Cognitive Flexibility: The Cornerstone of Learning

Cognitive flexibility is the cornerstone of learning and enables us to cope with a constantly changing environment. By adapting our knowledge and habits in order to respond to new situations, cognitive flexibility plays a fundamental role in learning. This book proposes a study of the fundamental notions of cognitive flexibility: its measurement and development, its links with metacognition and critical thinking and the role of context in its expression, as well as its involvement in discovering solutions, transferring knowledge and processing analogies. Convergent perspectives are also presented in order to paint a clear picture of cognitive flexibility and to discuss the issues at stake. Thanks to the combined views of specialists in cognitive and developmental psychology, Cognitive Flexibility suggests new educational possibilities based on the results of empirical work on the subject.

Table of Contents:
Introduction ix Evelyne CLÉMENT Chapter 1 Measures of Flexibility 1 Célia MAINTENANT and Gaëlle BODI 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Why measure flexibility? 1 1.2.1 Cognitive flexibility in everyday life 1 1.2.2 Associated pathologies 3 1.3 How can we measure flexibility? 3 1.3.1 The different types of assessment 4 1.3.2 Which measure for which flexibility? 13 1.4 Conclusion 16 1.5 References 16 Chapter 2 Development of Cognitive Flexibility 23 Agnès BLAYE 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 Main study paradigms and some developmental points of reference 25 2.3 How can we account for perseveration behaviors in the preschool years? 29 2.4 Beyond perseveration 32 2.5 Flexibility: a question of goal management 35 2.5.1 Goal maintenance 35 2.5.2 The processing of goal cues 36 2.5.3 Toward an optimal sequencing of the information gathering process: from reactive to proactive control 38 2.5.4 Metacognition and processing of goal cues 41 2.6 From imposed flexibility to self-regulated flexibility 41 2.7 Conclusion 43 2.8 References 44 Chapter 3 Metacognition and Flexibility: What are the Theoretical Links and What Links have been Observed? 53 Valérie PENNEQUIN 3.1 Introduction 53 3.2 Metacognition 54 3.3 Executive functions 58 3.4 The common features between metacognition and executive functions 60 3.4.1 Conceptual common features 60 3.4.2 Empirical results on the links between metacognition and executive functions 63 3.4.3 The links between flexibility and metacognition 64 3.5 Conclusion 68 3.6 References 70 Chapter 4 Critical Thinking and Flexibility 77 Calliste SCHEIBLING-SÈVE, Elena PASQUINELLI and Emmanuel SANDER 4.1 Introduction 77 4.2 Characterizing critical thinking to foster its development 78 4.2.1 Philosophical approaches 78 4.2.2 Psychological approaches 80 4.2.3 Forms of critical thinking education 83 4.3 The critical mind, a flexible mind? 87 4.3.1 The cognitive building blocks of critical thinking 88 4.3.2 Changing the perspective 90 4.3.3 The role of metacognition 91 4.3.4 Barriers to flexibility: the role of intuitive conceptions and inappropriate categorizations 93 4.4 Developing critical thinking skills through multiple categorization 97 4.4.1 Multiple categorization 97 4.4.2 Operationalization through research in a school context 100 4.5 Conclusion 103 4.6 References 105 Chapter 5 Successful Solution Discovery and Cognitive Flexibility 113 Evelyne CLÉMENT 5.1 Introduction 113 5.2 Cognitive flexibility in problem solving 114 5.2.1 What is defined as a problem? 114 5.2.2 Familiar knowledge about the world, problem solving and transfer 115 5.2.3 Strategic flexibility, representational flexibility and solution discovery 121 5.3 Flexibility, creativity and academic performance 126 5.3.1 Flexibility and creativity: what links? 127 5.3.2 Cognitive flexibility and academic performance 129 5.3.3 Creativity and academic performance 131 5.4 Conclusion 134 5.5 References 135 Chapter 6 Transfer of Learning and Flexibility in Childhood 143 Jérôme CLERC and Laureen JOSSERON 6.1 Introduction 143 6.1.1 The child who transfers: a little history 144 6.1.2 Surface, structure, context 144 6.2 Transfer of learning: a developmental overview 147 6.2.1 The transfer of perceptual properties 148 6.2.2 Transfer by imitation 148 6.2.3 Solution transfer by analogy 149 6.2.4 The transfer of cognitive strategies 150 6.3 Transfer and flexibility 152 6.3.1 Transfer and conceptual flexibility 152 6.3.2 Transfer and attentional flexibility 155 6.4 Conclusion 161 6.5 References 163 Chapter 7 Cognitive Flexibility and Analogy 175 Lucas RAYNAL 7.1 Introduction 175 7.2 The role of prior knowledge in analogy 176 7.2.1 Analogy: encoding, retrieval and mapping 176 7.2.2 Prior knowledge and encoding 178 7.2.3 Prior knowledge and analogical retrieval 181 7.2.4 Prior knowledge and mapping 184 7.3 Cognitive flexibility as a key process in analogy-making 188 7.3.1 The abstract recoding process 188 7.3.2 Abstract recoding and the implementation of challenging analogies 190 7.3.3 Comparison to promote flexibility and analogy 193 7.4 Conclusion 195 7.5 References 196 Chapter 8 Context, Content Effects and Flexibility 203 Hippolyte GROS and Katarina GVOZDIC 8.1 Introduction 203 8.2 Context, concepts and flexibility 205 8.2.1 The categorical ambiguity of concepts 205 8.2.2 The role of prior knowledge 207 8.3 Representing situations and tasks 209 8.3.1 Problem solving in the service of the study of reasoning 209 8.3.2 The notion of problem representation 210 8.3.3 Content effects as mediators of flexibility? 214 8.3.4 Robust influences 216 8.4 Semantic recoding and cognitive flexibility 219 8.4.1 Semantic recoding, a lever for flexibility in school? 219 8.4.2 New perspectives to explore 222 8.5 Conclusion 224 8.6 References 226 List of Authors 233 Index 235

About the Author :
Evelyne Clement is Full Professor at CY Cergy Paris Université, France, and Deputy Director of the Paragraphe laboratory. Her research focuses on the cognitive and conative processes involved in learning and problem solving, and cognitive flexibility.