Cognitive Domain

(Slowmedia, 2010)

According to Bloom (1956), “the most common educational objective in America is the acquisition of knowledge or information” (p. 28). Although these words were written more than 50 years ago, little has changed regarding educators’ emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge. Essentially, educators are concerned with changing learners with respect to the amount and kind of knowledge they possess and their ability to remember, analyze, synthesize, and understand. We often focus on facts, principles, research findings, decision making, and so on. Such is the nature of the cognitive domain.

But teaching in the cognitive domain also includes helping students develop their abilities to think … to make decisions despite incomplete or conflicting information … to be “comfortable” with uncertainty and ambiguity … and to appreciate that there is more we do not know than we do know. These areas often are labeled “critical thinking” and “cognitive/intellectual development.”

Teaching that is intended to develop learners’ cognitive abilities must take into account the level of “performance” expected in any given circumstance, how learners view knowledge, how learners views their own and the teacher’s roles in the acquisition and construction of knowledge, and the variety of strategies that are most effective in meeting learners’ individualized needs and unique goals. Such complexities require that the teacher plan diverse strategies to challenge learners to grow in cognitive maturity while supporting their current level of ability. By revisiting our philosophies of education, principles of good teaching, goals of student engagement, and other topics related to learning, teachers are able to formulate strategies that will effectively meet the challenge of advancing students’ thinking and benefit our learners.

The resources provided here will help you examine the responsibilities of the nurse educator in relation to teaching in the cognitive domain and achieve the following objectives:

  • Formulate cognitive domain learning objectives that are appropriate to intended learning goals for a select group of students
  • Examine selected issues related to promoting critical thinking and cognitive/intellectual development in nursing students
  • Propose teaching strategies that enhance learning in the cognitive domain, promote critical thinking, and advance learners’ cognitive/intellectual development

Resources

For more information about the cognitive domain, watch this presentation by Dr Terry Valiga Duke School of Nursing entitled “Facilitating Learning in the Cognitive Domain”.

Additional resources concerning critical thinking and “habits of mind” assessment tools and measures (deemed valid and reliable) are available through the Insight Assessment site .  Interesting references are available in the “CT Resources” drop-down menu. Of particular note are:

  • Dr. Peter Facione’s Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts paper that poses questions such as who are effective critical thinkers and what characteristics do they have in common; it also gives concrete scenarios of how an effective critical thinker might think versus a person whose CT needs more development.
  • Teaching For and About Critical Thinking also listed under “CT Resources” has some interesting papers and references for instructors. This is a commercial site that sells materials, but much of the free content under “CT Resources” and especially under Teaching For and About Critical Thinking is thought-provoking and useful.

Bloom’s Taxonomy (Revised)

Readings

Alfaro-LeFevre, R. (2009). Critical thinking and clinical judgment: A practical approach to outcome-focused thinking (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

Bart, M. (2009, August 26). Finding the “sweet spot” of teaching and learning. Faculty Focus. Available online.

Bastable, S. B. (2008). Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. (pp. 150-157; 394-398)

Benner, P. E., Sutphen, M., Leonard, V., & Day, L. (2010). Educating nurses: A call for radical transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Berkow, S., Virkstis, K., Stewart, J., Aronson, S., & Donohue, M. (2011). Assessing individual frontline nurse critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(4), 168-171.

Berrett, D. (2011, June 9). Teaching them how to think. Inside Higher Ed. Available online.

Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives; the classification of educational goals, Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: Longmans.

Bowman, N. A. (2010). College diversity experiences and cognitive development: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 80(1), 4-33.

Carrithers, D., Ling, T., & Bean, J. C. (2008). Messy problems and lay audiences: Teaching critical thinking within the finance curriculum. Business Communication Quarterly, 71(2), 152-170.

Cook, P. R. (2001). Critical thinking in nursing education. In M. J. Bradshaw & A. J. Lowenstein (Eds.), Fuszard’s innovative teaching strategies in nursing (3rd ed., pp. 29-42). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers.

Eierman, B. (2010, Feb. 1). Should we teach students to say “I don’t know”? The Teaching Professor. Madison, WI: Magna Publications, Inc

Freed, P., & McLaughlin, D. E. (2011). Futures thinking: preparing nurses to think for tomorrow. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(3), 173-178.

Gryskiewicz, S. S. (2000). Creating positive turbulence. Association Management, 52(1), 46-51.

