Cognitive learning theorists postulate that for learning to
occur, it is not enough to provide an external stimulus. Their principle of learning centered upon the
ability of the learners to make connections between their existing knowledge
and the new material being presented to them.
For this connection to occur, the instruction should be well-organized
and clearly structured, and the cognitive style of the individual must be taken
into account (Smith, 1999).
Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski (2007) propose a number
of instructional strategies that teachers can use for learning to occur using
the cognitivist approach. Chapter 4
examines the use of “Cues, Questions and Advanced Organizers”, while chapter 6
examines the use of “Summarizing and Note Taking” activities in building knowledge.
The use of cues, questions and advanced organizers helps
students to activate prior knowledge, an essential principle for learning to
occur. The authors encourage the use of word processing applications to create
advance organizers for note taking by using the table function. A two column table is created where the key
terms or themes are listed in the first column and students fill in the
relevant details pertaining to the item in the second column. This helps the students to organize their thoughts
and focus on the topic at hand (Pitler et al., 2007)). The use of spreadsheets to create rubrics
achieves the same objective of focusing the learner. The chapter also explored the use of advance
organizers to provide cues in the form of essential questions. Cues are also given in the form of multimedia
which helps the learner to activate prior knowledge and provide a mental model
of the information. It also supports the
dual coding of information whereby the information is stored as both images and
text which results in better retention (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).
In the chapter 6, I found the section on using summary
frames most interesting. Three types of
summary frames were illustrated; the definition frame,
topic-restriction-illustration frame and the problem/solution frame. The frames force the students to focus on a
particular issue by asking essential questions, thereby guiding the students’
processing of information. Using multimedia
to enhance and present summaries and notes also fits into the cognitive
learning model as the students must summarize the information for it to fit
into a short time frame. Also Instructive
was the section on blogs and wikis. The
use of blogs as a reciprocal teaching strategy was very interesting as it
provided opportunity for scaffolding of information and feedback.
In the web video resource this week, we learned that for
information to be processed into a learner’s short-term memory, it must by broken
into manageable chunks and that long-term memories are stored in networks of
information. We also learned that
information is better stored as images and texts (Laureate Education, Inc.,
2011). The strategies discussed all help
the learner to organize information to make it more manageable, helps the
learner to make connections with previous knowledge and make effective use of
images, all principles supported by cognitive learning theory.
References
Laureate Education,
Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast].
Bridging learning theory, instruction and
technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
Pitler,
H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Smith, M. K.
(1999). The cognitive orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of
informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-cognitive.htm
1 comment:
Amanda,
I think the conventional way of teaching is definitely outdated. As educators, we have a lot to prepare to make the best lessons we can for our students. We are fortunate to have the tools of technology available to us, which makes our job a little bit easier. Students are so proficient with technology it is almost second nature for them, as we have discussed in prior courses. I think it is important for the students to find ways to “corral” their thoughts and ideas into a format that can be used later to help them create a useful tool for a final project.
I like the idea of spreadsheets also to use as a visual so the students can see their progress and areas they need to improve. I thought dual coding was so important as well, by implementing pictures with words to create a connection within their memory.
I have recently set up a classroom blog for my math students in which I post questions from released state tests. This will expose them to questions in “state test form” and allow for discussion between students. It is still a new concept for the students, so the participation is not what I thought it would be at this point. We do not have one-to-one computers in our district, so the students’ access to computers is limited. I am going to keep it going and I hope to get better results as time goes on.
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