© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod CHAPTER TWO Learning, Cognition, and Memory

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod CASE STUDY: RITA 1. Which parts of Rita’s response accurately describe the history of the New World? Which parts are clearly inaccurate? 2. Based on Michigan’s geography, why might Rita think making Michigan a state caused the British to move to the upper Peninsula? 3. Why might Rita initially suggest that the British wanted to get cups from China? Why might she then say they wanted to get furs?

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod RITA’S MISINTERPRETATION OF HISTORY Rita’s lack of information about some things limits her ability to make sense of what she has learned about Michigan’s history. Rita uses what she does know to draw logical but incorrect inferences about why the British were eager to find a new trade route to China.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod LEARNING AS A CONSTRUCTIVE PROCESS Learning: A long-term change in mental representations or associations due to experience → not brief and transitory but may not last forever → presumably has its basis in the brain → produces change due to experience

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod GENERAL PRINCIPLES: LEARNING 1. By school age, young learners are usually actively involved in their own learning. 2. Cognitive processes influence learning. 3. Learners must be selective about what they focus on and learn. 4. Learners create (rather then receive) knowledge. 5. Learners make sense of new experiences based on previous knowledge and beliefs.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod HOW HUMAN MEMORY OPERATES Memory : Learners’ ability to “save” things mentally Consists of two components: → working memory → long-term memory

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod GENERAL PRINCIPLES: How Human Memory Operates 1.Sensory input stays in a raw form only briefly. 2. Attention is essential for most learning and memory.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod TWO KINDS OF MEMORY 1.Working Memory: → short duration → limited capacity 2. Long-Term Memory → long duration → limitless capacity → includes declarative and procedural knowledge

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod GENERAL PRINCIPLES : Storing Information in Long-Term Memory 1.Information in long-term memory is interconnected and organized. 2. Some long-term memory processes are more effective than others. 3. Practice makes knowledge more automatic and durable. 4. Learning strategies improve with age. 5. Prior knowledge and beliefs affect new learning.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STORAGE PRINCIPLE #1: Information in Long-Term Memory is Interconnected and Organized Schemas Concepts Script Theories

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STORAGE PRINCIPLE #2: Some Long-Term Memory Storage Processes are More Effective than Others Rote Learning : - rehearsal Meaningful Learning: - elaboration - organization - visual imagery

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STORAGE PRINCIPLE #3 Practice makes Knowledge More Automatic and Durable Practice results in automaticity. Practice increases procedural knowledge.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STORAGE PRINCIPLE #4: Learning Strategies Improve with Age Learning Strategy: Intentional use of cognitive processes to assist in learning and remembering → rehearsal → visual imagery → organization → elaboration

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STORAGE PRINCIPLE #5: Prior Knowledge and Beliefs Affect New Learning → Relevant prior knowledge results in meaningful learning. → Prior knowledge sometimes interferes with learning because of: - inappropriate connections - incorrect previous “knowledge” (misconceptions) - confirmation bias

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod GENERAL PRINCIPLES: Retrieving Information From Long- Term Memory 1.Initial learning affects recall. 2.Remembering depends on the context. 3.Ease of recall and use of information depends on past frequency of recall and use. 4.Recall often involves reconstruction. 5.Long-term memory isn’t necessarily forever.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod PROMOTING EFFECTIVE COGNITIVE STRATEGIES → Remember how the human memory system works. → Encourage effective long-term memory storage. → Promote retrieval. → Monitor student progress.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Grab and hold students’ attention. Keep the limited capacity of working memory in mind. Relate new ideas to students’ prior knowledge and experience. Accommodate diversity in students’ background knowledge. Provide experiences on which students can build. STRATEGIES: How The Human Memory System Works

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STRATEGIES: Effective Long-Term Storage Present questions and tasks that encourage elaboration. Show how new ideas are interrelated. Facilitate visual imagery. Give students time to think. Suggest mnemonics for hard-to-remember facts.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STRATEGIES: Promoting Retrieval Provide opportunities to practice important knowledge and skills. Provide hints to help students recall and reconstruct information.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials of Educational Psychology, Second Edition Jeanne Ellis Ormrod STRATEGIES: Monitoring Students’ Progress Regularly assess students’ understandings. Identify and address students’ misconceptions. Focus assessments on meaningful learning rather than rote learning. Be aware of students who have unusual difficulty with certain cognitive processes: - learning disabilities - ADHA