COGNITIVE VIEWS OF LEARNING
Elements of the Cognitive Perspective register, then the short term memory and the
long term memory.
Cognitive Views of Memory
Long-Term Memory
TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE
Teaching for Deep, Long-Lasting Knowledge
General vs. Specific: This involves whether the
INFORMATION PROCESSING knowledge is useful in many tasks, or only in one.
Is a cognitive theoretical framework that focuses on how
Declarative: This refers to factual knowledge. They
knowledge enters and is stored and retrieved from our
relate to the nature of how things are. They may be in the
memory.
form of a word or an image.
It focus on how people attend to environmental events,
Procedural: This includes knowledge on how to do
encode information to be learned and relate it to
things.
knowledge in memory, store new knowledge in memory
and retrieved it as needed. Episodic: this includes memories of life events, like
your high school graduation.
Conditional: This is about “knowing when and why” to
apply declarative or procedural strategies.
THREE PRIMARY STAGES IN IPT
1. Encoding
information is sensed, perceived, and attended to.
when information comes into our memory system
(from a sensory input) it needs to be changed into
a form that the system can cope with so that it can
be stored.
“Three Main Ways in which Information can be
INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY encoded”
• Cognitive psychologists believe that cognitive Visual (picture)
processes influence the nature of what is learned. Acoustic (sound)
They consider learning as largely an internal
process, not an external behavior change (as Semantic (meaning)
behaviorist theorists thought). They look into
how we receive, perceive, store and retrieve
information. They believe that how a person
thinks about and interprets what s/he receives
2. Storage
shapes what he/she will learn. All these notions
comprise what is called the information The information is stored for either a brief or
processing theory. extended period of time, depending upon the
processes following encoding.
• IPT describes how the learner receives
information (stimuli) from the environment This concerns the nature of memory stores, i.e.
through the senses and what takes place in where the information is stored, how long the
between determines whether the information memory lost for, how much can be stored at any
will continue to pass through the sensory time and what kind of information is held.
COGNITIVE VIEWS OF LEARNING
3. Retrieval Long Term Memory (LTM)
The information is brought back at the • The LTM is the final or permanent storing house
appropriate time, and reactivated for use on a for memory information. It holds the stored
current task, the true measure of effective information until needed again.
memory.
Capacity: LTM has unlimited capacity.
Refers to getting information out storage
Duration: Duration in the LTM is indefinite.
THREE MAIN STAGES IN MEMORY
PROCESS Executive Control Processes
• Involve the executive processor or what is
Sensory Register
referred to as metacognitive skills. These
The main purpose of sensory register is to screen processes guide the flow of information through
incoming stimuli and process only those stimuli the system, help the learner make informed
that are most relevant at the present time. decisions about how to categorize, organize, or
interpret information.
Capacity
Our mind receives a great amount of information
but it is more than what our minds can hold or FORGETTING
perceive.
Is the inability to retrieve or access information
Duration when needed.
The sensory register only holds the information Why do we forget? There are 2 simple answers
for an extremely brief – in the order of 1 to 3 to this question.
seconds.
First, the memory has disappeared – it is no
There is a difference in duration based on longer available.
modality: auditory memory is more persistent
than visual. Second, the memory is still stored in the
memory system but, for some reason it cannot
Short Term Memory (STM or Working be retrieved.
Memory)
Two Main Ways in which Forgetting Likely
Capacity: The STM can only hold 5 to 9 Occurs
“chunks” of information, sometimes described
as 7 + /- 2. it is called working memory because
it is where new information is temporarily 1. Decay – Information is not attended to and
placed while it is mentally processed. STM eventually “fades” away. Very prevalent in
maintain information for a limited time, until the Working Memory.
learner has adequate resources to process the
information, or until the information is 2. Interference – New or old information “blocks”
forgotten. access to the information in question.
Duration: Around 18 seconds or less. Proactive (pro-forward) occurs when you cannot
learn a new tasks because of an old task that had
To reduce the loss of information in 18 seconds, been learn.
you need to do maintenance rehearsal. It is using
the repetition to keep the information active in Retroactive (retro-backward) occurs when you
STM, like when you repeat a phone number just forget a previously learnt task due to the
given over and over. learning of a new task.
COGNITIVE VIEWS OF LEARNING
Methods for Increasing Retrieval of Information
Rehearsal – this is repeating information
verbatim, either mentally or aloud.
Meaningful Learning – this is making
connections between new information and prior
knowledge
Organization – it is making connections among
various pieces of information.
Elaboration – this is adding additional ideas to
new information based on what one already
knows.
Visual Imagery – this means forming a • Information processing model postulates a three
‘picture” of the information. component model of I.P. sensory and STM are
limited with respect to capacity and duration, whereas
Generation – things we “produce” are easier to LTM is more or less unlimited.
remember than things we “’hear”.
• Information is received through the senses and goes
Context – remembering the situation helps to the sensory memory for a very brief amount of
recover information. time. If not found relevant, information may decay. It
goes to the STM and if given attention and is
Personalization – it is making the information perceived and found to be relevant, it is sent to the
relevant to the individual. LTM. If not properly encoded, forgetting occurs.
Different cognitive processes applied to the
Other Memory Methods information will then determine if information can be
retrieved when needed later.
Serial Position Effect (recency & primacy) – you
will remember the beginning and end of “list” most
readily.
Part Learning – break up the “list” or “chunk”
information to increase memorization.
Distributed Practice – break up learning sessions,
rather than cramming all the info in at once (Massed
Practice)
Mnemonic Aids – these are memory techniques that
learners may employ to help them retain and
retrieved information more effectively.
