Download Cognitive Views of Learning Chapter 7

Cognitive Views of Learning
Cluster 7
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The Cognitive Perspective
Information Processing
Metacognition
Becoming Knowledgeable
The Cognitive View of Learning: A general approach that views
learning as an active mental process of acquiring, remembering
and using knowledge. Knowledge guides new learning and
knowledge is the outcome of learning.
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Assumptions about the cognitive perspective:
 Knowledge is learned, and changes in knowledge make
changes in behavior possible
 Reinforcement is seen as a source of feedback about
what is likely to happen if behaviors are repeated.
Feedback is a source of information
 People are seen as active learners who initiate
experiences, seek out information to solve problems,
and reorganize what they already know to achieve new
insights
 New cognitive approaches stress the construction of
knowledge
 Already acquired knowledge determines to a large
extent what we will pay attention to, perceive, learn,
remember, and forget in the future
Comparing Perspectives
Differ in their assumptions about learning and in their methods
Behavioral Psych
Cognitive Psych
Behaviors
Knowledge
Reinforcement strengthens
behavior
Learners respond to
environmental stimuli
Knowledge is acquired
Reinforcement is a source
of feedback
Learners initiate learning
experiences
Knowledge is constructed
Study done on animals
Study done on animals and
people
Types of Knowledge
General-Information that is useful in many different kinds of tasks;
information that applies to many situations
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Domain Specific- Information that is useful is a particular situation
or that generally applies to only one specific topic
No absolute line between general and domain specific knowledge
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Declarative-Verbal information facts. Knowing that something is
the case, specific facts, personal preferences, personal events, rules
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Procedural-Knowledge that is demonstrated when we perform a
task. Knowing how to do something
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Conditional or structural- Knowing when and why to apply
declarative and procedural knowledge
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General
Reading, numbers
Domain specific
Periodic table
Declarative: Who,
what, where?
Procedural: How?
History dates
Names of presidents
Riding a bike
Conditional: Why?
Which study strategy
should I use?
Overview of Informational Processing Model of Memory
Human mind’s activity of taking in, storing, and using information
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Encoding
 gathering and representing information
 process by which information gets into memory
Storage
 holding information
Retrieval
 getting the information when needed
Control Processes
 guides how and when information will flow
through the system
Sensory Memory
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Use of the 5 senses
Holds sensations from the environment for a brief time in their original
form
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Very large capacity
Because of its short duration, it is important for students to attend to
sensory information that is important for learning
Perception
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The meaning we attribute to sensory memory
Heavily influenced by what we already know-example lead vs. lead
Gestalt (pattern/configuration) Theory- organized meaningful wholes vs. bits and
pieces
Bottom-Up processing- a.k.a. feature analysis- stimulus is analyzed into
features or components and assembled into a meaningful pattern
Top-Down Processing- Based on knowledge and expectations
Attention
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sensory memory for up to several seconds
visual images about ¼ of a second
limited resource
can only pay attention to one demanding task at a time
Automaticity
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ability to process information with little or no effort
perform thoroughly learned tasks without much effort
Working Memory
a.k.a. Short Term Memory
See Figure 18.3, p. 236
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Holds the information that is currently activated
Capacity: Limited, 5-9 separate new items at once
Duration: Short, about 5-20 seconds (without maintenance rehearsal)
Contents: May be in the form of images or structured more
abstractly and based on meaning
Structure:
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Central Executive-”Supervisor.” integrates information from the two
below, and long term memory as well. Transfers information to the
long term memory via strategies such as rehearsing. Plays
important roles in attention, planning, and organizing behavior.
Phonological Loop-Memory rehearsal system specialized to briefly
store speech-based information. Limited capacity
Visuospatial Sketchpad-Stores visual and spatial imagery. Can
work with the phonological loop—rehearse numbers in
phonological group while using visual spatial memory. Limited
capacity.
