COGNITIVE GROWTH IN DUAL CULTURE: IMPLICATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
Keywords:
Cognitive Growth, Dual Culture, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and InterdisciplinaryAbstract
There is shift from what occurs in the mind alone to what occurs in the mind and its social environment. Piagetian and neo-Piagetian structural theory account for the former while Vygotsky functionalist theory account for the later. Thinking isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question. Practice provides the first step in human cognition, and that, too, must be its conclusion and orientation.
Teaching and learning of science in nonwestern country exposes the learner to (Dual) two different cognitively cultural schema. Science as social activity is culture laden, how science is done largely depends on the culture in which it is practice. Due to the recognition of the cultural background of learners there is need to change from traditional instruction in science education to enhance cognitive abilities in critical thinking for effective problem solving. Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is an interdisciplinary instructional approach aim to develop the cognitive abilities in problem solving and critical thinking for the survival of 21st century generation. This paper argued that without culturally relevant pedagogy and instructional congruency both problem based instruction and interdisciplinary approach, may not be sufficient to develop the critical thinking and analytic problem solving abilities of nonwestern students. Conversely, may even serve to challenge students cultural ways of knowing due to the differences in cultural schema of student and instructional representation of western science. This conceptual paper recommends that frame switching should be adopted for reform effort in science education to reach all learners in their cognitive niches.