Step 3 - Modeling Mental Operations

Modeling Mental Operations is the third step within the seven steps of Decoding the Disciplines. It consists of three phases:

Sorting all the identified necessary mental operations in correct order, in which they can and should be learned. A visualization of those mental operations in form of a mind map or a list can be helpful.
Teaching the necessary mental operations, i.e. by being a model for the students or using analogies.
Allowing the students to form their own model of how to handle the cognitive tasks.

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Once an instructor has made explicit the mental operations that students must master in order to get past a bottleneck (Step 2), it is necessary to devise strategies to help students learn each of these steps. It very important to : Focus on the most essential mental operations
- It is important to decide which mental operations should be modeled and which have already been mastered by all or almost all of the students. Obviously, it is not necessary to devote valuable class time to going over skills that have already been thoroughly mastered. Therefore, it is often useful to use assessments early in a course to see which mental operations it is necessary to focus on. If a small number of students are lacking an understanding of operations already mastered by the rest of the class, it may be advisable to give them pathways to mastering these skills outside the regular course, e.g, special web sites or tutoring sessions.
Model each mental operation by itself
- It is much more difficult for students to learn when a number of steps are being presented at the same time. Therefore, it is generally important to break them down into their component parts and to model each separately.
Think strategically about the order in which modeling occurs and consider its connection to other elements in the course
- Some attention should be devoted to deciding the logical order in which to model these operations and, when possible, the modeling should be integrated with the content of the course. The modeling of specific steps should also be coordinated with specific opportunities for students to practice these skills and receive feedback. (Step 4)
- Certain mental operations are so central to success in the course and so demanding that it is wise to make modeling these skills a central focus of the entire course, reinforcing them, not only in isolated class presentations, but also in the syllabus, the presentation of assignments and exam questions, discussions, lab instructions etc.
Model the same mental operations repeatedly and in different forms
- In most cases these operations will need to be modeled repeatedly across the course and, ideally, in different forms. The goal should be to make the modeling process such a central part of a class that it informs every aspect of the course from the course description to the form of assessments, thereby reinforcing the learning.
In many cases show students how to bring the steps together in more complex tasks
- In some cases it will be necessary to model, not only the individual mental operations, but also the process of combining these in more complex class activities, such as writing a paper or conducting an experiment.[1]

[1] Once an instructor has made explicit the mental operations that students must master in order to get past a bottleneck (Step 2), it is necessary to devise strategies to help students learn each of these steps. It very important to : Focus on the most essential mental operations
It is important to decide which mental operations should be modeled and which have already been mastered by all or almost all of the students. Obviously, it is not necessary to devote valuable class time to going over skills that have already been thoroughly mastered. Therefore, it is often useful to use assessments early in a course to see which mental operations it is necessary to focus on. If a small number of students are lacking an understanding of operations already mastered by the rest of the class, it may be advisable to give them pathways to mastering these skills outside the regular course, e.g, special web sites or tutoring sessions.
Model each mental operation by itself
It is much more difficult for students to learn when a number of steps are being presented at the same time. Therefore, it is generally important to break them down into their component parts and to model each separately.
Think strategically about the order in which modeling occurs and consider its connection to other elements in the course
Some attention should be devoted to deciding the logical order in which to model these operations and, when possible, the modeling should be integrated with the content of the course. The modeling of specific steps should also be coordinated with specific opportunities for students to practice these skills and receive feedback. (Step 4)

Certain mental operations are so central to success in the course and so demanding that it is wise to make modeling these skills a central focus of the entire course, reinforcing them, not only in isolated class presentations, but also in the syllabus, the presentation of assignments and exam questions, discussions, lab instructions etc.
Model the same mental operations repeatedly and in different forms
In most cases these operations will need to be modeled repeatedly across the course and, ideally, in different forms. The goal should be to make the modeling process such a central part of a class that it informs every aspect of the course from the course description to the form of assessments, thereby reinforcing the learning.
In many cases show students how to bring the steps together in more complex tasks
In some cases it will be necessary to model, not only the individual mental operations, but also the process of combining these in more complex class activities, such as writing a paper or conducting an experiment.[1]

[2] It is important to decide which mental operations should be modeled and which have already been mastered by all or almost all of the students. Obviously, it is not necessary to devote valuable class time to going over skills that have already been thoroughly mastered. Therefore, it is often useful to use assessments early in a course to see which mental operations it is necessary to focus on. If a small number of students are lacking an understanding of operations already mastered by the rest of the class, it may be advisable to give them pathways to mastering these skills outside the regular course, e.g, special web sites or tutoring sessions.

[3] It is much more difficult for students to learn when a number of steps are being presented at the same time. Therefore, it is generally important to break them down into their component parts and to model each separately.

[4] Some attention should be devoted to deciding the logical order in which to model these operations and, when possible, the modeling should be integrated with the content of the course. The modeling of specific steps should also be coordinated with specific opportunities for students to practice these skills and receive feedback. (Step 4)

[5] Certain mental operations are so central to success in the course and so demanding that it is wise to make modeling these skills a central focus of the entire course, reinforcing them, not only in isolated class presentations, but also in the syllabus, the presentation of assignments and exam questions, discussions, lab instructions etc.

[6] In most cases these operations will need to be modeled repeatedly across the course and, ideally, in different forms. The goal should be to make the modeling process such a central part of a class that it informs every aspect of the course from the course description to the form of assessments, thereby reinforcing the learning.

[7] In some cases it will be necessary to model, not only the individual mental operations, but also the process of combining these in more complex class activities, such as writing a paper or conducting an experiment.[1]

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