The Influence of Instructional Processes on Student Cognitive Development

This study sought to determine the extent to which instructional processes characterized by cognitive complexity influence the development of general cognitive abilities during the first, second, and third years of college. The sample for the study consisted of incoming first-year students at 18 four-year and 5 two-year colleges and universities located in 16 states chosen to represent differences in colleges and universities nationwide on a variety of characteristics, including institution type and control, size, location, student residence patterns, and student ethnic distribution. Initial data was collected in fall 1992 from 3,840 students at 23 institutions; three follow-up data collections were done in spring 1993, 1994, and 1995. Controlling for factors such as precollege cognitive ability and academic motivation, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, age, college experiences, work responsibilities, and pattern of courses taken, the extent to which students reported instructor use of higher-order questions on examinations, assignments, and in classroom discussions was significantly and positively associated with end-of-year cognitive development for each year of the study. Additional analyses suggested that the net cognitive impact of the instructional processes were general rather than conditional. Four data tables are appended. (Contains 25 references.) (CH)