Chapter 8- Cognitive Views of Learning Flashcards
cognitive view of learning
a general approach that views learning as an active mental process of acquiring, remembering, and using knowledge, assumes mental processes exist, they can be studied scientifically, and that humans are active information processors, learning is extending and transforming the understanding we already have
cognitive science
the interdisciplinary study of thinking, language, intelligence, knowledge, creation, and the brain
mirror systems
areas of the brain that fire both during perception of an action by someone else and when performing the action, the brain rehearses an action it sees another person perform
domain-specific knowledge
information that is useful in a particular situation or that applies mainly to one specific topic
general knowledge
information that is useful in many kinds of tasks, information that applies to many situations
information processing
the human mind’s activity of taking in, storing, and using information
perception
interpretation of sensory information, process of detecting a stimulus and assigning meaning
bottom-up processing
perceiving based on noticing separate defining features and assembling them into a recognizable pattern, first step in perception: features are extracted and analyzed to give a rough sketch
gestalt
german for pattern or whole
gestalt theorists hold that people organize their perceptions into coherent wholes, second phase of perception: the features are organized into patterns
top-down processing
making sense of information by using context and what we already know about the situation; sometimes called conceptually driven perception, last phase of perception: the features and patterns detected are combined in light of the context of the situation and our existing knowledge
automaticity
the result of learning to perform a behaviour or thinking process so thoroughly that the performance is automatic and does not require effort, sometimes refers to excitement or stress, carry out complex behaviour with little mental effort, we are not completely automatic
working memory
the information that you are focusing on at a given moment, new information is held in working memory temporarily and combined with knowledge from long-term memory to solve problems, limited capacity (not the same as short term memory- WM includes temporary storage and active processing), four elements: central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer
short-term memory
component of memory system that holds information for about 20 seconds (not the same as working memory- STM is just storage), capacity = 5-9 things
central executive
the part of working memory that is responsible for monitoring and directing attention and other mental resources, controls attention and other mental resources (the worker), supervises attention, makes plans, and decides what information to retrieve and how to allocate resources
phonological loop
part of working memory, a speech and sound related system for holding and rehearsing (refreshing) words and sounds in short-term memory for about 1.5 to 2 seconds, holds verbal and sound information, activates verbal meaning in long term memory
visuospatial sketchpad
part of working memory, a holding system for visual and spatial information, activates visual meaning in long term memory
episodic buffer
part of working memory, the process that brings together and integrates information from the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory under the supervision of the central executive, workbench, creates complex memories
cognitive load
the volume of resources necessary to complete a task, amount of mental resources (mostly working memory) required to perform a particular task, extent of load depends on what the person already knows about the task and what resources are available, goal is to manage intrinsic load, reduce extraneous load, and promote germane load
intrinsic cognitive load
the resources required by the task itself, regardless of other stimuli, amount of cognitive processing required to figure out the material, essential to the task, unavoidable
extraneous cognitive load
the resources required to process stimuli irrelevant to the task, cognitive capacity used to deal with problems not related to the task, can be managed by providing supports, focusing attention on the main ideas, and generally supplying scaffolding
germane cognitive load
deep processing of information related to the task, including application of prior knowledge to a new task or problem, organizing and integrating the material with what you already know and forming new understandings, instruction can support this by asking students to explain material, draw/chart their understandings, take notes
maintenance rehearsal
keeping information in working memory by repeating it to yourself, as long as you revisit, it can be maintained, useful for information you plan to use then forget
elaborative rehearsal
keeping information in working memory by associating it with something else you already know, helps create long term memories
levels of processing theory
theory that recall of information is based on how deeply it is processed, related to the notion of elaborative rehearsal, the length of time that information is remembered is determined by the extent to which the information is analyzed and connected with other information
chunking
grouping individual bits of data into meaningful larger units, helps retain more information
interference
processing new information interferes or gets confused with old information
decay
the weakening and fading of memories with the passage of time
long-term memory
permanent store of knowledge, unlimited, memories can remain there permanently, gaining access requires time and effort
declarative knowledge
verbal information, facts, knowing that something is the case, knowledge that can be declared, domain-specific or general
procedural knowledge
knowledge that is demonstrated when we perform a task, knowing how, can be domain-specific or general
self-regulatory knowledge
knowing how to manage your learning, or knowing how and when to use your declarative and procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, can be domain-specific or general
explicit memory
