Cognitive Operations and Educational Framing of Tasks : School as a Context for Arithmetic Thought

• Cognitive Operations and Educational Framing of Tasks. School as a Context for Arithmetic Thought. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 32, 61‐71. The purpose of the present study is to contribute to the understanding of the contextual determination of cognitive activities. In a naturalistic experiment in a primary school setting it is shown how performance at group level on an elementary arithmetic task is influenced by the immediate context in which this problem is presented. Differences in performance between groups at various achievement levels in mathematics are amplified by corresponding differences in discovering and utilizing analogies between problems as heuristic aids. This latter kind of difference reflects – it is argued – variations in abilities in analysing and deciphering cognitive tasks at a linguistic and meta‐communicative level rather than in mastering the specific algorithmic tools. It is also argued that the functional meaning of the task as pedagogical praxis may differ between contexts.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Learning; Learning of arithmetic; Cognitive activity; Learning in school; Contextual effects on learning

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