education can be provided.
Keywords: cognitive science, cognitive approach, elementary education, Meta-Synthesis.
Introduction
The development of the cognitive approach includes the educational system that seeks to improve the cognitive skills of students in order to move towards a productive and satisfying life. It is also one of the fields of neuroscience and psychology that focuses on child development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skills, language learning and other aspects of brain development and cognitive psychology (Wilson and Conyers, 2020; Ghiasabadi Farahani, 2021). Cognitive development is defined as the emergence of the ability to recognize, understand and express one's understanding from the point of view of adults. Cognitive development is the way a person perceives, thinks and understands the world through the relationships of genetic factors and learning (James, 2019; Marsack‐Topolewski et al, 2020).
The development of cognitive information has four stages: reasoning, intelligence, language and memory (Johann and Karbach, 2020; Zmigrod et al, 2019; Robins et al, 2019). These stages start when the baby is around 18 months old, they play with toys, listen to their parents, watch TV, anything that attracts their attention helps their cognitive development (Abdellatif and Gatto, 2020; Morrison and Estabrooks, 2020). According to studies conducted by researchers, cognitive approach programs have significant and long-term positive effects on the thinking skills needed by elementary students (McKee, 2020; Nilsson et al, 2018; Cowan et al, 2020; Armstrong et al, 2019; Amdurer et al, 2014).
In brain-adaptive learning, attention to the physical environment, for example, the design of the learning space for lessons, is very important. Adhering to the appropriate variety in the design of the classroom space is effective on the selective attention of students. Therefore, in this research, the design of the development model of the cognitive approach in primary education of the country will be discussed, the meaning of the cognitive approach is the impact of cognitive science on education, which is mainly in response to the efforts of researchers and school officials to discover the most efficient ways of teaching, learning and Problem solving is developed in the society of school education. Therefore, the main question is: What are the antecedents and consequences of the development of the cognitive approach in elementary education using the Meta-Synthesis approach?
Background and theoretical bases of research
Cognitive development: Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of the developed adult brain and cognitive psychology. Qualitative differences between how a child processes their waking experience and how an adult process their waking experience are acknowledged (such as object permanence, the understanding of logical relations, and cause-effect reasoning in school-age children). Cognitive development is defined as the emergence of the ability to consciously cognize, understand, and articulate their understanding in adult terms. Cognitive development is how a person perceives, thinks, and gains understanding of their world through the relations of genetic and learning factors (Min, 2019). There are four stages to cognitive information development. They are, reasoning, intelligence, language, and memory. These stages start when the baby is about 18 months old, they play with toys, listen to their parents speak, they watch tv, anything that catches their attention helps build their cognitive development (Shaban et al, 2021; Lopes et al, 2021).
Cognitive Approach: Behaviorism’s emphasis on objectivity and focus on external behavior had pulled psychologists’ attention away from the mind for a prolonged time. The early work of the humanistic psychologists redirected attention to the individual human as a whole, and as a conscious and self-aware being (Yoo and Collins, 2021; Benbya et al, 2021). By the 1950s, new disciplinary perspectives in linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science were emerging, and these areas revived interest in the mind as a focus of scientific inquiry. This particular perspective has come to be known as the cognitive revolution (Gordón-Rogel et al, 2020).
Primary school: A primary school, junior school, elementary school or grade school is a school for elementary education of children who are four to eight years of age. Primary schooling follows pre-school and precedes secondary schooling. The International Standard Classification of Education considers primary education as a single phase where programmers are typically designed to provide fundamental skills in reading, writing, and mathematics and to establish a solid foundation for learning (Sahlberg, 2021; Clements et al, 2009).
Methodology
This research has been placed in the qualitative research group in terms of its practical purpose and in terms of the nature of the data and the style of analysis. The data collection method in this research is based on documentary information. In the current research, the statistical population; All the published researches are in reliable domestic and foreign databases. To search for keywords, the time range of 1370-1399 was considered for Persian articles and 1990 to 2021 for foreign articles. Purposive sampling and the validity basis of this research is theoretical validity. Strauss and Corbin's open, axial and selective coding method was used to analyze the data. Based on this, the present research has been conducted in five stages: research question, systematic study of texts, search-selection and extraction of information, classification and combination of findings, quality control of findings.
Research Findings
Determining the research question
What are the effective factors on the development of cognitive approach in primary education?
systematic study of texts
In this research, the foreign databases of Emerald, Scopus, and the Iranian databases of the SID and Magiran were used, and a total of 257 studies were found for initial review. The key words used in this research are shown in Table (1).
