Learning Theories Flashcards
Three important processes take place during learning:
- The learner must be aware of information from the senses.
- The information must be received and encoded for future use.
- Information in working memory will remain for a few seconds unless it is rehearsed.
The learning processes occur in:
Sensory input, working memory and long term memory. For example, you may remember a 7 digit phone number for several seconds after repeating it to yourself to keep it from fading from working memory. This works because the mind has developed a schematic to aid in the process. However, if another digit is added, one may experience cognitive load or extra effort because it is not receptive to the present schema. Instructional designers need to be concerned with cognitive load that is placed on learners and develop ways to reduce it.
The two types of “Cognitive Load:”
Intrinsic and Extraneous
“Intrinsic” cognitive load refer to:
“Interactivity” of elements in the content of instruction which instructional designers have no control over.
“Extraneous” cognitive load refer to:
can introduced into the design or layout of instructional materials. For example, consider the task of teaching a student how to calculate the area of a trapezoid. To calculate the area, the two bases must be added and divide by 2 and multiply by height. A formula is given to simplify the process. The high intrinsic load can be reduced by providing a diagram to assist with learner comprehension.
“Cognitive Load Theory” concludes that learners:
can only remember between 5 to 9 items at one time. As instructional designers, when giving the learner a list of items to memorize, such as airport codes, we should design strategy to present only 5 to 9 codes at one time rather than several hundred.
Four ways to control cognitive load:
- Goal Free Effect
- Worked Example Effect
- Spit Attention Effect
- Redundancy