Hernandez, C. A. (2009). Student articulation of a nursing philosophical statement: an assignment to enhance critical thinking skills and promote learning. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(6), 343-349.

Horan, K. M. (2009). Using the human patient simulator to foster critical thinking in critical situations. Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(1), 28-30.

Jenkins, S. D. (2011). Cross-cultural perspectives on critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education, 50(5), 268-274.

Jones, S. A., & Brown, L. N. (1991). Critical thinking: impact on nursing education. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 16(5), 529-533.

Kuiper, R., Murdock, N., & Grant, N. (2010). Thinking strategies of baccalaureate nursing students prompted by self-regulated learning strategies. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(8), 429-436.

Lisko, S. A., & O’Dell, V. (2010). Integration of theory and practice: experiential learning theory and nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(2), 106-108.

McGovern, M., & Valiga, T. M. (1997). Promoting the cognitive development of freshman nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 36(1), 29-35.

McMullen, M. A., & McMullen, W. F. (2009). Examining patterns of change in the critical thinking skills of graduate nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(6), 310-318.

Noble, K. A., Miller, S. M., & Heckman, J. (2008). The cognitive style of nursing students: educational implications for teaching and learning. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(6), 245-253.

Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Plack, M., & Santasier, A. (2004). Reflective practice: a model for facilitating critical thinking skills within an integrative case studies classroom experience. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 18, 4-12.

Pyles, S. H., & Stern, P. N. (1983). Discovery of nursing gestalt in critical care nursing: the importance of the Gray Gorilla syndrome. Image; The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 15(2), 51-57.

Ravert, P. (2008). Patient simulator sessions and critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(12), 557-562.

Romeo, E. M. (2010). Quantitative research on critical thinking and predicting nursing students’ NCLEX-RN performance. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(7), 378-386.

Rossignol, M. (1997). Relationship between selected discourse strategies and student critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education, 36(10), 467-475.

Roth, M. S. (2010, January 3). Beyond critical thinking. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available online.

Rowles, C. J., & Russo, B. L. (2009). Strategies to promote critical thinking and active learning. In D. M. Billings & J. A. Halstead (Eds.), Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (3rd ed., pp. 238-261). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

Saltzberg, C.W. (2002). Nursing students’ uncertainty experiences and epistemological perspectives. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Cornell University. DAI-A 62/12, p. 4090.

Sample, M. (2011, August 10). Teaching for enduring understanding. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available online.

Shulman, L. S. (2005). Pedagogies of uncertainty. Liberal Education, 91(2), 18-25. Available online.

Slowmedia. (May 10, 2010)  Cognitive learning theory [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sy8n5DRa7A.

Spence, L. D. (2009, May 1). A critique of scaffolding. The Teaching Professor. Madison, WI: Magna Publications, Inc

Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Helping students retain and use what they’ve learned in other settings (Chapter 5). In M. D. Svinicki (Ed.), Learning and motivation in the postsecondary classroom (pp. 91-116). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company.

Tanner, C. A. (2009). The case for cases: a pedagogy for developing habits of thought. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(6), 299-300.

Thompson, C., & Rebeschi, L. M. (1999). Critical thinking skills of baccalaureate nursing students at program entry and exit. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, 20(5), 248-252.

Tschannen, D., & Aebersold, M. (2010). Improving student critical thinking skills through a root cause analysis pilot project. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(8), 475-478.

Vacek, J. E. (2009). Using a conceptual approach with concept mapping to promote critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(1), 45-48.

Valiga, T. M. (1983). Cognitive development: a critical component of baccalaureate nursing education. Image; The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 15(4), 115-119.

Valiga, T. M. (2003). Teaching thinking: is it worth the effort? [Editorial]  Journal of Nursing Education, 42(11), 479-480.

Valiga, T. M. (2009). Promoting and assessing critical thinking. In S. DeYoung (Ed.), Teaching strategies for nurse educators (2nd ed., pp. 217-238). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Vidoni, K. L., & Maddux, C. D. (2002). WebQuests: Can they be used to improve critical thinking skills in students? Computers in the Schools, 19(1/2), 101-117.

Wear, D. (2009). Perspective: A perfect storm: the convergence of bullet points, competencies, and screen reading in medical education. Academic Medicine, 84(11), 1500-1504.

Wignall, E. (2011). The problem with Bloom’s taxonomy. On Teaching Online. Available online.

Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don’t students like school?: A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.