Learning & Cognitive Processes

1. Learning & Cognitive Processes

2. What is a “process” ? (as in Learning Processes) 1 ANYTHING GOING ON<as in “the process of time”> 2 a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result <the process of growth> Webster Sense making Students moving learning experiences through their own filters of making meaning. Tomlinson… As teachers, we have to decide whether our goal is to pass the time & fill class sessions with delivery of knowledge OR to engage students in “meaning making.”

3. What is Learning? • Relatively permanent change • due to some experience • Is it a change in behavior (what they can do)? • (pass a test – mimic the right formula or answer) • OR • A change in mental representations & reasoning? • (reasoning, analysis, critique…)

4. Basic Assumptions of Cognitive Psychology People are actively involved in their own learning. Cognitive processes become more sophisticated with age People are selective about what/how they process & learn Prior knowledge plays a major role Cognitive processes (the specific things that people do mentally) influence what is learned Meaning is constructed rather than transmitted

5. Cognitive Processes of Interest Attention Memory Types of Knowledge Depth of processing Metacognition Self-regulated learning Decision making Critical Thinking Creative Thinking Conceptual Learning / Understanding

6. Attention, Rote rehearsal, Chunking into meaningful units, Previous knowledge helps Encoding failure (forgetting) Information Processing Model of Memory Encoding Elaboration Organization strategies Focus on meaning Metacognition, Schemata Long Term Memory Unlimited capacity? Unlimited duration? Subject to interference Explicit vs. implicit Semantic vs. episodic Sensory Registers Vision, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch Large capacity . 5 - 2 second duration Primary mechanism: ATTENTION Short Term (Working) Memory Holds 7+ chunks of information 15-30 second duration External events Filtering (selective attention) Retrieval (most successful when we focus on meaning & understanding when we learn) Stop Rehearsing (forgetting) Fading (forgetting)

7. The Nature of Long-Term Memory Retrieval Retrieving information from long-term memory appears to be a process of following a “pathway” of associations. Factors that affect remembering: How well information is organized Making multiple connections with existing knowledge Learning information to mastery and beyond Having relevant retrieval cues (A hint about where to “look” for information)

8. Why learners sometimes Forget Failure to Store efficiently : Failure to mentally process information in ways that promote its storage in long-term memory. Decay: Weakening over time of information stored in long- term memory especially if the information is used infrequently. Interference: Phenomenon whereby something stored in long- term memory inhibits ones ability to remember something else correctly. Inability to retrieve: Failure to locate information (reconstruction error)

9. Teaching Strategies • Connections • 1) Concepts and ideas within the same subject area • 2) Concepts and ideas in other subject areas • 3) Students’ general knowledge of the world • 4) Students’ personal experience • 5) Students’ current activities and needs outside the classroom • Practice • 6) Have classroom activities that require students to review • Time • 7) Giving Learners Time to Process (wait time) • More class participation • Better quality of responses • Better overall class performance

10. Deep Processing Focus on underlying concepts Focus on understanding Learning for the sake of learning & mastery Effortful Surface Processing Less effort Rote memorization Work for grades or evaluation

11. Declarative Knowledge Relates to how things are - I see a tree, I hear a bird, I am a girl.Learned through:Rehearsal: Repeating something over and over verbally. Can leads to Rote Learning (little or no sense making)Meaningful Learning: Recognizing a relationshipOrganization Making connections among various pieces of new information Often involves connecting it with existing knowledge.Elaboration: Learners expand on new information The more a student uses knowledge the more beneficial it is. Examples of elaborating Why do you think this happens? Can you think of some examples of this concept? How could we use this idea in our everyday lives? What things could you conclude from this information?Visual Imagery: mental pictures, maps, representations

12. Procedural Knowledge How to do things. Riding a bicycle, making a bed, etc. Begins with declarative knowledge ABOUT the procedure but moves on the practice Perform the task, slowly Becomes automatic Encourage students to use verbal rehearsal, give them feed back, let them perform the task in a safe environment.Conditional Knowledge: How to respond in a certain situation The why and when of application of information