Differentiating Four Levels of Cognitive Engagement for Learning: The ICAP Hypothesis

• In Event: Sylvia Scribner Award Address: Michelene Chi

Abstract

This talk describes the DOLA (Differentiated Overt Learning Activities) framework and its associated ICAP hypothesis. The framework suggests that learning activities can be differentiated into one of four distinct and identifiable categories--Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive, based on students' overt behaviors or mode of engagement. Based on the underlying cognitive processes, DOLA generates the ICAP hypothesis, which predicts that as students become more cognitively engaged with the learning material, from a Passive mode to an Active mode to a Constructive mode and to an Interactive mode, their learning will increase. A variety of empirical results from the literature as well as from our own lab, supporting ICAP’s predictions, will be provided. I will also discuss the generalizability of ICAP, and highlight the implications of the ICAP hypothesis for research and instructional design.

Author

• Michelene T.H. Chi, Arizona State University