Cognition and Language Characteristics -

Cognition and Language
Characteristics
Chapter 3
Cognitive Processes
Intelligence
Attention
Memory
Cognitive Style
Language
Intelligence
Measures of intelligence in Western
culture is dependent on verbal skills
A unified construct that represents a sum
total of all the abilities of an individual.
Gardner’s multiple intelligences challenge
the premise of unified construct
Attention
Time-on-task: % of time a student attends
to a task
Students without LD on-task 60-85%
Students with LD on-task 30-60%
Focus of attention: essential to learning
Distractibility: attending to external stimuli
Selective Attention: ability to identify the
important aspects of a stimulus and
disregard other stimuli in the environment
Memory
 Short-term memory: (unconscious process)
storage of a limited amount of information (6-8
bits) for a limited amount of time (less 15 sec.)
 Long-term memory: storage for longer duration
 Working memory: (conscious process) ability to
hold a small amount of information in short-term
and integrating it with other information
Memory Cont.
Encoding: translating sensory input into a
representational form for storage
Storage: durability of memory
Retrieval: process of recovering an
encoded representation of a stimulus from
memory
Learning Style
Field dependence/independence: ability to
organize information based on
dependence or independence from the
perceptual field
 field dependent: interprets a visual stimulus
based on the visual background – more prone
to go along with the crowd
Impulsive/reflective dimension: how one
reacts to their environment (reacting
immediately or thinking before act)
Learning Style Cont.
Cognitive Mode: refers to the type of
information coding that a student prefers
to use – associated with the physiology of
the brain, also known as:
Modality preference
Brain hemispheric preference
Spatial-linguistic thinking
See pg. 88 for tips for teaching
Language
 Phoneme: smallest unit of sound that carries
meaning – refers to speech sounds (e.g., C/A/T
[3], C/O/M/E [3])
 Semantics: knowledge and comprehension of
words – receptive vocabulary
 Syntax: formal relationships between words and
phrases, subject/verb agreement
 Pragmatics: use of language in social contexts
Pragmatic Difficulties
Code switching: ability to switch simplistic
language skills when speaking to children
and switching to complex when speaking
to adults.
Thought Units: less-sophisticated thought
units during conversations.
Functional communication: make more
unjustifiable or inappropriate comments
when interacting with peers.