COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY

CRYSTALELEENA

FAIZ

What is Cognitive Learning Theory?

• Explains why the brain is the most incredible network of information processing and interpretation in the body as we learn things

• Cognitive learning theories are based on how people think (Ormrod, 2008).

Learning

• ‘to think using the brain’

• active mental process to receive, store and apply knowledge.

• cognitive process to choose, focus, ignore, reflect and make decision on changes in environment (Woolfolk, 1998).

Learning takes place when new knowledge is gained or modified through experience.

Did you know that…

The bushes and clouds in Super Mario Bros are the same, just colored differently.

Did you know that…

Mayonnaise is made from oil and eggs

Did you know that…

Goats have rectangular pupils

Did you know that…

Butterflies are cannibals

www.buzzfeed.com

Cognitive learning models

Gestalt

Ausubel

Gagne

Bruner

Gestalt Learning ModelThe three main Gestalt theorists1. Max Wertheimer (1880 - 1943) • His ideas featured the view that thinking proceeds from the whole

to the parts, treating a problem as a whole.

2. Kurt Koffka (1887 - 1941)• There is no such thing as a completely meaningless learning.

3. Wolfgang Kohler (1887 - 1967) • Köhler emphasized that one must examine the whole to discover

what its natural parts are.

Ausubel Learning Model

David Ausubel, M.D. (1918 - 2008 )• American psychologist • Did his undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania

(pre-med and psychology)• Particularly relevant for educators, considered neo-

behaviorist views inadequate.• Focused on verbal learning• He dealt with the nature of meaning• Believes the external world acquires meaning only as it is

converted into the content of consciousness by the learner.

Gagne Learning Model

• Robert Gagne (1916–2002) was an educational psychologist who pioneered the science of instruction in the 1940s.

• 5 types of learning Verbal Information Intellectual Skills Cognitive Strategies Motor Skills Attitude

Gagne Nine Levels of Learning

Gagne Nine Levels of Learning : to ensure that your team fully understands and retains information

Eight Conditions of Learning

• Signal learning: the learner makes a general response to a signal• Stimulus-response learning: the learner makes a precise response to a signal• Chaining: the connection of a set of individual stimulus & responses in a

sequence.• Verbal association: the learner makes associations using verbal connections• Discrimination learning: the learner makes different responses to different

stimuli that are somewhat alike• Concept learning: the learner develops the ability to make a generalized

response based on a class of stimuli• Rule learning: a rule is a chain of concepts linked to a demonstrated behavior• Problem solving: the learner discovers a combination of previously learned

rules and applies them to solve a novel situation

• The Gagne Assumption ~ is for each of the different types of learning (learning goals) that exist different instructional conditions are required.

Bruner Learning Model

• Born New York City, October 1, 1915. He received his A.B. degree from Duke University in 1937 and his Ph.D in 1947 from Harvard.

• Bruner's theories emphasize the significance of categorization in learning.

• Bruner believes children have to learn by themselves.• Enactive representation –The child has little in the way of

mental faculties so ‘thinking is a physical action.’ Knowledge is what the child can manipulate or do with movements, for example tying knots, pointing etc.

• Iconic representation –These icons or images are built up from past experience and based on a number of exposures to similar objects and events.

• Symbolic representation –For the first time the child can categorise, think logically and solve problems.

The information processing approach

• Depicts how mental processes operate• See the human mind as a computer that

processes information from external sources, then stores and retrieves it

• Thinking is a rational process• Memory is central to information processing

The multistore model of information processing

• Depicts information processing as a sequence of discrete stages

• Each stage has a different processing function

• Sensory register: new information enters through the senses and is stored for less than a second

• Short-term memory (STM): a temporary storage place with the capacity to store approximately seven items

• Strategies for remembering information in STM:• chunking is when related items are grouped into a

single meaningful unit• rehearsal is where information is repeated and

practised to aid storage and retrieval

• Long-term memory (LTM) is a permanent storage facility for information

• Types of LTM: • episodic – memories of events• semantic – memories about language and the

world around us• procedural – memories about procedures for

performing a skill

Connectionist Model

Brain = complex network of interconnected units of information

Information = stored in patterns of connectivity (neural networks)

Why & How Learners Forget

Fail to pay adequate attention to information during the sensory register & short-term memory (STM) stages

STM has limited capacity, thus leading to us not remembering everything

Long-term memory (LTM) decays

Interference occurs – new memories interfere with LTMs, thus making the retrieval of information difficult

We do not use the right cues to retrieve info (cue-dependent forgetting)

Information?? Knowledge??

