cognition

• action of knowing
• study of cognition is the study of processes
• cognition can be seen as faculties - different mental activities that we are capable of

• views person as an active processor of information
• emphasizes conceptual understanding
• advocates for use of strategies to facilitate meaningful learning

• encoding - the process by which information is put into memory through conversion of sensation into neural impulse
• storage - process of maintaining or keeping information in memory
• retrieval - process of recovering stored information

• orienting response - focusing of our attention that directs the flow of information into the information processing system

• emotion
• surprise
• complexity
• ambiguity
• incongruity
• novelty
• commands/signals
• shift sensory channels

• memory storage system that temporarily holds current or recently attended-to information for immediate or short-term use

• extremely fragile
• bottle neck to the human memory system
• influenced largely by duration, capacity, and rehearsal

Sternberg’s paradigm (1966)

• subjects given set of digits to remember, then were asked whether a given digit was in the set
• interested in speed with which his subjects could make the judgement as a function of the size of the set
• negative probes versus positive probes
• proposed 38 msec was time required to consider one item in list

• Activation of stored information that is needed to process conscious memory

• the memory storage system that keeps a relatively permanent record of information

• repetition
• repetition
• elaboration
• imagery
• synethesia - encoding of information through linkages among sensory systems

• procedural - the long term memory system that contains memories of how to perform particular actions or skills

• episodic - memory of specific events, objects, and situations
• semantic memory - memory of ideals, rules, and general concepts about the world

• contemporary views of long-term memory are associationistic
• all pieces of information stored in long term memory are directly or indirectly related to one another
• we relate and organize long term memories uniquely because our experiences are different yet, the organizational schemes we use share common features

• explicit memory - memory for specific events, a conscious, voluntary, active storage of memories that is relatively easily accessed
• implicit memory - memory form events that occurs passively, without deliberate attempt to learn or remember event - "unconscious memory"

• meanings are storied as propositions - small units of knowledge concerning relationships among objects or events
• proposition - smallest unit of knowledge that can stand as a separate statement or assertion and be judged as being either true or false

• Jessica has an uncle.
• Jessica adores the uncle.
• The uncle owns a Camry.
• The Camry is blue.

schema theory

• explains both episodic and semantic memory
• long term memories are stored in a cognitive structure that organizes knowledge about an event or an object and that affects the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information related to it

• information is processed in different ways, to different extents, and at different levels, depending on the degree of analysis
• supports superior encoding of information

• knowledge is stored in connected of neural networks with many operations taking place simultaneously and at many locations in the brain

• process of searching and finding information in long term memory
• recognition and recall

• retrieval of pieces of information based on their relatedness to one another

• process that makes use of logic, cues, and other knowledge to construct a reasonable answer by filling in missing pieces

• primacy effect - more accurate recall of items that were presented first in a series
• recency effects - more accurate recall of items presented last in a series

• capacity is unlimited
• information is stored in different ways - language, visual imagery, and semantically
• information is rarely stored in long-term memory exactly as it was received
• information is organized - related pieces of information tend to be associated together
• duration of information is unknown, some theorists believe information is always there, other believe some information can disappear

• thinking about your own thinking
• can examine what we know and how we learn
• can monitor our cognitive processes

• method of loci - items are associated with landmarks in a familiar place and then recalled in a mental walk from one landmark to another

• keyword - system of associating new words or concepts with similar sounding cue words
• two stages - new information presented and then associated with known and similar word
• imagery - a mental representation of objects that may take several forms and aids in remembering the objects

• sequential ordering of instructional events
• Ellen Gagne - simple to complex
• Ausubel - top down - use of advance organizers that introduces students of a relationship for higher-level concept broad enough to encompass all the information that will follow

• emphasizes importance of experience and individual interactions with information

• learners actively construct meaning for themselves from presented material
• information processing strategies are elicited

• encourages posing of questions which leads to experimentation and discovery

• "If we remembered everything, we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing." William James (1890)

• forgetting - inability to retrieve previously stored information
• early research conducted by Hermann Ebbinghaus - proposed method of savings - relearning

• decay - fading away of memories over time
• interference theory - forgetting results from some memories’ interfering with the ability to remember other memories - proactive and retroactive interference
• motivation theory - more likely to forget emotionally upsetting experiences

• cue-dependence theory - forgetting because of failure to use adequate retrieval cues
• state dependent memory - effect on recall of the similarity between a person’s state during encoding and during retrieval
• context dependent

• meaningful learning is more effective than rote learning
• meaningful learning can occur only when the learner has relevant prior knowledge to which new material can be related
• the internal organization of a body of information facilitates its storage and retrieval
• in most situations, elaboration facilitates storage and retrieval
• occasionally, elaboration leads to the learning of misinformation

• information that must be retrieved within a particular context should be stored within that context
• repetition, while not especially effective as a means of storing information, promotes easier retrieval when used over the long run
• students memories will probably never be totally reliable records of information

• survey
• question
• Read
• Recite
• Review

• Previously learned responses are used in new situations
• theory of identical elements - the more similar the old and new situations are, the easier the transfer

• Positive transfer - learning on one situation facilitates learning or performance in another situation
• negative transfer - when something learned in one situation hinders a person’s ability to learn or perform in a second situation

• specific transfer - the original learning tasks and the transfer task overlap in content
• general transfer - original task and the transfer task are different in content

• meaningful learning promotes better transfer than rote learning
• the more thoroughly something is learned, the more likely it is to be transferred to a new situation
• principles are more easily transferred than knowledge

• the more similar two situations are, the more likely it is that what is learned in one situation will be applied to the other situation
• numerous and varied examples and opportunities for practice increase the extent to which information and skills will be applied in new situations
• the sooner the better (time of new and transfer skill)

• preparation - defining the problem and gathering information relevant to its solution
• incubation - thinking about the problem at unconscious level while doing other things
• inspiration - having a sudden insight into the solution of the problem
• verification - checking to be certain that the solution is correct

• well defined problem - one for which goals and givens are clearly stated, all necessary information for solving is presented and an algorithm exists for problem solution
• ill defined - one in which the desired goals is ambiguous, some information necessary for problem solving is lacking and not relevant algorithm exists

• IDEAL - five critical cognitive processes
• identify, defining, mental representation, exploration, action, looking and learning

• good ability to classify problem type
• problems are well represented
• have established routines

• have students attention
• help students separate essential from nonessential details and focus on the most important information
• help students make connections between new information and what they already know
• provide for repetition and review
• present material in clear, organized way
• focus on meaning

• Craik, F.I.M. and Lockhart, R.S. (1972). Levels of processing: a framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 11, 671-684.
• Anderson, J.R. and Reder, L.M. (1979). An elaborative processing explanation of depth of processing. In L. Cermak and F. Craik (Eds.), Levels of processing in human memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Sternberg, S. (1966). High speed scanning in human memory. Science, 153, 652-652.
• Wallas, G. (1926). The art of thought.