CHAPTER 7: COGNITIVE VIEWS OF LEARNING

Paul Eggen and Don KauchakEducational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms, Eighth Edition

© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.All Rights Reserved

CHAPTER 7: COGNITIVE VIEWS OF

LEARNING



Tall

in the the

saddle

PowerPoint 7.1 Tall in the Saddle



Principles of Cognitive Learning Theory

• Learning and development depend on learners’ experiences.

• Learners are mentally active in their attempts to make sense of those experiences.

• Learners construct—they do not record—knowledge in the process of developing an understanding of their experiences.

• Knowledge that is constructed depends on knowledge that

learners already possess. • Learning is enhanced in a social environment.

PowerPoint 7.2 Principles of Cognitive Learning Theory



What do these three research based statements have in common?

Students’ writing often improves more rapidly if they are initially allowed to ignore grammar, punctuation, and spelling. (McCutchen, 2000).

In spite of research about its ineffectiveness, and staff development efforts to promote more sophisticated forms of instruction, lecture persists as the most common teaching strategy (Cuban, 1993).

Students write better essays using word processors if their word processing skills are well developed. If not, handwritten essays are superior (Roblyer, 2006).

PowerPoint 7.3 Research Results and Working Memory

Feedback: All three illustrate the limited capacity of working memory



Components of Working Memory 1. Central Executive

A supervisory system that controls the flow of information to and from the other components

2. Phonological LoopA short term storage system for words and sounds

3. Maintenance RehearsalThe process of repeating information over and over without

altering its form. It is a mechanism for retaining information in the phonological loop.

4. Visual-Spatial SketchpadA short-term storage system for visual and spatial information.

PowerPoint 7.4 Components of Working Memory (slide 1 of 2)



Components of Working Memory

Activity:Describe the flow of information in working memory for a coffee barista when he takes an order for a special coffee with several added ingredients. Use the components of working memory to describe the process.

PowerPoint 7.4 Components of Working Memory (slide 2of 2)



PowerPoint 7.5 The Limitations of working memory

3 8 5 1 9

8 2 7 3 9 5 6

2 5 3 7 4 1 9 6 8

3 0 5 9 2 8 4 1 7 6 2

6 2 9 5 0 3 7 4 1 9 2 8 2

629 503741 9282



Reducing Cognitive Load –

Three methods of Accommodating the Limitations

of Working Memory:

Chunking –

The process of mentally combining separate items into larger more meaningful units.

Automaticity –

The ability to perform mental operations with little awareness or conscious effort.

Distributed Processing –

Integration of words and visual displays to capitalize on independent processing capabilities

PowerPoint 7.6 Reducing the Cognitive Load on Working Memory



PowerPoint 7.7 The Organization of Information in Long-Term Memory: Part 1



PowerPoint 7.8 The Organization of Information in Long-Term Memory: Part 2



Sensory Memory • Virtually unlimited capacity• Holds information in unorganized form• Information is quickly lost if it isn’t further processed

Working Memory• A processing bottleneck because of its limited capacity and duration • Depends on attention and perception • Conscious component of the memory stores• Workbench where thinking and problem solving occurs• Contains a verbal and visual processor that works independently• Receives information from both sensory memory and long-term memory

Long-Term Memory• Virtually unlimited capacity• Permanent memory store• Stores information in the form of schemas and images, encoded from working

memory

PowerPoint 7.9 Characteristics of the Memory Stores



Memory stores-Developmental Differences Among

Different Aged Children:

• Older children retain sensory memory traces longer than younger children

• Working memory component efficiency increases as children develop

• Older students generally have a broader and deeper store of prior knowledge

• Increased breadth and depth of prior knowledge means more meaningful connections for older students

• Older students generally have had more experiences which adds to meaningfulness

• Each of these differences is language related

PowerPoint 7.10 Memory Stores-Developmental Differences Among Learners



Type of Strategy Example

Demonstrations A science teacher drops a large ball of clay and asmall ball of clay to demonstrate that all objectsaccelerate at the same rate.

Discrepant events An instructor teaching cognitive learning theoryasks the students why most of them read “Tall inthe the saddle” as “Tall in the saddle.”

Charts A geography teacher displays a chart of thegeography and economy of different states in theUnited States and asks the students to compareThe information in them.

Pictures A kindergarten teacher shows pictures of a cownursing a calf, and a cat nursing kittens toillustrate one of the characteristics of mammals.

