Designing a Model of Diversity-Oriented Curriculum Based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to present a diversity-oriented curriculum model based on the theory of cognitive flexibility.
Methods: This study was qualitative research that employed a systematic review method to answer the first research question. In this research, to gather data related to the first research question, articles, theses, and relevant texts were searched from reputable online databases from 1988 to 2020. Ultimately, among these sources, 28 of the most relevant texts related to the research questions were selected and analyzed through thematic analysis. Then, based on the findings obtained, the elements of a diversity-oriented curriculum were designed and validated in response to the second to sixth questions. Finally, based on the findings, a conceptual model of the diversity-oriented curriculum was presented. This program was provided to 10 curriculum specialists, who confirmed the various elements of the program with a 90 percent agreement.
Results: Based on the findings, definitions, goals, principles, criteria, and emphases in the field of teaching and learning were among the main themes of cognitive flexibility theory. Related sub-themes for each main theme were also identified. After recognizing the characteristics of cognitive flexibility theory, curriculum elements were designed based on these characteristics. Diversity in type, level, form, and complexity were among the most important features of a diverse curriculum. The goal element includes (diversity in domains/levels/complexity); the content element includes (diversity in types of content); the teaching and learning methods element includes (diversity in types of methods); the learning activities element includes (diversity in location, level, domain, method, and type of activity); and the assessment element includes (diversity in stages, type, domain, complexity, form, tools for assessment).
Conclusions: In this research, a diversity-oriented curriculum based on the cognitive flexibility theory was presented. This curriculum emphasizes diversity in all educational elements (goals, content, method, activity, and evaluation) and focuses on complex, practical, and multifaceted learning to cultivate a flexible and capable mind for solving real-world problems. This program provides an interactive, multidimensional, and non-linear environment for the active construction of knowledge. It can serve as a guide for cultivating individuals with creative, innovative, and flexible minds, and can be used by curriculum planners, authors, and teachers.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

رضوی، سید عباس. (1390). مباحث نوین در فناوری آموزشی. اهواز: انتشارات دانشگاه شهید چمران.
 
cesAnderson, P. (2002). Assessment and development of executive function (EF) during childhood. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 71-82.
Arnab, S., Morini, L., & Clarke, S. (2019). Co-creativity through play and game design thinking. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 17(3), 184–198. https://doi.org/10.34190/JEL.17.3.002
Attride-Stirling, J. (2001), Thematic Networks: An Analytic Tool for Qualitative Research, Qualitative Research, 1(3), 385-405.
Braem, S., & Tobias, E. (2018). Getting a grip on cognitive flexibility. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(6), 470–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418787475
Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84–92, 141. https://hbr.org/2008/06/design-thinking
Cañas, J.J. Quesada, J. F., Antolí, A., & Fajardo, I. (2003). Cognitive flexibility and adaptability to environmental changes in dynamic complex problem-solving tasks, Ergonomics, 46, 482.
Carbonella, J. Y., & Timpano, K. R. (2016). Examining the link between hoarding symptoms and cognitive flexibility deficits. Behavior therapy, 47(2), 262-273.
Cartwright, K.B., Marshall, T.R., Huemer, C.M., Payne, J.B. (2019). Executive function in the classroom: Cognitive flexibility supports reading fluency for typical readers and teacher-identified low-achieving readers. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 88, 42–52.
Chaka, C. (2010). Collaborative Learning: Leveraging Concept Mapping and Cognitive Flexibility Theory (pp. 152–170). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-992-2.CH008
Chieu, V. M. (2005). Constructivist learning: An operational approach for designing adaptive learning environments supporting cognitive flexibility. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Louvain-la-Neuve, BE: Université catholique de Louvain.
Chieu, V. M. (2006, July). COFALE: An authoring system for supporting cognitive flexibility. In Sixth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT'06) (pp. 335-339). IEEE.
Chieu, V. M. (2007). An Operational Approach for Building Learning Environments Supporting Cognitive Flexibility. Educational Technology & Society, 10 (3), 32-46.
Chieu, V. M., & Herbst, P. G. (2008). Learning to Teach: Web-based Interactive Rich-Media Technologies Supporting Cognitive Flexibility in Teacher Education. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). http://www.aace.org. Included here by permission. The link to AACE’s definitive version: http://www.editlib.org/p/27983.