long-term memories that involve deliberate or conscious recall, we are aware of these memories, we know we have remembered them (declarative knowledge, episodic memory (memory based on sequence of events), semantic memory (memory based on the meaning))
implicit memory
knowledge that we are not conscious of recalling, but that influences our behaviour or thought without our awareness
propositional network
(propositions: the smallest unit of knowledge that can be judged true or false) propositions that share information are linked in propositional networks, set of interconnected concepts and relationships in which long-term knowledge is held, when we want to recall a bit of information, we can translate its meaning as represented in the propositional network, into a familiar phrase or sentence or mental picture
images
representations based on the physical attributes- the appearance- of information, seeing images in your head is not exactly the same as seeing the actual image
dual coding theory
suggests that information is stored in long-term memory as either visual images or verbal units, or both, information that is coded both visually and verbally is easiest to learn
concept
a category used to group similar events, ideas, objects, or people, we refer to our mental representation of the category when talking about a particular concept, help organize vast amounts of information into manageable units
defining attribute
qualities that connect members of a group to a specific concept, the defining attribute theory of concepts suggests that we recognize specific examples by noting key required features
prototype
a best example or best representative of a category, an example that has the most important core features of the category, other members of the category may be very similar
exemplar
an actual memory of a specific object, used to compare with an item in question to see if that item belongs in the same category as the exemplar, prototypes are built from many experiences with exemplars
theory-based
an explanation for concept formation that suggests our classifications are based on ideas about the world that we create to make sense of things
schemas
basic structures of organizing information, concepts, abstract knowledge structures that organize vast amounts of information, guides perception and helps make sense of our experience based on what we already know and what we expect to happen
story grammar
typical structure or organization for a category of stories, type of schema to help students understand and remember stories
flashbulb memories
clear, vivid memories of emotionally important events in your life, when we have intense emotional reactions, memories are stronger and more lasting
procedural memory
long-term memory for how to do things, skills, habits, how to perform tasks, this knowledge tends to be remembered for a long time, represented as scripts or productions
script
schema or expected plan for the sequence of steps in common events such as buying groceries or ordering pizza, differs depending on the situation
productions
the contents of procedural memory; rules about what actions to take given certain conditions, if A occurs, then do B
priming
activating a concept in memory or the spread of activation from one concept to another, through some out-of-awareness process
spreading activation
retrieval of pieces of information based on their relatedness to one another, remembering one bit of information activates recall of associated information, when a particular proposition or image is active, when we are thinking about it, other closely associated knowledge can be primed or triggered as well, and activation can spread through the network
retrieval
process of searching for and finding information in long-term memory, occurs partly through spreading activation
reconstruction
recreating information by using memories, expectations, logic, and existing knowledge, cognitive tool or problem-solving process that makes use of logic, cues, and other knowledge to construct a reasonable answer by filling in any missing parts
elaboration
adding and extending meaning by connecting new information to existing knowledge, often automatic, material that is elaborated when first learned will be easier to recall later, form of rehearsal that leads to deeper levels of processing because the information is analyzed and connected with existing information
organization
ordered and logical network of relations, material that is well organized is easier to learn and to remember than bits an pieces of information, especially if the material is complex or extensive
context
the total setting or situation that surrounds and interacts with a person or event, it includes internal and external circumstances and situations that interact with the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions to shape development and learning, if you try to remember the information, it will be easier if the current context is similar to the original one
mnemonics
techniques for remembering, builds meaning by connecting what is to be learned with established words or images
loci method
technique for associating items with specific places, imagine a familiar place, and pit out particular locations to serve as pegs to hang memories
acronym
technique for remembering by using the first letter of each word in a phrase to form a new, memorable word
chain mnemonics
memory strategies that associate one element in a series with the next element, and the next element etc
keyword method
system of associating new words or concepts with similar sounding cue words and images, recode the new vocabulary word as a more familiar concrete keyword, then relate the keyword clue to the vocabulary items definition through a sentence, retrieve the desired definition
rote memorizing
remembering information by repetition without necessarily understanding the meaning of the information
serial-position effect
the tendency to remember the beginning and the end, but not the middle of the list
part learning
breaking a list of items into shorter lists, prevents serial position effect because less middle items to remember
distributed practice
practice in brief periods with rest intervals, gives time for deeper processing and strengthens connections in the neural network of the brain
massed practice
practice for a single, extended period of time, leads to cognitive overload, fatigue, and lagging motivation
automatic basic skills
skills that are applied without conscious thought
