***** Respond in a paragraph following the established guidelines. The answer must be of a substantial nature and with quotes present in the textbook. Agree or disagree is not appropriate. 

***** Only use this book and specific pages.   Represent the quotes (author, year, and page) when reflecting the content in your paragraph.

Source of reference: textbook Chapter 2, PAGES 37-41

Peer1

Grisel Cabrera

       2.  How is cognitive strategy instruction used to teach academic, cognitive, or social skills?

Cognitive instruction is a concept that comes from the work of Bandura on social learning theory and cognitive behavior modification from Harris and Meichenbaun. (Bos and Vaughn, 2006). It comes from the assumption that cognitive behavior can be changed as observable behavior does. “Cognitive strategy instruction (CSI) is a systematic method that is used to change thinking processes by organizing the teaching and monitoring of task completion or skill development by actively involving students in learning.” (Bos and Vaughn, 2006, p 65-66). Teachers utilize this strategy that includes an analysis of the task and the cognitive processes involved in completing the task. It includes the use of self-modeling, self-instructional techniques, and performance evaluation.

 Some principles that are part of CSI are cognitive modeling, guided instruction, self-instruction, self-evaluation, and self-regulation.  Cognitive modeling is better described by explaining to students what you were thinking while reading, also described in the textbook by thinking aloud. Guided instruction is also used and is guiding students through the task by telling the steps in the process. Very similar is self-instruction, which is the own student remembering the steps in the process while completing the task. Self-evaluation is conceptualized as the student making judgments about own performance in terms of quality and quantity. Another principle is self-regulation which implies the student own recognition of a problem in learning and the use of strategies to solve it.

When teachers use CSI to teach academic and social skills there are several steps they follow: strategy steps, modeling, self-regulation, verbalization, and reflective thinking. For example, in a simple experiment the teacher lists the steps to follow to complete the experiment from beginning to end. Then, the teacher models the experiment to the student also including self-talk in a way that students can learn the observable behavior but also the cognitive process. “Self-regulation refers to the learner monitoring his or her own thinking and actions through language mediation.” (Bos and Vaughn, 2006, p 47). During the use of self-regulation students act like their own teachers by being active in the learning process and also in their own performance evaluation. Verbalization include talk-aloud and think-aloud techniques and is used in self-instruction and self-monitoring. For example, a student will verbalize the steps being taken to complete a simple math problem. It could be also described by the student verbalizing the options he or she has to finish a task and deciding which one is going to use. Finally, reflective thinking refers to think about what the students are doing. Most of the time students act without thinking and do not take into account consequences. Using reflective thinking allow the students to reflect about the way they are learning and acting. For example, a good way is after teaching how to find a main idea of a paragraph, the student ask himself or herself questions about what they have written as responses cuing the students to find specific information. Reviews of research show that CSI is one of the most effective instructional strategies for teachers to use when teaching students with learning disabilities and behavior problems.  (Bos and Vaughn, 2006).

References

Bos, Candance S., Vaughn, Sharon. (2006). Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning

and Behavior problems. Chapter 2. 6th Ed. Pearson Education.