Choobforoushzadeh, A., Saberifard, M., Mohammadpanah, A., & Shirovi, E. (2023). The Effectiveness of Philosophy Education on Cognitive Flexibility and Reasoning Skills in Children. Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health, 10(1), 93-107.
Clément, E. (2022). Successful solution discovery and cognitive flexibility. Cognitive Flexibility: The Cornerstone of Learning, 113-142.
Çutuk, Z. A. (2020). Relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and cognitive flexibility in university students. Journal of Human Sciences, 17(4), 1263-1274.
Dağgöl, G. D. (2023). Online self-regulated learning and cognitive flexibility through the eyes of English-major students. Acta Educationis Generalis, 13(1), 107-132.
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual review of psychology, 64(1), 135-168.
Driscoll, M. P. (2000). Psychology of learning for instruction. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
Dumbi, K. S., & Indrasari, S. Y. (2024). Predictor factors for teacher innovative behavior during curriculum reform: The role of cognitive flexibility, positive affect, and negative affect. REID (Research and Evaluation in Education), 10(2), 1.
Ekinci, N., & Doğtekin, A. (2023). The Effect of Cognitive Flexibility Psychoeducation Program on Secondary School Students' Cognitive Flexibility Levels. International Journal of Karamanoglu Mehmetbey Educational Research, 5(1), 12-21.
Feng, X., Perceval, G., Feng, W., & Feng, C. (2020). High cognitive flexibility learners perform better in probabilistic rule learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 415. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00415
Figueroa,I. J., & Youmans, R. J. (2013). Individual Differences in Cognitive Flexibility Predict Poetry Originality. Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics. Understanding Human Cognition  Lecture Notes in Computer Science ,Vol 8019, 290-296.
Gabrys, R.L., Tabri, N., Anisman, H., Matheson, K. (2018). Cognitive control and
flexibility in the context of stress and depressive symptoms: The cognitive
control and flexibility questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2219.
Gazit, E., Yair, Y., & Chen, D. (2005). Emerging conceptual understanding of complex astronomical phenomena by using a virtual solar system. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14, 459–470.
Graddy, D.B. (2001) Cognitive Flexibility Theory as a Pedagogy for Web-Based Course Design. http://www.ipfw.edu/as/tohe/2001/Papers/graddy/graddy.htm
Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2017). The social transmission of metacontrol policies: Mechanisms underlying the interpersonal transfer of persistence and flexibility. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 81, 43–58.
Idawati, I., Akrom, A. H., & Asy’ari, M. H. (2024). The Effects of Cognitive Flexibility on Teacher’s Readiness to Implement the Merdeka Curriculum. Al-Adzka: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Guru Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, 14(1), 55-63.
Jacobson, M. J., & Spiro, R. J. (1995). Hypertext learning environments, cognitive flexibility, and the transfer of complex knowledge: An empirical investigation. Journal of educational computing research, 12(4), 301-333.
Jacques, S., & Zelazo, P. D. (2005). Language and the development of cognitive flexibility: Implications for theory of mind. In, why language matters for theory of mind, Apr, 2002, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; This chapter originated from the aforementioned conference. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Johann, V.E. and Karbach, J. (2020). Effects of game-based and standard executive control training on cognitive and academic abilities in elementary school children. Developmental Science, 1–18 [Online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.12866.
Johnco, C., Wuthrich, V. M., & Rapee, R. M. (2013). The role of cognitive flexibility in cognitive restructuring skill acquisition among older adults. Journal of Anxiety disorders, 27(6), 576-584.
Jones, N., & Lau, A. M. S. (2010). Blending learning: Widening participation in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 47(4), 405–416.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2010.518424
Jonker, H., März, V., & Voogt, J. (2020). Curriculum flexibility in a blended curriculum. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 36(1), 68-84.
Jurado, M. B., & Rosselli, M. (2007). The elusive nature of executive functions: A review of our current understanding. Neuropsychology review, 17, 213-233.
