How to Teach the Twelve Cognitive Processes 1719
homes, cars, toys, games, lifestyles, behaviors, hairdos. . . . The list is seemingly infinite.
We may not see ourselves as experimenting when we try out some- thing new. We often experiment ineffectively. Learning to experiment in a reasonable way is yet again something that can be done only through experience. But, in this case, there really is an experimental process to be learned. It can be taught early on by finding simple ex- periments that small children really are interested in doing—they do not all have to do the same ones since it doesn’t matter what they do. They can learn to attempt to control the variables and see what hap- pens in a variety of circumstances. This is, again, the scientific meth- od, but the issue is really not teaching science so much as it is teaching a scientific approach to gathering useful knowledge. What constitutes evidence and how to draw conclusions are the kinds of things that a teacher can help with. Here again, a case base is acquired and relied on throughout this process. The discussion of findings so that they can be mentally indexed is very important part of the process.
But how do we find out what is true? Ask any 5-year-old this question and the answer is not very likely to be, We run an experi- ment. Ask mommy, is more likely or, Ask the teacher, if the kid is in school.
But, testing hypotheses is a critical part of learning to think. Of course, one has to have a hypothesis first. Children are rarely asked for their hypotheses about things. This is not exactly odd because al- though children do have them, it is a weird kind of discussion to have with a 5-year-old. Nevertheless, it is important to do. Teaching chil- dren to form and test hypotheses is as simple as asking them to do it. But, here again, asking them to do it must be done within the context of something they really care about. There have been many attempts over the course of educational history to teach kids science by having them run experiments; sometimes they are asked simply to replicate old experiments and sometimes they are asked to try new ideas out and figure things out for themselves. While the latter is most certainly preferable, these experiments tend to be about testing water quality, or nutrients in the soil, subjects that are not exactly on the mind of a 5-year-old.
What is on the mind of a 5-year-old? He might be wondering about how to deal with his baby sister. Or he might be wondering
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