PowerPoint 7.11 Strategies for Attracting Attention (slide 1 of 2)



Type of Strategy Example

Problems A math teacher says, “I went to the gas stationand put in 16.3 gallons, and the second time Iwent I put in 14.4 gallons, and I went a total of678.5 miles. How many miles per gallon am getting?”

Thought-provokingquestions

An English teacher begins a study of Moby Dickby asking, “Why is this considered to be a classicpiece of literature?”

Emphasis A teacher says, “Pay careful attention to the nextitem. It’s very important.”

Student names A teacher makes an attempt to call on each of thestudents in his class, by name, at least once inevery learning activity.

PowerPoint 7.11 Strategies for Attracting Attention (slide 2 of 2)



PowerPoint 7.12 Strategies for Promoting Meaningful Encoding



1. You have seen a movie and you remember some of the details exactly. Sometime later you see the same movie again, and to your surprise some of the dialogue is not as you “remembered” it. Why might this happen?

2. Three people are in a room discussing a mutual experience. One person “remembers’ the event in a certain way, the second “remembers” it differently, and the third “remembers” it in a way that is different from either than the other two.

Consider the two events: How is the second event similar to the first one?

Why might the three people remember the experience differently?

PowerPoint 7.13 Elaborating on Past Experiences ( slide 1 of 2)



PowerPoint 7.13 Elaborating on Past Experiences (slide 2 of 2)

Feedback:You elaborated on the original information. You then retrieved your elaborated information, not the original. The elaborated information is in a different form from the original.

You may also have recognized the original information, so that it now exists in a form that makes more sense to you than did the information in its original form.



PowerPoint 7.14 Types and Examples of Mnemonic Devices (slide 1 of 3)

Types of Mnemonic Devices and An Example of Each

Method of Loci

Learner combines imagery with specific locations, such as the chair, lamp, and end table in a living room.

Peg-Word Method

Learner memorizes a series of “pegs”—such as “one is bun” and “two is shoe”—on which to-be-remembered information is hung.

Student wanting to remember the first 7 elements of the periodic table visualizes hydrogen on the chair, helium at the sofa, lithium at the lamp, and so on.

A person wanting to remember to get pickles and carrots at the grocery visualizes a pickle in a bun and a carrot stuck in a shoe.




Types of Mnemonic Devices and An Example of Each (continued)

Link Method

Learner visually links items to be remembered.

Key-Word Method

Learner uses imagery and rhyming words to remember unfamiliar words.

A learner visualizes homework stuck in a notebook which is bound to her textbook, pencil and pen with a rubber band to remember to take the (italicized) items to class.

A learner remembers that trigo, which rhymes with tree, is the Spanish word for “wheat” by visualizing a sheaf of wheat sticking out of a tree.




Types of Mnemonic Devices and An Example of Each (continued)

First Letter Method

Learner creates a word from the first letter of items to be remembered.

A student creates the word Wajmma to remember the first six presidents in order: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Adams.



1. Read the following passage:In 1367 Marian and the settlements ended a seven-year war with the Langurians and Pitoks. As a result of this war Languia was driven out of East Bacol. Marain would now rule Laman and other lands that had belonged to Languia. This brought peace to Bacolian settlements. The settlers no longer had to fear attacks from Laman. The Bacolians were happy to be part of Marain in 1367. Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the Marish for independence, or freedom from United Marains rule. (Beck and Mckeown, 1993, p.2)

2. Now make the following substitutions: In the passage replace Marain with Britain, Langurians with French, Pitoks with Indians, East Bacol with North America, and Laman with Cananda. Also change the date to 1763.

Was the passage more meaningful with the substitutions? What is that important idea or theme illustrated by the activity?

PowerPoint 7.15 Review Exercise (The Role of Prior Knowledge)



Was the passage more meaningful with the substitutions? What is that important idea or theme illustrated by the activity?

Feedback:The passage was more meaningful when you substituted the familiar countries for the unfamiliar countries, because you were able activate prior knowledge about the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to it to make sense of it. The important idea illustrated in the exercise is that schema were activated.

PowerPoint 7.15 Review Exercise (The Role of Prior Knowledge) (slide 2 of 2)



PowerPoint 7.16 Active and Passive Study Strategies (slide 1 of 2)

Which student is likely to learn the most from using the “Check Your Understanding” questions in the chapters?

Three students are discussing the way they use the “Check Your Understanding” questions to help them understand the content of the chapters.

“I read the questions carefully and the I ask myself how the questions relate to the information in that part of the chapter,” Stephanie offers. “After I do that, I look at the answers in Appendix A.

“I read the questions carefully, and then I read the answers in Appendix A,” Dan adds.