Table (1): Key words used in the present research
Development of cognitive approach |
Cognitive development |
Elementary Education |
search-selection and extraction of information
In order to select the appropriate sources in this research, at first, the keyword of cognitive approach development was searched in the databases; But since this term was general, many unrelated topics have been found. For this reason, word by word was modified until finally the key word cognitive approach was used followed by the complementary key word i.e. the development of cognitive approach in primary education and its English equivalent. Considering word search as input, only in the title, abstract and keywords, it was recognized that after examining all of them and after considering the output criteria, i.e. "irrelevant content" and sometimes "removing duplicates”, finally, 58 studies remained and were re-examined.
classification and combination of findings
The researcher read and re-read the articles before data were extracted and synthesized into lists of emerging themes and concepts. The next step was to code the data, and an independent coder participated in this step. The researcher and independent coder coded the data by identifying different metaphors and themes. This entailed an active reading with the intention of appraising, familiarizing, identifying, extracting, coding, organizing, comparing, and relating the data into themes. The next step was to group the codes together in terms of commonalities in selection methods, which would then be compared and analyzed. In the last step, analytical themes were generated. The second data abstraction sheet was used during data synthesis and had the following headings: Authors, Study aim, Details of participants, Data collection method, Data analysis method, and Theme (Joubert et al, 2022). The data were presented in data analysis tables and
described; this is also known as narrative synthesis. These sheets briefly outlined the findings, which ultimately improved reporting, as indicated in the PRISMA statement. Coding was done independently; however, the researcher periodically sat with the independent coder and had consensus discussions to assess whether the coding compared.
Using open coding information, central and selective coding was done, which is shown in Table (3-4) and the pattern of these effective factors in Figure (2). As can be seen, 10 factors affect the development of cognitive approach. The open codes of each of the factors were specified in table (3-4), and the pattern of effective factors is also drawn in figure (2).
Table (3) Antecedents of cognitive approach development
Selective codes | Pivotal codes | Repetition of codes |
Strengthen multiple intelligences
| Musical intelligence | 17 |
Spatial-visual intelligence | 8 | |
Linguistic intelligence | 5 | |
Mathematical-logical intelligence | 9 | |
physical intelligence | 4 | |
Interpersonal intelligence | 11 | |
Intrapersonal intelligence | 5 | |
naturalistic intelligence | 4 | |
Creative intelligence | 3 | |
Practical intelligence | 6 | |
Analytical intelligence | 5 | |
Emotional Intelligence | Ability to communicate | 6 |
Understanding emotions | 17 | |
Management of emotions | 18 | |
Learning and solving problems | diagnosis | 6 |
selective attention | 17 | |
Focused awareness | 8 | |
Constructivism | Knowledge production | 6 |
meaning making | 17 | |
Interactive learning | 9 | |
Group learning culture | 18 | |
metacognition | Growing mistakes | 6 |
Discovering mistakes (the right way to learn) | 17 | |
Systematic thinking | 11 | |
Learning skills | 18 | |
Active learning | Learning control | 6 |
Interaction | 17 | |
Human learning | 18 | |
| Participate | 10 |
Table (3) shows the influential components in the development of the cognitive approach, which are:
Strengthen multiple intelligences, Emotional Intelligence, Learning and solving problems, Constructivism, Metacognition, Active learning.
Table (4) Consequences of cognitive approach development
Selective codes | Pivotal codes | Repetition of codes | |
creativity and innovation | creativity | 6 | |
divergent thinking | 17 | ||
innovation | 18 | ||
Critical Thinking | Knowledge transfer process | 6 | |
Supportive training | 17 | ||
awareness | 18 | ||
Memory | short-term memory | 6 | |
operational memory | 17 | ||
Semantic memory | 18 | ||
motivation | internal motivation | 6 | |
External motivation | 17 | ||
Table (4) shows the steps in the development of the cognitive approach, which these components are: creativity and innovation, Critical Thinking, Memory and motivation.
Figure 2- Conceptual model of cognitive approach development
In the conceptual model, we see that the antecedents of the development of the cognitive approach are: Critical Thinking, motivation, creativity and innovation and Memory.
Also, the consequences of cognitive approach development include: Strengthen multiple intelligences, Emotional Intelligence, Learning and solving problems, metacognition, Constructivism and Active learning.
quality control of findings
Quality appraisal was conducted by making use of the CASP tool and an independent coder. By completing the CASP tool for each included article, eight of the articles displayed a high degree of quality, four articles displayed a moderate degree of quality and two articles displayed a low degree of quality. During this process the researcher and the independent coder concluded during a consensus discussion to keep all articles which included the two articles with a low degree of quality. Also, the Kappa index was calculated as 0.82, which indicates a high agreement between the two evaluators. Finally, it was found that all the 58 extracted studies have the necessary quality to move to the next stage for analysis.
