Sensory and Working Memories Reviewing Behaviorism Information Processing Memory Test your perception—top down or bottom up.

Questions from Chapter 1 “Education today reflects behaviorism’s influence” Do you agree? What are some examples? How and why did behaviorism fall short? What events contributed to the rise of cognitive theory? What are the cognitive themes for education?

Cognitive Themes Learning is a constructive process. Mental frameworks organize memory and guide thought. Extended practice is needed to develop cognitive skills. Development of self-awareness and self- regulation are critical to cognitive growth. Motivation and beliefs are integral to cognition.

And…Cognitive Themes Social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development. Knowledge, strategies and expertise are contextual.

General Questions to be answered. How do learners focus their attention on certain elements in the world? How do learners acquire information and store and retrieve it? How does cognition change and develop? What role do learners goals/beliefs play in cognition? How do learners use their processes in solving problems and what educational practices foster reflective thought?

Information Processing Origins Basic Model Terminology Applications

Characteristics of Modal Model (p.16) Memory systems are functionally separate. Attention is limited. Processes are both controlled and automatic. Meaning is constructed

Terminology StoresProcesses MetacognitiveChunking EncodingAutomaticity RehearsalOrganization RepetitionElaboration STMLTM Declarative K.Procedural K.Episodic K. AttentionPerception Bottom up processesTop down processes FramingCognitive Flexibility Schemas

Sensory Memory and Perception Briefly holds stimuli in sensory registers so that perceptual analysis can occur before information is lost Perception is a top down and bottom up process Sensory Registers: –Visual register, limited to 7-9 pieces of information and rapid decay –Sperlings partial report procedure—subject’s recall fades with time although all letters were registered. –Auditory register, Auditory register: as cue delay increases, performance decreases. Sperlings study supports that info. lasts 0.5 in the icon and over 3 seconds in the echo.

Implications for teaching Limit the amount of information. Present information visually and auditorilly. What about learning styles? Does this fit in somewhere?

Knowledge and Context in Perception Prior knowledge influences perception Knowledge organized in schema to affect perception. How did your prior knowledge affect your perception in a problematic way?

Attention! Can you do more than two things at once? Resource-limited tasks (need to allocate attention) Data-limited tasks (need more information) Examples? Automatic Processes (the heart of performance) Novice-Competent-Expert Performance continues with practice

Working Memory 7+2 chunks of information Forgetting is commonly due to interference or new information being presented rather than decay (passage of time) Sternberg’s study Accessing information: Serial (one by one) and Parallel searching (simultaneous is a better word) Self-terminating or exhaustive Conclusion; subjects search in a serial exhaustive manner (took longer and was automated not controlled)

More on Working Memory Executive control system –-Visual-spatial sketch pad (holds visual information in WM to perform computations) –-Articulatory Loop (holds auditory info.) WM is the place where meaning is made! What we know has a direct impact on WM WM is domain specific not general WM is essential for self-regulation WM develops over time: use and development

Working Memory and Learning Cognitive Load –-Intrinsic (cannot be changed) and Extraneous Load presentation or organization) Three constraints on efficient learning - Leaner characteristics (capacity, knowledge, automatization -Information structure and complexity -Instructional environment, scaffolding, organization. Example? Essential (critical) and Incidental Processes (not critical) Representational holding for processing What about the quality of processes?

Implications for Instruction Encourage selective focus. Automaticity through practice. Build on what learners know. Self-regulation of processing. Consider resource and data limitations. Presenting to one modality to reduce load.