COGNITIVE-FLEXIBILITY THEORY
AND THE ASSESSMENT OF 21ST
CENTURY SKILLS
Presented by
Angela Camille Uka
Section

Content and Flow
Cognitive Flexibility Theory 21st Century Skills CFT and 21st Century Skills
Assessment
Introduction to the Theory Short Review of Definition
Application of CFT to 21st
Century Assessment

Cognitive-flexibility
theory
"Adjusting oneself to cope with new situations."

Definition
CFT is a cognitive theory that
suggest that when faced with a
situation and problem where an
individual has no prior experience or
knowledge of with how to proceed
and undertake (Well-structured
domain). An individual tends to
construct ideas from other past
experiences and knowledge (ill-
structured domains) that could fit as
an approach or a solution (schemas)
to the current situation or problem.

"In simpler words, CFT explains how we adjust our thinking to
cope with new situations"
- It is in these instances that deep learning occur.

In Education CFT aims to:
Present learner with different unique
and real-life applications of knowledge
to encourage learning.
Provide learners with opportunities to
make their own connections between
concepts and principles that are being
explored, even if these concepts may
be of high complexity.
Encourage learners to acquire and
retain knowledge through developing
their own use and representation of it.

21st Century
Skills
The term “21st-century skills” is generally used
to refer to certain core competencies such as
collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking,
and problem-solving that advocates and believes
schools need to teach to help students thrive in
today's world.

Why is there a need to apply CFT in
the assessment of 21st Century
Skills?

CFT and 21st
Century Skills
21st century skills emphasizes on deep learning
rather than shallow understanding, as such there
is a need to engage students with real world
data, tools, and experts - on the job and in life
students learn best when actively engaged in
solving meaningful problems.

Benefits of adopting CFT in the
asessment of 21st Century Skills:
Conceptual Complexity
Conceptual Variability
Surprising Similarities and
Differences
Interconnectedness
Dynamic Schema
adjustment and plan
development

Benefits of adopting CFT in the
asessment of 21st Century Skills:
Context/Selection -
Sensitive Selective
Highlights
Rearrangement
Nonlinearity
Situation Adoptive
Knowledge assembly
Transfer

CFT and 21st
Assessment
Cognitive Flexibility Theory offers a framework
with great potential to guide the development of
new kinds of assessment tests and tasks
especially geared toward the conditions of
21st-century learning and knowledge
application.
As such, 21st Century teachers should formulate
assessments which are authentic and divergent;
consonant with the kind of learning and the
epistemic mindset of “schema-building and
schema building - schema”

References:
Spiro, R. J., Klautke, H. A., Cheng, C.,
Gaunt, A. (2017). Cognitive Flexibility
Theory and the Assessment of 21st-
Century Skills. Handbook on
Measurement, Assessment, and
Evaluation in Higher Education, 631–637.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315709307
-50

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