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Cognitive education is usually considered in terms of its impact on students' problem-solving skills and their acquisition of disciplinary knowledge. Little is known about the impact of cognitive training on the cognitive skills of teachers themselves. In this pilot study, 80 South African high school teachers participated in the cognitive education (Instrumental Enrichment) course and then implemented the principles of cognitive teaching/learning in their classroom instruction. Teachers' problem-solving skills were evaluated before the start and after 9 months of training and implementation. Significant changes were observed in teachers' problem-solving performance. Teachers with better mastery of cognitive education program also demonstrated better cognitive task performance on the posttest. Teachers with weaker pretraining cognitive performance made greater relative gains than teachers with stronger initial performance. Recommendations are made regarding the use of Instrumental Enrichment as a tool of cognitive enhancement for teachers.
Keywords: cognitive education; teachers; Instrumental Enrichment; problem solving; South Africa
Since the 1980s, cognitive education in its different forms has become a more or less permanent feature of educational systems (Harpaz, 2007; McGuinness, 2005). The effect of cognitive teaching relative to other forms of educational interventions is still vehemently debated (see Hattie, 2009 for meta-analysis). The focus of the debate, however, is almost exclusively on the contribution of cognitive programs to students' thinking skills and curricular performance. There is a limited amount of research done on the possible impact of cognitive training on teachers' own cognition (Day, Colderhead, & Denicolo, 2012; Zohar & Barzilai, 2013). When such a research is conducted, it focuses predominantly on changes in teachers' instructional style or attitudes toward less successful students (see Baumfeld, 2006). For example, in several studies reviewed by Baumfeld (2006), the focus of research was on changes in teachers' questioning behavior. By using higher order questions in their practice, teachers create a framework for a dialogue in which students are encouraged to probe into the underlying reasons behind the answer to make judgments and justify their conclusions. Asking more open-ended questions was also linked to allowing more time for students to think before answering and encouraging them to extend and develop responses. Another popular topic of research is the change in teachers' attitude toward less successful students and the creation of a more inclusive atmosphere...