Kearsley, G. (2000). Cognitive flexibility theory. [On-line]. Available: http://www.gwu.edu/~tip/spiro.html
Korhan, M. M., Engin, E., & Güloğlu, B. (2021). Test anxiety of youth to take the university entrance exam throughout Covid-19 outbreak: cognitive flexibility and self-regulation. Educational Research, 12(5), 212-231.
Nakhostin-Khayyat, M., Borjali, M., Zeinali, M., Fardi, D., & Montazeri, A. (2024). The relationship between self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and resilience among students: a structural equation modeling. BMC psychology, 12(1), 337.
O’Donnell, L.A., Deldin, P.J., Pester, B., McInnis, M.G., Langenecker, S.A.,
Ryan, K.A. (2017). Cognitive flexibility: A trait of bipolar disorder that worsens
with length of illness. Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology,
39(10), 979–987.
Okoli, C., & Schabram, K. (2010). A guide to conducting a systematic literature review of information systems research. [On-line]. Available: https://www.scinapse.io/papers/1539987097
Rahayuningsih, S., Sirajuddin, S., & Nasrun, N. (2020). Cognitive flexibility: exploring students’ problem-solving in elementary school mathematics learning. Journal of Research and Advances in Mathematics Education, 6(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.23917/JRAMATHEDU.V6I1.11630
Reed, P. (2018). Behavioural flexibility of children with autism spectrum disorder
on a card-sorting task with varying task difficulty. Heliyon, 4(10), e00842.
Samadieh, H., & Nasri, M. (2021). The explanation of students’ adjustment to university based on perceptions of parents: mediating mechanism of cognitive flexibility. Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi Journal (RRJ), 10(7), 35-46.
Silva, E. R. da, & Dotta, S. (2017). Interfaces da flexibilidade cognitiva e da aprendizagem em fóruns de discussão. RIED: Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 21(1), 303–322. https://doi.org/10.5944/RIED.21.1.17496
Spiro, R. J., Collins, B. P., Thota, J. J., & Feltovich, P. J. (2003). Cognitive flexibility theory: Hypermedia for complex learning, adaptive knowledge application, and experience acceleration. Educational technology, 43(5), 5-10.
Spiro, R. J., Coulson, R. L., Feltovich, P. J., & Anderson, D. K. (1988). Cognitive flexibility theory: Advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. In program of The Tenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Montreal. DOI:10.1017/CBO9780511529863.023
Spiro, R., Feltovich, P. J., Jacobson, M. J., & Coulson, R. L. (1991). Cognitive flexibility, constructivism, and hypertext: Random access instruction for advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. Educational Technology, 31, 24-33. 
Spiro, R.J., & Jehng, J. (1990). Cognitive flexibility and hypertext: Theory and technology for non-linear and multidimensional traversal of complex subject matter. In D. Nix and R. Spiro (Eds.), Cognition, Education, and Multimedia. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spiro, R.J., Feltovich, P.J., Jacobson, M.J., & Coulson, R.L. (1992). Cognitive flexibility, constructivism and hypertext: Random access instruction for advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. In T. Duffy & D. Jonassen (Eds.), Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Subramaniam, S. (2022). Cognitive Flexibility: Know-How. In Industry 4.0 Technologies for Education (pp. 429-437). Auerbach Publications.
Sugilar, H., Nuraida, I., & Habeeb, G. (2022). Cognitive Flexibility in terms of Mathematics Education Student Learning Outcomes. Numerical: Jurnal Matematika dan Pendidikan Matematika, 49-58.
Whiting, D. L., Deane, F. P., Simpson, G. K., McLeod, H. J., & Ciarrochi, J. (2017). Cognitive and psychological flexibility after a traumatic brain injury and the implications for treatment in acceptance-based therapies: A conceptual review. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 27(2), 263-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2015.1062115
Zydney, J. M., & Grincewicz, A. (2011). The use of video cases in a multimedia learning environment for facilitating high school students’ inquiry into a problem from varying perspectives. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20, 715-728.
Learner-based Curriculum and Instruction Journal
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Serial Number 14
September 2025
Pages 1-26

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 21 August 2024
  • Revise Date: 13 February 2025
  • Accept Date: 18 February 2025
  • First Publish Date: 22 June 2025
  • Publish Date: 22 June 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics