Cognitive Learning theory

cognitive learning theorists stress the importance of what goes on inside the learner The key to learning and changing is the individuals cognition (perception, thought, memory, and ways of processing and structuring information).

According to this perspective, to learn, individuals must change their cognitions. A highly active process largely directed by the individual, learning involves:
perceiving the information, interpreting it based on what is already known, and then reorganizing the information into new insights or understanding.

The Important to cognitive theorist

Factors that influence learning process

To promote transfer of Learning

Cognitive learning theory includes several well-known perspectives, such as :

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Gestalt Information processing Human development Social constructivism Ssocial cognition theory

Gestalt perspective
emphasizes the importance of perception in learning. Rather than focusing on discrete stimuli is one of the oldest schools of psychology and has strongly influenced a number of more recent cognitive perspectives.

Gestalt
refers to the configuration or patterned organization of cognitive elements, reflecting the maxim that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts

 A principal assumption is that each person perceives, interprets, and responds to any situation in his or her own way.

psychological organization
A basic principle that is directed toward simplicity, equilibrium, and regularity.
For example, study the bewildered faces of some patients listening to a detailed, evasive explanation about their disease, when what they desire most is a simple, clear explanation that settles their uncertainty and relates directly to them and their familiar experiences.

Another central gestalt principle

 1. No one can attend to all the surrounding stimuli at any given time, individuals orient themselves to certain features of an experience while screening out or habituating to other features.
Example: Patients in severe pain or worried about their hospital bills may not attend to well-intentioned patient education information.

 2. what individuals pay attention to and what they ignore are influenced by a host of factors:
past experiences, needs, personal motives and attitudes, reference groups, and the particular structure of the stimulus or situation

Information processing
is a cognitive perspective that emphasizes thinking processes: thought, reasoning, the way information is encountered and stored, and memory functioning

An information-processing model of memory functioning

 In the second stage, the information is processed by the senses.

 in the third stage, the information is transformed and incorporated (encoded) briefly into short-term memory, after which it is either disregarded and forgotten or stored in long- term memory

Long-term memory
involves the organization of information by using a preferred strategy for storage (e.g., imagery, association, rehearsal, breaking the information into units).

 The last stage involves the action or response that the individual makes on the basis of how information was processed and stored

 A widely used descriptive model has been provided by Robert Cagn (1985).

nine events and their corresponding cognitive processes that activate effective learning
1. Gain the learners attention (reception) 2. Inform the learner of the objectives and expectations (expectancy) 3. Stimulate the learners recall of prior learning (retrieval) 4. Present information (selective perception) 5. Provide guidance to facilitate the learners understanding (semantic encoding)

 6. Have the learner demonstrate the information or skill (responding) 7. Give feedback to the learner (reinforcement) 8. Assess the learners performance (retrieval) 9. Work to enhance retention and transfer through application and varied practice (generalization)

 Sternberg (1996) reminds us to consider styles of thinking, which he defined, as : a preference for using abilities in certain ways. Thinking styles concern differences, he noted, and not judgments of better or worse.

 the instructors task is to get in touch with the learners way of processing information and thinking.

 The information-processing perspective is particularly helpful for assessing problems in acquiring, remembering, and recalling information Some strategies include the following: (1) have learners indicate how they believe they learn (metacognition), (2) ask them to describe what they are thinking as they are learning, (3)evaluate learners mistakes, and (4) give close attention to their inability to remember or demonstrate information

Cognitive development
is a third perspective that focuses on qualitative changes in perceiving, thinking, and reasoning as individuals grow and mature

 Cognitions are based on how external events are conceptualized, organized, and represented within each persons mental framework or schemaa framework that is partially dependent on the individuals stage of cognitive development and readiness to learn,

 A principal assumption is that learning is a developmental, sequential, and active process that transpires as the child interacts with the environment, makes discoveries about how the world operates, and interprets these discoveries in keeping With what she knows (schema).

Jean Piaget
is the best-known cognitive developmental theorist, and his observations of childrens perception and thought processes at different ages have contributed much to our recognition of the unique ways that youngsters reason, the changes in their ability to conceptualize, and their limitations in understanding, communicating, and performing

 By watching, asking questions, and listening to children, Piaget identified and described four sequential stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations) that become evident over the course of infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence.

four sequential stages of cognitive development:

(1) the sensorimotor stage during infancy, where infants explore their environments and attempt to coordinate sensory information with motor skills

 (2) the preoperational stage during early childhood, where youngsters are able to mentally represent the environment, regard the world from their own egocentric perspective, and come to grips with symbolization;

 (3) the concrete operations stage during the elementary school years, where children are able to attend to more than one dimension at a time, conceptualize relationships, and operate on the environment;

 (4) the formal operations stage during adolescence, where teenagers begin to think abstractly, are able to deal with the future, and can see alternatives and criticize.

assimilation
children take in information as they interact with people and the environment and either make their experiences fit with what they already know

accommodation
children change their perceptions and interpretations in keeping with the new information

 Lev Vygotsky (1986) emphasized the significance of language, social interaction, and adult guidance in the learning process. One implication is that some children may learn more effectively by discovering and putting pieces together on their own, whereas other children benefit from a more social and directive approach.