Cognitive Views of Learning

Cluster 7

 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.

 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 Reinforcement is a source

behavior of feedback
Learners respond to Learners initiate learning
environmental stimuli experiences
Knowledge is acquired 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

 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
 Declarative-Verbal information facts. Knowing that

something is the case, specific facts, personal preferences,

personal events, rules
 Procedural-Knowledge that is demonstrated when we

perform a task. Knowing how to do something

General
 Conditional or structural-Reading,
Knowing numbers
when and why to
apply declarative and procedural knowledge
Domain specific Periodic table

Declarative: Who, History dates

what, where? Names of presidents
Procedural: How? Riding a bike

Conditional: Why? Which study strategy

should I use?
Memory
Human mind’s activity of taking in, storing, and using information

 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
 Use of the 5 senses
 Holds sensations from the environment for a brief time in
their original form

sensory memory for up to several seconds

visual images about ¼ of a second
 Very large capacity
 Because of its short duration, it is important for students to
attend to sensory information that is important for learning
 Perception

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

limited resource

can only pay attention to one demanding task at a time
 Automaticity

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

 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:

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 Long Term
Very fast input Relatively slow input
Limited capacity Practically unlimited
capacity
5–20 seconds
duration Practically unlimited
duration
Contains words,
images, ideas, Contains networks,
sentences schemata
Immediate retrieval Retrieval depends on
connections
Teaching
 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
 Information coded both ways may be easier to learn

See Figure 19.1, p. 242

 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

Propositions & propositional networks

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”

Images are representations based on perceptions—
perception of the appearance of information

Schema are abstract knowledge structures

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
 Knowledge in the form of skills and cognitive operations
 Mental and motor skills are stored as procedural
knowledge
 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
 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.
 Cues
 Spread of activation-retrieving of information based on
relatedness to other information
 Reconstruction
 Decay
 Interference
 See Guidelines, Woolfolk p. 249
 Metacognitive Knowledge
 Awareness of your own thinking processes

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 Differences in Metacognition
due to development
age/maturation

biological differences
variations in learning experiences
Learning Declarative Knowledge
 Making it meaningful Mnemonics
 Mnemonics  Loci method
 Rote memorization
 Peg type: keyword, peg
word,
 Serial position effect
acronyms
 Part learning  Chaining
 Distributed practice  Key Word Method
 Massed practice  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
 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