Information becomes knowledge when we act upon it cognitively to make meaning for ourselves

Types of knowledge:- declarative (knowing that)- procedural (knowing how)- conditional (knowing when and how)

Strengths

Represents/illustrates the complexity of cognitive processing

Allows for close analysis of cognitive processes & thus helps educators understand how learners think

Emphasises on the importance of memory and how to enhance recall

Limitations

Sequential depictions of information processing do not represent the complexity of neural networks

We depend too much of the computer as an analogy for how humans think

The model fails to consider environmental, genetic and cultural influences on info processing

Metacognition: Managing Cognitive Processes

An executive control process overseeing cognitive activity which includes self-monitoring & self-regulation

• Ability to control your own thoughts.1) Person knowledge: knowledge about one’s self &

others’ thinking2) Task knowledge: knowledge that different types of

task exert different types of cognitive demands 3) Strategy knowledge: knowledge about cognitive &

metacognitive strategies for enhancing learning and performance (planning, monitoring, evaluating)

Metacognitive Experiences

Include feelings associated with particular cognitive activities

e.g., you feel anxious when you realise you do not know what the lecturer is talking about.

Connected to self-esteeme.g., when we feel confident about regulating

our cognitive processing, we will feel more positive about ourselves & abilities

Metacognitive Development

Develops when children’s capacity develop for abstract thought, self-reflect & self-regulate.

Some research shows evidence of metacognition in younger children, but the skill develops most notably among adolescents.

A positive relationship between performance on academic tasks & learners’ ability to use metacognitive strategies (Lucangeli, Coi & Bosco, 1997)

Students of learning disabilities show that metacognitive strategy instruction enhances learners’ thinking and social skills (Rosenthal-Malek, 1997)

Strategies Across Culture

Sociocultural factors may influence the ways individual think about themselves & their own thinking (their metacognitive knowledge and strategy use)

Research findings on cross-cultural differences in metacognitive strategy use are equivocal (ambiguos), but some differences between cultures have been noted

Cognitive Style

Different people have preferred ways of perceiving, processing & remembering info (different cognitive styles)

Also have preferences for approaching learning & learning contexts (different learning styles)

Perceptual Style: Field Dependence-Independence

Field-dependent learners: perceive items, events or info. They depend on the context (field) to help them understand and perceive better.

Field-independent learners: perceive individual items, events & info analytically, as distinct & independent from the broader context/field.

What Is Your Perceptual Style?

The way you take in information through your five senses and make

that information meaningful to you. Basically, it acts as filters between

sensation and understanding.

Let’s Draw Your Attention!

Can you find a gargoyle, a key, a hat, five dwarves and a fairy in this picture?

Perceptual style

Field dependence

learners

Field independence

learners

Conceptual Tempo

Impulsive Learners

Reflective Learners

Deep & Surface LearningDeep Learning Surface Learning

Definition • Learners with deep approach to learn.

• Intrinsically motivated to study.

• Make use of time efficiently to study.

• Have extrinsic motivations .

• Use memorisation strategies to learn

Learning Methodology • Use problem – solving strategies (e.g. questioning, planning and evaluating)

Sociocultural Factors and

Cognitive Style

Sociocultural factors Influence learners’ preferred ways of

thinking and learning

Social structuresinfluence the types of

activities learners engage in and value

Have a powerful effect on cognitive development and preferred cognitive

styles

Learning Approaches In The Classroom

Students’ preferred cognitive and learning styles to classroom practices

Aptitude–treatment interaction The relationship between learner characteristics and the characteristics of the

learning situation

ConstructivismDefinition:

Explanation of learning that views it as a self-regulated process that builds on learners’ existing knowledge.

Psychological constructivism:Focuses on individual learners and on how they construct their own knowledge, beliefs and identity.

Social constructivism: Acknowledges the role of social and cultural factors in shaping learning.

4 Key Principle of Constructivism

2. Learners are self-regulated

3. Social interaction is necessary for effective

learning

4. Encouraged to make sense of information for

themselves

1. Learners are active participants

Encourage learner-centred

experiences and activities

Provide opportunities

for students to work together

Benefits of Constructivism

Assist novice learners to

develop expertise

How To Stimulate Learner - Centred Experiences & Activities

Dis

cove

ry L

earn

ing

Guided DiscoveryProblem solving with teacher

guidance

Open DiscoveryProblem solving without a

teacher monitoring

Providing Opportunities For Students To Work Together

Cooperative Learning

Collaborative Learning

Peer-assisted Learning

Helping Novice Learners to Develop Expertise

Cognitive apprenticeships

PartnershipReciprocal teaching

Benefits of ConstructivismAcknowledges

learners as active ‘constructors’ of

their own meaning

Attaches importance to

prior learning and background knowledge

Encourages social networks in

learning environments

Provides practical guidelines for educators who want to encourage student interaction and

group work in their classrooms

Disadvantages of Constructivism

Time consuming

Teachers face pressure regarding curriculum coverage

Daunted by classroom-management concerns when managing group work

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