Student Perceptions of Cognitive Efficiency: Implications for Instruction

Abstract

This study used a phenomenological approach with content analysis to create a model of how students perceive cognitive efficiency (CE), which is generally described as increases in the rate, amount, or conceptual clarity of knowledge, versus cognitive costs needed to attain knowledge. Graduate education students completed a five-item open-ended survey to measure perceptions of CE and what factors they believed enhanced or inhibited CE. Analysis of results revealed that student perceptions of CE predominantly focused on malleable aspects of self-regulated and reflective cognition, aligning with many descriptions of expert teaching. Students described a diminished emphasis on knowledge acquisition and information processing, in contrast to views typically associated with CE in instructional and psychological research(Hoffman & Schraw, 2010; van Gog & Paas, 2008). Practical teaching and learning implications, including suggestions for instructional practice and future research are presented.

Keywords

• cognitive efficiency
• student perceptions
• instruction