Cognitive Theories of Learning

 How information is received and processed in the mind is more difficult than I initially thought. Our brain is hard at work all the time, even when we don’t think it is. Information is constantly flooding our minds through our senses; however, what our brain does with the information is where the learning process gets complicated. There is a theory called the information-processing theory that is a cognitive theory of learning that describes the processing, storage, and retrieval of knowledge in the mind (Slavin, 2020). The information researchers have discovered about the brain is what helps teachers present information more effectively and efficiently to their students. As teachers, it is important that we understand how the brain retains information so that we can teach students to the best of our ability. When we are teaching our students, they are using the information-processing theory. This theory is made up of three components: the sensory register, working memory (or short-term memory), and long-term memory (Slavin, 2020). The first component is the sensory register. This is where stimuli from our five senses are taken in. The majority of these stimuli students will not remember during the learning process, but the stimuli that are important for any reason to the learner are then passed on to working memory or short-term memory. The working memory is where all the thinking takes place (Slavin, 2020). This part of the information-processing theory is where our students connect what they are learning with information they already know. If this connection does not happen and/or the student does not think the information is important, the information will be lost and not move to long-term memory. If the students do make a connection, the information gets stored. Thinking about all these steps that our brains have to take to process and learn information makes me reflect on how much thinking time and patience I had with my students throughout the year when I was teaching them new information. This is not an easy process. 

How this process plays out solely depends on the learner. The executive process can be conscious or unconscious, willed or unwilled. It all depends on what a person is interested in (Slavin, 2020). The student's motivation is a significant deciding factor in whether the information they are learning will be thought about long enough and be stored in long-term memory. This makes how deeply they learn information a choice because students consciously decide what is worth mental energy and then execute a plan to learn (Slavin, 2020). 

As a teacher, I have to make learning enjoyable and connect the new information with prior information that interests my students so that the new knowledge I am giving them will hopefully be retained through working memory and into long-term memory. Then, to add to that, students have a limited amount of attention, so in order to gain their attention, I will have to repeatedly communicate the same message so that the new information is continuously going into their working memory (Slavin, 2020). Another way I can help students process the information from their working memory to their long-term memory is through rehearsal. 

Rehearsal is the process of maintaining an item in working memory by repetition (Slavin, 2020). Rehearsal is a skill that I use in my classroom. Having students repeat the information they are learning helps keep it in their working memory longer so that it can be processed into their long-term memory once a connection has been made. Without the rehearsal of materials, students will not master what they are learning. As teachers, we have to repeat the information and ensure students understand the material before moving on to new materials. 

Once students connect the information they are learning with their background knowledge, that knowledge becomes long-term memory. According to scientists, we have unlimited amounts of room in our long-term memory and can store this information, possibly forever (Slavin, 2020). However, what we store is determined by how important it is to us as individuals. Therefore, as teachers, when we are teaching students, we have to make the information we are teaching interesting to students so that they want to remember the information. Long-term memory is divided into three categories: episodic, semantic, and procedural. Episodic memory refers to personal experiences, semantic memory refers to facts and general information, and procedural memory refers to the knowledge of how to do something (Slavin, 2020). For students to create these long-term memories, as teachers, we can use images, illustrations, schemata, and pairing stimuli to help students make these connections to remember information. 

Two other processes that help enhance long-term memory are the levels of processing theory and the dual code theory. Both theories prove that instructional strategies actively involving students in lessons contribute to long-term retention (Slavin, 2020). The level of processing theory states that the brain only retains the information that has been subjected to the most thorough processing (Slavin, 2020). Then, the dual code theory states that information that is stored in long-term memory is retained visually and verbally. Information that is stored in both ways is recalled better than information that is only stored in one way (Slavin, 2020). These processes help students process what we teach them in school and store that information. 

The last part of the reading that stood out to me was how complex the brain is and how it operates, as information enters through neurons. All parts of the brain are involved in all higher-order thinking and activity (Slavin, 2020). Therefore, when we teach students, it is important that we give them the time to absorb and practice the information we are teaching them, and teach them through meaningful learning. We can do this by distributing the learning over a period of time for them to master the knowledge. Strategies that I use in my classroom after reading the study strategies listed in the reading include practice tests, note taking, summarizing, writing to learn, and concept maps. These have been effective study strategies even for my third-grade students. 

This chapter contained a lot of information, but the majority of what I got from reading about cognitive learning theory is that how we teach our students and the strategies we use play a significant role in how much information students retain, process, and transfer to their long-term memory. 

References

Slavin, R. E. (2020). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (13th ed.).  Pearson Education.