Cognitive process mapping: Adapting cognitive task analysis to research and educational assessment of young children’s thinking skills in the classroom

Abstract

The question of how best to assess thinking skills is an issue keenly debated amongst researchers and educators ever since competencies such as problem-solving and thinking skills became universally recognised as essential for the 21st century. Tests and the use of rubrics in performance-based assessments to evaluate students’ thinking competence do not provide specific information on the ways they can still improve and teaching intervention that is needed to help them do so. Tests and rubrics also fail to take into consideration the situated and emergent nature of learning because they are constructed before learning takes place. This participant observation study was designed to explore how young children’s thinking processes and skills can be analysed, interpreted, and assessed through classroom observations. A parallel could be drawn between cognitive task analysis and the techniques employed for data collection and analysis in this study.

The purposefully selected research site was an urban primary classroom in New Zealand comprising 28 children aged between 7 to 8 years old. Opportunistic and intensity sampling strategies led to the gathering of data on 19 of the children. Data were gathered primarily through observations of the children that incorporate thinking conversations - informal conversations with children that focus on eliciting their thinking. Analysis of data was undertaken using two techniques developed in the course of the study – cognitive process maps and visual models.

This research revealed that the techniques used in the study can be effective tools for the observation and analysis of children’s thinking processes and skills. They can provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses in children’s domain knowledge, working theories, and thinking skills at a specific level needed for formative purposes. These techniques allow for open-ended observation and analysis of children’s learning needs because they take into consideration the emergent nature of children’s thinking and are not necessarily focused on preconceived aspects of children’s performance. The study demonstrates the capacity of young children to adopt their own individual approaches to task performance, involving thinking processes that can be complex and varied across individuals and contexts. One implication is that we cannot fully appreciate their competence without prolonged conversations with them and careful observation in order to establish an accurate picture of their thinking performance.

Recommendations are offered for researchers and educators to consider adopting task analysis techniques developed and employed in this study in addition to their repertoire of existing tools for research and assessment purposes.