Instructional Technology 6260 Cognitive Information Processing Theory

1. Instructional Technology 6260Cognitive Information Processing Theory

2. Cognitive Information Processing • Without looking at one, draw a picture of a penny

4. Without looking at it, try to describe your watch: • what color is the face • what marks the hours • what color are the hands • is there a second hand • does it say anything on the face

5. Assumptions of Human Information Processing • Some learning processes are unique to humans • Mental events are the focus of study • The study of human learning must be objective and scientific • Individuals are actively involved in the learning process • Learning involves the formation of mental associations that are not necessarily reflected in overt behavior changes • Knowledge is organized • Learning is a process of relating new information to previously learned information

6. Terminology • Cognitive Process- any internal mental event and includes such phenomena as perceiving, attention, interpretation, understanding and remembering • Learning vs. Memory - learning is viewed as the acquisition of new information. Memory is related to the ability to recall information that has been previously learned • Storage - the process by which new information is placed in memory • Retrieval - the process by which people “find’ the information they have previously stored so they can use it again • Encoding - the process by which information is modified before it is stored - often helps storage

7. Dual-Store Model of Memory-Atkinson-Shiffrin model lost lost lost? input Sensory Register Short-term Memory Long-term Memory input input

8. Sensory Register • capacity • form of storage • duration

9. The Role of Attention • the process by which people select some of the environmental input they receive for further cognitive processing

10. What do you see?????

11. Factors Influencing Attention • Size • Intensity • Novelty • Incongruity • Emotion • Personal Significance • Competition between similar tasks

12. Which letters first draw your attention? a B c D

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14. Incongruity • I took a walk to the rabbit this morning.

15. Processes Underlying Attention • selective attention • automaticity • bottleneck effect

16. Short-term Memory • capacity • storage form • duration

17. Example 1. Memorize in sequence: 808810844033542 How many right? 15-12 11-8 7-4 4-1

18. Example 2. Memorize in sequence: 435797100084322 How many right? 15-12 11-8 7-4 4-1

19. Control Processes in STM • Chunking • Rehearsal • Retrieval

20. Long-Term Memory • Capacity • Form of Storage • Duration

21. Control Processes in LTM • Storage • Retrieval

22. Are STM and LTM Really Different? Consider: • acoustic vs. semantic memories • brain injury patients • changes due to aging

23. Metacognition/ Executive Control • people’s knowledge of their own learning, cognitive processes and their regulation of those processes to enhance learning and memory. Also known as thinking about thinking.

24. Implications for Instruction • Encourage multiple representations for encoding • Organize information to maximize retrieval • Support metacognition • Link new material to prior knowledge • Minimize interference • Recognize STM limitations