Thinking is embedded in the language of the classroom
To encourage students to think, teachers should fill their class with the language of thinking. Teachers can do this by labeling cognitive behaviors in the classroom (Fogarty, 1994). The label provides important information about the behavior that has transpired or will transpire. It will help both the teachers and the students to monitor their thought processes. This awareness of their thinking encourages the student and teacher to identify and understand what thinking process they are using.
According to Fogarty, this awareness of the thinking, or metacognition, also tends to encourage the teachers to seek out new thinking processes which they have not used in the classroom. Just as by looking at the labels on the cans in our pantry that certain types of canned food is absent, that assists us in our decision to purchase fresh new stocks, labeling our thinking processes makes it easier for us to be aware of not only what we have used but also what has not been used in the classroom.
Fogarty says that teachers therefore must develop a cognitive vocabulary for the classroom so that they and their students recognise clearly what thinking skill is being used. When a student demonstrates a thinking skill without realizing it, the teacher must draw the attention of the class to the correct cognitive label for that thinking skill. If for example, a student is sorting out the different kinds of fruits according to some criteria, then the teacher should tell the class that the stduent is classifying the fruits.
A common cognitive vocabulary or label for thinking helps to avoid confusion about the different thinking skills. In addition, the creation of a common cognitive vocabulary will help students to recognise the cognitive skills being used and also allow them to eventually generalize and apply these labels in other situations. This is essential for transfer of learning to take place. The teacher who wants a class that thinks must create a class that uses cognitive vocabulary for in the words of Vygotsky:
“…thinking is embedded in the language of the classroom.”
