Information Processing Theory

1. Information Processing Theory EDU 330: Educational Psychology Daniel Moos

2. Why is a manhole cover round?

3. “Phraseology” example Tall in the the saddle Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of prior knowledge and experience in learning?

4. In 1763 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 1763. Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the for independence (Beck and Mckeown, 1993, p.2) In 1763 Britain and the settlements ended a seven-year war with the French and Native Americans. As a result of this war, the French were driven out of North America. Britain would now rule Canada and other lands that had belonged to the French. This brought peace to the North American settlements. The settlers no longer had to fear attacks from Canada. The North Americans were happy to be part of Britain in 1763. Yet a dozen years later, these same people would be fighting the for independence. Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of prior knowledge and experience in learning? Implications for teachers?

5. “Numbers” example 3 1 8 6 0 5 4 7 1 1 0 4 2 0 1 4 Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the importance of organization in learning? What does this activity suggest about the maximum number of items we can learn at one time? Implications for teachers?

6. “Months” example As quickly as you can… …state the months of the year …state the months of the year, alphabetically Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of how we originally learn in retrieving this knowledge? Implications for teachers?

7. “Association” example In a moment, you will read a common, everyday word. As soon as you read it, write down the first that comes into your head. Then write down the first word that that word reminds you of. Continue writing down the first word that each successive words brings to mind until you generated a list of 10 words Example: Minnesota Cold Ice Cream Moose Tracks Activity: Beach Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about how we organize our “long-term” memory? Implications for teachers?

8. “Categorization” example shirt table hat carrot bed squash pants potatoes bench chair shoe bean In a moment, you will be presented with 12 words and asked to memorize them. In what order did you recall them? Did you recall them in the order in which you read them? Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about how the importance of organization in facilitating learning? Implications for teachers?

9. “Riding a bike” example • On a scale of 1 (very poorly) to 5 (very easily), how well can you ride a bike? • Turn to your neighbor and discuss how you would teach someone who does not know how to ride a bike • On a scale of 1 (very hard) to 5 (very easy), describe the difficulty level you just experienced in describing how you might teach someone to ride a bike • Why might there be a discrepancy between your “expertise” and ability to teach? Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the challenges “experts” might face in teaching novices? Implications for teaching?

10. “Color” example As quickly as you can, quietly say the COLOR and not the pronunciation of the following words (from left to right): Example: YellowBlue RED BLACK BLUEBLACK YELLOW BLACKRED YELLOWBLUEBLACK REDBLACK BLUE BLACK YELLOW REDYELLOWBLUEBLACK RED Guiding Question: What does this activity suggest about the role of “attention” and “perception” in learning? Implications for teachers?

11. Cognitive processes: IPT ModelAssumptions of each “stage”

12. The Sensory Memory • Capacity  Very large • Duration  1 to 3 seconds • Contents  Raw sensory data (encoded in same form as perceived)

13. The Sensory Memoryand Its Control Processes • Recognition  Noting key features of a stimulus and relating them to already stored information • Attention  Selective focusing on a portion of the information currently stored in the sensory register  What we attend to is influenced by information in long-term memory “Phraseology” example Tall in the the saddle “Color” example Selecting focusing

14. Working Memory(also called:Short-Term Memory) • Capacity  7 +/- 2 chunks of information • Duration  20 to 30 seconds • Contents  What you are currently thinking about (information from the sensory register and information from long term memory)

15. “Numbers” exampleDate is relevant/long-term memory Working Memory(also called:Short-Term Memory) Control process • Rehearsal  Maintenance Rehearsal – Repeating information over and over again; no (or minimal) effect on long-term memory storage  Elaborative Rehearsal – Relating new information to knowledge already stored in long-term memory “Words” example 2nd list of words meaningful

16. Working Memory(also called:Short-Term Memory)Control processes, continued • Organization  Putting interrelated pieces of information into chunks • Meaningfulness  When new material can be related to information in long-term memory • Visual Imagery Encoding  Generating images in your mind of objects, ideas, and actions “Numbers” exampleChunking numbers into date

17. Cognitive processes: Metacognition (II) Total Processing Space in Working Memory (short-term memory) Operating Space Storage Space

18. Cognitive Processes: IPT application (I) • Reducing cognitive load: Overcoming limitations of working memory • Chunking • Automaticity • Is it effective to multi-task?…only if you are an “expert” with at least one of the tasks… • Dual-Coding Theory

19. Research Findings Implications Rehearsal important. 2nd graders can do independently. Teach rehearsal techniques. Organization of material into chunks makes it much easier to remember. Teachers’ Organization!!!! Teach how to organize Short-term Memory and Its Control Processes

20. Research Findings Implications Meaningful learning = relate new information to old information. Know your students! What do they already know? What interests them? Visual imagery is easier to recall than abstractions. Teach visual imagery as a learning tool. Short-term Memory and Its Control Processes (cont’d)

21. Long-Term Memory • Capacity  Unlimited • Duration  Permanent, long-term • Contents • Schema (or “schemata”), which affect information in short term memory (i.e. misconceptions) • Explicit knowledge: knowledge we CAN easily recall and explain • Implicit knowledge: knowledge we CANNOT easily recall and explain “Riding a bike” example Implicit vs. explicit “Association” & “Categorization example

22. Cognitive processes: Forgetting • Why do we “forget” information? • Encoding is the key to retrieval • Retrieval failure may be due to encoding • Example: State the months of the year • Example: State the months of the year alphabetically • Why is it more difficult to state the months of the year alphabetically? • Diversity in backgrounds influences encoding and retrieval

23. Cognitive dissonance • Hot vs. Cold cognition • Example: I just recently read a story about some advanced technologies that measure metacognition. How do you think that made me feel and not just think? • What benefits arise from situations that result in hot cognition? • Cognitive dissonance: Information strongly contradicts something we know or strongly believe to be true. • Result can be either a help (with an open mind) or hinderance

24. Cognitive processes: Applying IPT to the classroom • Begin lessons with an activity that attracts attention. • Conduct frequent reviews to activate students’ prior knowledge and check their perceptions. • Proceed in short steps and represent content both visually and verbally to reduce cognitive load. • Help students make information meaningful and aid encoding through organization, imagery, elaboration, and activity. • Model and encourage metacogniton.