Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science Syllabus

How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science in Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Memory, Cognition and Learning

   5 topics

   • Working memory and long-term memory architecture
     • Cognitive load theory
     • Intrinsic, extraneous and germane load
   • Schema theory and building connected knowledge
   • The role of prior knowledge in new learning
   • Learning as a lasting change in long-term memory versus short-term performance
   • Avoiding overloading working memory through task design
2. 2

   Effective Pedagogical Strategies from Cognitive Science

   5 topics

   • Retrieval practice and the testing effect
   • Spacing and interleaving of learning over time
   • Worked examples and gradual fading of scaffolds
   • Dual coding: combining verbal and visual representations
   • Elaboration and concrete examples
3. 3

   Motivation, Attention and Mindset

   4 topics

   • Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the classroom
   • Managing attention and reducing distraction
   • Self-regulation and metacognition
     • Planning, monitoring and evaluating learning
     • Explicitly teaching metacognitive strategies
   • Pupil self-efficacy and the impact of teacher expectations
4. 4

   Misconceptions and Conceptual Change

   4 topics

   • Identifying common subject misconceptions
   • Anticipating misconceptions in lesson planning
   • Strategies for addressing and correcting misconceptions
   • Checking that new knowledge has been securely understood

How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science flashcards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)

22 of 50 cards from the How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the two main components of memory in the cognitive architecture model used in teaching?

   Working memory (the conscious, temporary store where we process information) and long-term memory (the vast, durable store of knowledge and skills).

2. What is the defining limitation of working memory?

   It is severely limited in both capacity (only a few items at once) and duration (information is lost within seconds unless rehearsed or processed).

3. What is the defining feature of long-term memory in contrast to working memory?

   Long-term memory is effectively unlimited in capacity and can store information durably (potentially for a lifetime).

4. In cognitive science, how is 'learning' formally defined?

   Learning is a lasting change in long-term memory; if nothing has been altered in long-term memory, nothing has been learned.

5. What is the key distinction between 'learning' and 'performance'?

   Performance is how well a pupil does a task in the moment (which can be temporary), whereas learning is a durable change in long-term memory. Strong performance during a lesson does not guarantee learning.

6. What is a schema?

   A schema is an organised mental structure that connects related pieces of knowledge into a network, allowing them to be stored and retrieved together.

7. How do schemas help overcome the limits of working memory?

   A well-developed schema lets multiple connected items be treated as a single 'chunk', so it occupies less working-memory space, freeing capacity for new thinking.

8. Why does prior knowledge make new learning easier?

   New information is understood and retained by connecting it to existing schemas; rich prior knowledge provides more anchor points, so new material is processed more efficiently and remembered better.

9. What is the 'Matthew effect' as it relates to prior knowledge?

   Pupils who already know more find it easier to learn even more (the rich get richer), because their existing schemas make new knowledge easier to absorb, widening gaps over time.

10. What is cognitive load?

    Cognitive load is the total amount of mental effort being used in working memory at a given moment.

11. What are the three types of cognitive load in Cognitive Load Theory?

    Intrinsic load (inherent difficulty of the material), extraneous load (caused by poor instructional design), and germane load (effort devoted to building schemas).

12. In lesson design, which type of cognitive load should a teacher work to reduce?

    Extraneous load - the unnecessary load caused by confusing presentation, irrelevant information, or poor task design - so working memory can focus on learning.

13. What is the testing effect (retrieval practice effect)?

    The finding that the act of retrieving information from memory strengthens long-term retention more than simply re-reading or re-studying the same material.

14. Why does retrieval practice strengthen memory?

    Effortful recall reconsolidates and reinforces the memory trace, making it more durable and easier to retrieve in future; the desirable difficulty of recall builds storage strength.

15. What is the spacing effect?

    Learning is more durable when study sessions are spread out over time (distributed practice) rather than crammed into a single massed session.

16. What is interleaving?

    Mixing the practice of different topics, problem types, or skills within a session, rather than practising one type in a single block (blocked practice).

17. What is the main benefit of interleaving over blocked practice?

    It improves pupils' ability to discriminate between problem types and select the correct strategy, strengthening long-term learning and transfer, even though it feels harder during practice.

18. What is a 'desirable difficulty'?

    A learning condition (such as spacing, interleaving, or retrieval practice) that makes learning feel harder and slower in the moment but produces stronger, more durable long-term learning.

19. What is a worked example?

    A step-by-step demonstration of how to solve a problem or complete a task, showing the full worked solution for the learner to study.

20. Why are worked examples especially effective for novice learners?

    They reduce extraneous cognitive load by showing the full solution path, freeing working memory to build a schema for the procedure rather than struggling through unguided problem-solving.

21. What is the 'worked-example effect' and how should scaffolding change as expertise grows?

    Novices learn more from studying worked examples than from solving problems; as expertise increases, support should be gradually faded (e.g. completion problems, then independent problems) - known as the guidance-fading effect.

22. What is the 'expertise reversal effect'?

    Instructional support (like detailed worked examples) that helps novices can hinder experts, because the now-redundant guidance adds extraneous load for those who already have the schema.

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