“I read the questions, and then I write down an answer. After I’ve finished the answer, I read the feedback in Appendix A,”



PowerPoint 7.16 Active and Passive Study Strategies (slide 2 of 2)

Feedback:

While more than one factor is always operating in learning, Leroy is likely to learn the most because he puts himself in the most cognitively active role by writing the answers to the questions before looking at the feedback.

Reading the questions and then reading the feedback is somewhat of a cognitively passive role. This what Dan is doing, and he is the most cognitively passive of the three students.



PowerPoint 7.17 Developmental Differences in the Cognitive Processes

Developmental differences in the Cognitive Processes:

Attention Older students are better able to maintain their attention, they are less distracted my irrelevant stimuli and are more purposeful when attending.Perception Most differences are related to experiences. Older students tend to have accumulated more experiences than younger students so their perceptions tend to be more accurate.RehearsalDeveloping the ability to use maintenance rehearsal is a gradual process so by third grade it becomes a more spontaneous skill.EncodingStrategies for meaningful encoding are gradually developed so the use of imagery, organization and elaboration is more pronounced with older students



PowerPoint 7.18 Strategies for Accommodating Diversity

Research suggests the following strategies for accommodating for diversity in the classroom:

• Assess students’ prior knowledge, and then use the information for creating a framework for the lesson.

• Supplement students’ prior experience with rich examples that then becomes contextual background knowledge for the students.

• Use students’ experiences to augment the backgrounds of those lacking the experiences.



PowerPoint 7.19 Children and Metacognition



Working with Elementary Students-Attention : Learning activities should be short and frequently changed.Perception: Make directions simple and precise, and break up complex tasks.Memory Stores: Concrete thinkers need concrete and personalized examples, and they

need to use language to practice putting understanding into words.Working with Middle School Students-Memory Stores: Research indicates most thinking remains concrete and requires the

continued use of concrete examples and practice with language. Metacognition: Capitalize on increased ability to self regulate by modeling

metacognition and learning strategies.Working with High School Students-Memory Stores: Unfamiliar concepts should be taught concretely, and use of language

should be encouraged.Encoding: Model the use of strategies for meaningful encoding, such as

organization, elaboration and imagery. Encourage cognitive activity by having students examine cause and effect relationships.

PowerPoint 7.20 Applying the Model of Memory with Different Aged Learners



Guidelines for Applying the Memory Model in Your Teaching

1. Begin lessons with an activity that attracts attention.

2. Conduct frequent reviews to activate students’ prior knowledge and check their perceptions.

3. Proceed in short steps and represent content both visually and verbally to reduce cognitive load.

4. Help students make information meaningful and aid encoding through organization, imagery, elaboration, and activity.

5. Model and encourage metacogniton.

PowerPoint 7.21 Theory to Practice: Applying The Human Memory Model in Your Classroom



Feedback for Classroom Exercises1. While a number of commonalities exist, an important one for this exercise is

the fact that each is composed of seven digits, approximately the capacity of working memory.

2. Lecture is the simplest form of instruction, so it is less likely to overload teachers’ working memories. The instructor only has to think about organizing and presenting the content, and the students are typically not disruptive. More sophisticated forms of instruction, such as guided discovery, additionally require the teacher to ask questions, monitor students’ answers, provide feedback, and look for inattention or disruptive behavior. These requirements can overload teachers’ working memories.

3. Skills, such as questioning, must be automatic, so working memory space is available to monitor the students and the flow of the lesson.

4. They are demonstrating procedural knowledge. They are identifying conditions and taking actions based on the appropriateness of the conditions.

PowerPoint 7.22 Feedback for Classroom Exercises (slide 1 of 3)



5. The concept is automaticity. You put the garage door down “without thinking about it.”

6. These differences most closely relate to working memory. Interconnected schemas become large chunks of information that actually take up less working memory space than do isolated pieces, and automaticity also frees working memory space. Since experts are more effective at saving working memory space, they have working memory available for metacognition.

7. Missy Because of her background knowledge, Missy’s perception of the meeting’s details was different from the perceptions of Karen and the other women whose intentions were primarily social networking. In addition, her schema for the organization is more developed than those attending without prior investigation.




8. Would Missy’s schema would be more detailed about the abused children’s charity than other the other consultant. Her schema was based on her study. The other consultant’s experiences weren’t relevant to the organization.

9. These exercises are intended to put you in an active cognitive role-encoding. When you apply the information in the chapter to new situations the process is called elaboration.


Documents

CHAPTER 7: COGNITIVE VIEWS OF LEARNING