Retaining Information in Working Memory
Rehearsal
can increase duration
–Maintenance rehearsal
–Elaborative rehearsal
–Chunking
Forgetting
– Interference
–Decay
Comparison of Short- & Long
Term Memory
Short Term
Very fast input
Limited capacity
5–20 seconds duration
Contains words, images,
ideas, sentences
Immediate retrieval
Long Term
Relatively slow input
Practically unlimited
capacity
Practically unlimited
duration
Contains networks,
schemata
Retrieval depends on
connections
Long-Term Memory: The Goal of Teaching
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Hold information that is well learned
Capacity: Unlimited
Duration: Can remain in long-term memory indefinitely
Access can be difficult
Dual Coding Theory (Alan Paivio): Information is stored as
either visual images or verbal units, or both
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Information coded both ways may be easier to learn
See Figure 19.1, p. 242
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Declarative-Explicit-Long term memories. Conscious recollection
of information—specific facts, events that can be verbally
communicated. Deliberate recall.
Procedural-Implicit-Knowledge that we are not conscious of
recalling in the form of specific events. Knowledge in the form
of skills and cognitive operations.
Types of Memory
Episodic
Yesterday’s
golf
outing
Semantic
The concept
airplane
Procedural
How to
give a
presentation
Explicit Memories
Semantic Memory-memory for meaning
Stored as propositions, schemas and images
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Propositions & propositional networks
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Images are representations based on perceptions—perception
of the appearance of information
Schema are abstract knowledge structures
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proposition-smallest unit of information that can be judged
propositional network-interconnected bits if information
Bits of information can trigger or activate recall of another
“proposition”
organize a vast amount of information
patterns or guides for understanding an event, concept, or a skill
Story grammar
Event schema/script
Episodic memory is memory for information tied to a particular place
and time, especially events in one'
Implicit Memories -- Procedural
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Knowledge in the form of skills and cognitive operations
Mental and motor skills are stored as procedural knowledge
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musician’s ability to play a song
athletes to perform in an event
driving a car
Knowledge that we are not conscious of recalling, but given the
correct conditions, an action is triggered
LTM Storage Strategies
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Elaboration-the addition of meaning to new information
through its connection with already existing information
Organization-material that is well organized is easier to
learn and to remember than bits of information
Context-aspects of physical and emotional content are
learned along with other information
Serial Position Effect-recall is better for items at the
beginning and end of a list
Retrieval & Forgetting
Levels of Processing Theories-the more completely information is
processed, the better are the chances of retrieving the information
later.
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Cues
Spread of activation-retrieving of information based on relatedness to
other information
Reconstruction
Decay
Interference
See Guidelines, Woolfolk p. 249
Metacognitive Knowledge
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Awareness of your own thinking processes
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Knowing what you know (declarative knowledge)
Knowing how to use what you know (procedural knowledge)
Knowing when and why to use what you know (conditional
knowledge)
Planning
Monitoring
Evaluation
Differences in Metacognition and Memory
Individual
due
Differences in Metacognition
to development
age/maturation
biological
differences
variations
in learning experiences
Learning Declarative Knowledge
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Making it meaningful
Mnemonics
Rote memorization
Serial position effect
Part learning
Distributed practice
Massed practice
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Mnemonics
Loci method
Peg type: keyword, peg word,
acronyms
Chaining
Key Word Method
Rote Memorization
Making It Meaningful
Relating to previous knowledge
Relating to students’ experiences
Clarifying unfamiliar terms
Give examples, illustrations, analogies from students’ view
Use humor, emotion, novelty
Procedural & Conditional Knowledge
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Automated basic skills
 Cognitive stage- rely on declarative knowledge and general
problem-solving strategies
 Associative stage- individual steps of a procedure are
combined into larger units
 Autonomous stage- whole procedure can be accomplished
without much attention
Prerequisite knowledge
Practice with feedback-teachers can help students become
experts through constructive feedback and practice
Domain-specific strategies- consciously applied skills to reach
goals in a particular subject, task or problem area