Source: https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-2-1-explanatory-depth

[Revision notes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes.md) › [Teacher CPD](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd.md) › [CPD: Cognitive Science for Educators - Dr Robert Hausmann](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann.md) › Explanatory Depth

# Explanatory Depth

CPD: Cognitive Sciences Level 3 (by Dr Robert Hausmann), topic 1.2.1

## Types of Metacognitive Questions

1. On average, how many pounds of coffee does Colombia export to
the United States in a year? 
2. What is the formal procedure for filing a patent with the U.S. Patent
Office?
3. How does a sewing machine work?

### 1. Declarative questions

![1. Declarative questions](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2019-04/fea14da4-ff4e-4b7d-bce5-8153c03f7eba/coffee-beans.jpg)

- A simple, declarative fact that can be answered by
going to a search engine and entering a query that will return a sensible
answer. 
- For these questions, figuring out if you know the answer
or not is a relatively straightforward process. 
 - You look into long-term
memory and search for an answer. If you don’t
get any hits, then you know you don’t know the answer.

### 2. Procedural questions

![2. Procedural questions](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/courseImages/physics/1.1.1%20Measuring%20length,%20volume,%20etc.../paper-1849364_640-min.jpg)

- You must know the steps of the
process necessary to achieve an end goal. 
- To learn how to file a patent, you
could run a search on the internet or ask an expert. 
- Knowing if you know how to do this might be as simple as asking yourself, “Have I ever fled a patent?” If the answer is “No,” then you know you don’t know how to do it.

### 3. Mental-model questions

![3. Mental-model questions](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2019-07/42b85f15-1abf-4d07-b35d-96dfeaa50fa6/sewing-machine-1369658_1920.jpg)

- The third class of question has a declarative component, but the facts are not stated in isolation. 
- When asked if you know how a sewing
machine works, what probably happens is that you think about a
sewing machine and what it does. 
 - Then you think about the various
components that are in a sewing machine and how they interconnect.
 - Finally, you run a mental simulation and see how those components
interact.

## Test yourself on Explanatory Depth

- Which of these types of questions don't usually get a typical YES/NO answer?

[Practise this topic for free](https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/022724a5-f3e7-4059-b0b7-130a877374e4/section/36ddd102-4153-4309-ba0e-d4ad0218828d/session)

- Previous topic: [1.1.1 Mental Models](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-1-1-mental-models.md)
- Next topic: [1.3.1 The Generation Effect](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-3-1-the-generation-effect.md)

## CPD: Cognitive Sciences Level 3 (by Dr Robert Hausmann) contents

### 1 Cognitive Science for Educators
- 1.1 Mental Models
  - [1.1.1 Mental Models](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-1-1-mental-models.md)
- 1.2 Explanatory Depth
  - [1.2.1 Explanatory Depth](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-2-1-explanatory-depth.md)
- 1.3 The Generation Effect
  - [1.3.1 The Generation Effect](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-3-1-the-generation-effect.md)
- 1.4 Self-Explaining
  - [1.4.1 Self-Explaining 1](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-4-1-self-explaining-1.md)
  - [1.4.2 Self-Explaining 2](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-4-2-self-explaining-2.md)
- 1.5 Expertise
  - [1.5.1 Expertise 1](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-5-1-expertise-1.md)
  - [1.5.2 Expertise 2](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-cognitive-science-for-educators-dr-robert-hausmann/1-5-2-expertise-2.md)