Discussion and conclusion
A comprehensive and systematic review was conducted to identify and select qualitative research studies that would answer the research question. The meta-synthesis indicated that there is a need for a holistic admission process.
According to the qualitative findings of the research, it was determined that the antecedents and consequences of cognitive approach development have components (strengthening multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, metacognition, attention, constructivism, memory, motivation, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and active learning).
With qualitative study, the consequences of the development of the cognitive approach are: Strengthen multiple intelligences, Emotional Intelligence, Learning and solving problems, metacognition, Constructivism and Active learning.
cognitive approach: children feel safe and do not feel threatened in the environment of knowledge and learning; In such an environment, the brain creates new neural connections and this leads to an increase in its learning capacity.
Multiple intelligence enhancement index: This index has components (musical intelligence, visual-spatial intelligence, linguistic intelligence, mathematical-logical intelligence, kinetic-physical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, existential intelligence, analytical intelligence, Creative intelligence is practical intelligence.
Emotional intelligence: the ability to communicate and understand the emotions of others, to look at the world through their eyes, to empathize and influence them, emotional stability and control of emotions and internal impulses, which is known as emotional literacy. The emotional intelligence index has components (ability to communicate, understand emotions, manage emotions).
Metacognition: based on metacognition, the student discovers his mistakes, takes action to correct them and completes his learning method; Because the learner has control over the way of learning and the effective factors in it, as well as the obstacles to learning.
Problem solving learning: attention is a complex phenomenon and consists of several different systems (which support functions such as metacognition, self-reflection, mindfulness and meditation, as well as states such as vigilance, selective attention and focused attention) that have different degrees of different relationships with each other.
Constructivism: knowledge is created by a person, and human learning is something that is created, and the learner creates new knowledge based on his previous learning; People construct their own understanding of what they study, not record it, and the process of constructing knowledge occurs both in natural conditions and in learning experiences.
Active learning: Active learning occurs when a person takes control of the learning time and encourages learners to understand the internal dialogue.
The results are consistent with the research findings Shaban et al (2021), Robins et al (2019), Sahlberg (2021), Nilsson et al (2018), Min et al (2019), McKee (2020), Marsack‐Topolewski et al (2020), Lopes et al (2021).
The findings of a qualitative study with a meta-synthesis approach showed that the antecedents of the development of the cognitive approach include: Critical Thinking, motivation, creativity and innovation and Memory.
Memory: Cognitive psychologists often study memory in terms of working memory. Memory is a way to perform certain types of action. It is often activated on a subconscious level or requires little conscious effort.
Motivation: Motivation means providing a stimulus. Motivated learners must be motivated to motivate themselves with interest. This behavior creates and regulates students' energies. The psychological insight of education is about motivation with regard to the will or that it leads students to a task and increase internal motivation and alone can keep their goals alive and their behavior and beliefs about the causes of success or failure in education.
Critical thinking: Critical thinking shows the process of transferring knowledge from one subject or community to another subject or subjects, in the case of group education. Supportive education aims to preserve and reproduce the existing culture, social experience and the existing social system.
Creativity and innovation: Creativity is the creation of a work that is new and original, and is considered valuable. Creativity is different from intelligence. Creative children have divergent thinking and can consider different enthusiasm for any problem and its solutions. And also the spirit of innovation, ability to innovate, emotional intelligence, flexibility.
The results of these findings are consistent with research Morrison and Estabrooks (2020); Wilson and Conyers (2020), Yoo and Collins (2021), Zmigrod et al (2019).
With the results obtained from this study, the researcher has put forward some suggestions in line with the development of the cognitive approach:
A wide range of methods to evaluate the performance and achievements of students resulted from the development of the cognitive approach. The purpose of formal assessment is to provide feedback to students and teachers on learning progress in order to improve learning outcomes, so educational technology should enable the development of different systems to provide feedback that in turn develop students' skills and metacognitive strategies, as well as children in the environment. Education to feel safe and not feel threatened. In such an environment, the brain creates new neural connections, and this leads to an increase in its learning capacity, and the brain can complete its learning based on the received feedback. Because it is in the process of group interaction that people learn from each other and feel valuable. Because reading is very useful for stimulating the brain, and by increasing the vocabulary, brain connections develop. On the other hand, the brain grows by doing new physical movements; Therefore, specific physical and movement activities should be included in the program. Considering that solving challenging problems is the best method for brain development, therefore, music is a stimulus that engages the whole brain and can be used to change the emotional conditions of the learner, as a carrier of words, and finally as a seasoning, so it is recommended Music should be used in teaching and learning.
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