Cognitive Domain in My Classroom

 

Cognitive Domain in My Classroom

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

A teacher includes all the three domains, such as affective, cognitive, or psychomotor, in his lesson if he wants to make the lessons holistic. Inclusion of them while teaching would result in a better learning experience in the classroom in terms of styles and modalities (LSME, 2019). Among the three domains, the cognitive domain measures students learning. The cognitive domain focuses on the retention of knowledge from previously learned lessons and the amount of knowledge acquired. I teach twelfth-grade students at my school. This discussion will center on the lowest and highest levels of cognitive domain taxonomy based on how I implement them in the classroom as a part of my lesson.

Lowest Level of The Cognitive Domain

As we know, the cognitive domain is all about the mental skills of the students. Starting from the lowest to the highest level, their thinking gradually becomes difficult (Currell, 2021). To state how I use the lowest level of the cognitive domain since remembering is all about recalling data, facts, and ideas, I mostly ask my students questions or ask them to recapitulate previous knowledge to make them remember and recall what they have already learned or what they already know to promote the discussion in the class later in the lesson development part. My students are asked to recall a wide range of facts, materials, history, literary works, and information by making them identify, recognize ideas, explain, define, cite, illustrate, summarize, and describe them to share with the other members of the classroom. But I never limit my classes simply to low-level skills. In my understanding, a teacher needs to spend most of his time focusing on the higher cognitive levels while teaching (Gray, 2022). To begin with, and in connection with the preceding topic, remembering is critical. It assists students in uplifting their skills while making connections and critical thinking.

Highest Level of The Cognitive Domain

While using the highest level of the cognitive domain in the classroom, my students are encouraged to synthesize ideas to create new ideas, knowledge, and skills. At this level, students’ knowledge is measured through evaluation based on the ways they critique or defend their points with others in creating new ideas (Gray, 2022). I usually engage my students through high-level discussion in the classroom, whereby they are encouraged to negotiate their thoughts with others and share their final ideas. This usually helps them excel in their cognitive aspects. To do so, a discussion activity is created in the classroom whereby my students are first engaged in receiving ideas from others, then they respond to them through active participation, after which they start valuing their learning. Soon after that, they are engaged in comparing their own thoughts with others and organizing their ideas to build new knowledge on their own. Such a process develops the cognitive skills of the students, which ultimately will guide them to explain any theories or ideas and present them on their own.

Enrichment Activity I Give

The enrichment activity that I usually give to my class as a follow-up and for formative assessment is the writing activity through mini-research for their portfolio. They are always encouraged to use the library and internet resources to heighten their learning. Such an activity would help them develop critical and creative thinking skills that are advantageous to them (Green, 2019). I provide timely support in completing their findings and learning, and in the meantime, feedback and suggestions are given to get them into the correct concepts. All the time they are advised to align their discussions with the final product that they present in their portfolio.

 

                                                              References

Currell, J. (2021). Bloom's Taxonomy: what is it and how can you apply it in your classroom? https://mathsnoproblem.com/blog/teaching-practice/apply-blooms-taxonomy-in-classroom/

Gray, K. (2022). Assessing Data on Student Learning in Cognitive & Affective Domains. https://study.com/academy/lesson/assessing-data-on-student-learning-in-cognitive-affective-domains.html

Green, H. (2019). 10 challenging enrichment activities to engage more able learners. https://www.nace.co.uk/blogpost/1761881/329136/10-challenging-enrichment-activities-to-engage-more-able-learners

LSME. (2019). The Three (3) Domains of Learning – Cognitive; Affective; and Psychomotor (Caps) – It’s Application in Teaching and Learning. London School of Management. https://lsme.ac.uk/blog/the-three-3-domains-of-learning