Abstract
Cognitive competence is an important quality for effective leaders. To help university students understand the importance of cognitive competence and develop this quality, a lecture on cognitive competence is designed and incorporated in a general education subject entitled “Tomorrow’s Leaders”. The present paper reviews the basic concepts and theories of cognitive competence and outlines its linkages with positive youth development and effective leadership. The objectives, intended learning outcomes for students, lecture outline, and related materials of the lecture on cognitive competence are introduced. Some teaching and learning issues in relation to this lecture are also discussed.
Acknowledgments
This work is financially supported by the Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The authorship is equally shared by the two authors.
Appendix
Appendix 1
Worksheet for class activity: survival in the wilderness
You and your group mates are on your way to Canada by air in January. Unfortunately, the plane crashed into a mountain near the forest. The crash site is 20 miles away from the nearest downtown. There is snow on the ground, and the countryside is wooded with several creeks crisscrossing the area (
Discuss with your group members. Select five items from the above list and rank them from 1 to 5 (1 – the most important and 5 – the least important).
Your group needs to come to a consensus to pick five items from the list for survival.
| Items for your survival | Reasons |
|---|---|
| 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. |
Correct answer (for teacher’s use).
| Order | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cigarette lighter (without fluid) The gravest danger facing the group is exposure to cold. The greatest need is for a source of warmth and the second greatest need is for signaling devices. This makes building a fire the first order of business. Without matches, something is needed to produce sparks, and even without fluid, a cigarette lighter can do that |
| 2 | A ball of steel wool To make a fire, the survivors need a means of catching the sparks made by the cigarette lighter. This is the best substance for catching a spark and supporting a flame, even if the steel wool is a little wet |
| 3 | Extra shirts and pants for each survivor Besides adding warmth to the body, clothes can also be used for shelter, signaling, bedding, bandages, string (when unraveled) and fuel for the fire |
| 4 | A can of tuna This has many uses. A mirror-like signaling device can be made from the lid. After shining the lid with steel wool, it will reflect sunlight and generate 5 to 7 million candlepower. This is bright enough to be seen beyond the horizon. While this could be limited somewhat by the trees, a member of the group could climb a tree and use the mirrored lid to signal search planes. If they had no other means of signaling than this, they would have a better than 80% chance of being rescued within the first day. The empty can is useful in melting snow for drinking water. It is much safer to drink warmed water than to eat snow, since warm water will help retain body heat. Water is important because dehydration will affect decision-making. The can is also useful as a cup |
| 5 | A 20×20 ft. piece of heavy-duty canvas The cold makes shelter necessary, and the canvas would protect against wind and snow (canvas is used in making tents). Spread on a frame made of trees, it could be used as a tent or a wind screen. It might also be used as a ground cover to keep the survivors dry. Its shape, when contrasted with the surrounding terrain, makes it a signaling device |
| 6 | A small ax Survivors need a constant supply of wood in order to maintain the fire. The ax could be used for this as well as for clearing a sheltered campsite, cutting tree branches for ground insulation, and constructing a frame for the canvas tent. |
| 7 | Several family-size chocolate bars (one per person) Chocolate will provide some food energy. Since it contains mostly carbohydrates, it supplies the energy without making digestive demands on the body |
| 8 | Newspapers (one per person) These are useful in starting a fire. They can also be used as insulation under clothing when rolled up and placed around a person’s arms and legs. A newspaper can also be used as a verbal signaling device when rolled up in a megaphone-shape. It could also provide reading material for recreation |
| 9 | A loaded 45-caliber pistol The pistol provides a sound-signaling device. The international distress signal is three shots fired in rapid succession. There have been numerous cases of survivors going undetected because they were too weak to make a loud enough noise to attract attention. The butt of the pistol could be used as a hammer, and the powder from the shells will assist in fire building. By placing a small bit of cloth in a cartridge emptied of its bullet, one can start a fire by firing the gun at dry wood on the ground. The pistol also has some serious disadvantages. Anger, frustration, impatience, irritability, and lapses of rationality may increase as the group awaits rescue. The availability of a lethal weapon is a danger to the group under these conditions. Although a pistol could be used in hunting, it would take an expert marksman to kill an animal with it. Then the animal would have to be transported to the crash site, which could prove difficult to impossible depending on its size |
| 10 | One quart of 100 proof whiskey The only uses of whiskey are as an aid in fire building and as a fuel for a torch (made by soaking a piece of clothing in the whiskey and attaching it to a tree branch). The empty bottle could be used for storing water. The danger of whiskey is that someone might drink it, thinking it would bring warmth. Alcohol takes on the temperature it is exposed to, and a drink of minus 30 degrees whiskey would freeze a person’s esophagus and stomach. Alcohol also dilates the blood vessels in the skin, resulting in chilled blood belong carried back to the heart, resulting in a rapid loss of body heat. Thus, a drunk person is more likely to get hypothermia than a sober person is |
| 11 | A compass Because a compass might encourage someone to try to walk to the nearest town, it is a dangerous item. Its only redeeming feature is that it could be used as a reflector of sunlight (due to its glass top) |
| 12 | A sectional air map made of plastic This is also among the least desirable of the items because it will encourage individuals to try to walk to the nearest town. Its only useful feature is as a ground cover to keep someone dry |
Appendix 2
Worksheet for class activity on convergent thinking: five cards
An Octopus card A basketball
A pair of earrings A paper clip
A pack of ketchup
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