Cognitivism

mid-20th Century Was it possible to learn with no outward signs of changed behavior? The cognitivist goes inside the learners head to see what mental processes were activated and changed during learning

Cognitivism Knowledge is viewed as symbolic mental constructs; learning involves how those constructs are committed to memory Behavior may change, but only as an indication to what is going on in the learner's head

Key PLayers

Piaget Swiss biologist, psychologist Jean Piaget ( ) Renowned for an influential model of child development Piaget attested childs structures grow more sophisticated with development and defines stages ©

Vygotsky Concepts are formed socially, then individually Zone of Proximal Development Culture (family, social, environmental) is the prime determinant of individual development Humans are the only species to have created culture, and every child develops within that culture ©

Key Issues

How does learning occur? Learning is measured by what learners know, not necessarily what they do The learner processes symbols and grasps the meaning of symbols There may or may not be an external behavioral change due to learning

Which factors influence learning? Active participation Demonstrations Illustrative examples Corrective feedback

What is the role of memory? As long as the learner has the ability to organize, categorize and retrieve information, learning is accomplished

How does transfer occur? Information is memorized in an organized manner Induction/deduction

What types of learning are best explained by this theory? Reasoning Philosophizing Problem solving Information processing

Strengths of Cognitivism The context of a learner - their history, culture, thoughts, beliefs and values - are influential in the learning process

Criticisms of Cognitivism The learner knows a certain way to do things, but that way may not be the best, most efficient or safest way to do something in a different culture or environment

end

Zone of Proximal Development Vygotsky (1978) maintained the child follows the adult's example and gradually develops the ability to do certain tasks without assistance. He called the difference between what a child can do with help and what he or she can do without guidance the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD).

ZPD What a child can do without help. Zone of Proximal Development What a teacher can teach.