Memory and Learning part 1: Information-Processing
In an effort to move the information that I am learning about learning theory into my long term memory I am elaborating, rehearsing and organizing the following information.
There are 4 main theories of learning I will be discussing. These are
By the end of this analysis, I will compare and contrast these 4 theories and mention a few others that have been thrown into the mix.
Let's dive into Information-Processing theory. This is largely about the cognitive process involved in learning and memory and how people process information.
According to Crash Course guy, memory is defined as:
Memory-learning that has persisted over time, information that has been stored and in many cases recalled. It involves:
Recall. Recognition. Relearning
Recall-retrieval of information learned earlier. (fill in the blank tests)
Recognition-Person need only identify previously learned terms (multiple choice)
Relearning-refreshing or reinforcing old information (study for exam, reviewing)
There are 3 components:
Sensory register, working memory and long-term memory
Sensory register-involves the 5 senses interacting with the environment and is held for a second or or 2. The sensation is lost if we do not pay attention to it.
Working memory-(aka short term memory) includes the Phonological Loop (acoustic information like speech, written words spoken in you mind) and the Visuospatial Sketchpad (visualizing). These 2 interact with the Central Executive which decides if the information goes into long term storage and prioritizes when multitasking (driving and talking). We can generally only old 5-7 chunks of information or less in our working memory before it is overwhelmed the and information is lost.
Long-term memory- It is believed the more information we have stored on a particular topic the easier it is to remember new information about that topic. The more deeply we process information, the more we connect it with what we already know, the more likely we are to move that information into our long term memory.
There are 2 types of Knowledge:
Semantic vs Procedural
Semantic- Knowledge of words and word combinations. One must listen, store, recall.
Procedural- knowing how to do something, motor behavior or enacting scripts
Automaticity- tasks carried out by 'muscle memory' (second nature). An automatic response, pattern or habit resulting from learning, repetition, and practice. The ability to do things without occupying the mind with low-level details required. Ex: walking, speaking, driving a car.
Q1: Based on what we know about working memory, why is a textbook an important supplement to teacher lectures? Focus on the limited capacity of working memory in your explanation.
Note: Working memory space is limited, math skills need to be more automatic.
Q4: You are introducing a unit on the Far East in your world history class. You present information outlining the impact of religion on life in Japan in the early 20th century, exploitation by the British and other Western nations, the indignation Japan felt after World War I, Japan's overpopulation and scarce natural resources in the 1920s and 1930s, and how all these factors led to Japan's decision to attack the United States. The students seem interested, watching you attentively as you present the information.
However, the next day when you begin your review of the previous day's information, it's as if they hadn't listened after all. Using your understanding of working memory as a basis, explain what may have happened.
Answer:
Consider the processes involved in moving information from working memory to long-term memory. You have introduced a great deal of information in the lesson—religion, exploitation, indignation, overpopulation, scarce natural resources—and how all the details of these factors led to the Japanese attack on the United States. Because the students seemed attentive, it is likely that their working memories were overloaded, and rather than being able to encode the information into long-term memory, it was lost from their working memories.
Note: Working memories only hold at most 5-7 chunks of information, maybe less. Mini lectures are more effective with brain breaks and processing of information.
Working ---> Long term Memory
Crash course: The Growth of Knowledge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSycdIx-C48
Crash course: How we make memories
comprehension monitoring- the process of checking oneself to be sure one understands and remembers newly acquired information.
cognitive modeling- demonstrating how to think about as well as how to do a task.
encoding- changing the format of information being stored in the memory in order to remember it more easily.
There are 4 main theories of learning I will be discussing. These are
- Information-Processing Theory
- Behaviorism
- Constructivism
- Social Learning Theory
By the end of this analysis, I will compare and contrast these 4 theories and mention a few others that have been thrown into the mix.
Let's dive into Information-Processing theory. This is largely about the cognitive process involved in learning and memory and how people process information.
According to Crash Course guy, memory is defined as:
Memory-learning that has persisted over time, information that has been stored and in many cases recalled. It involves:
Recall. Recognition. Relearning
Recall-retrieval of information learned earlier. (fill in the blank tests)
Recognition-Person need only identify previously learned terms (multiple choice)
Relearning-refreshing or reinforcing old information (study for exam, reviewing)
There are 3 components:
Sensory register, working memory and long-term memory
Sensory register-involves the 5 senses interacting with the environment and is held for a second or or 2. The sensation is lost if we do not pay attention to it.
Working memory-(aka short term memory) includes the Phonological Loop (acoustic information like speech, written words spoken in you mind) and the Visuospatial Sketchpad (visualizing). These 2 interact with the Central Executive which decides if the information goes into long term storage and prioritizes when multitasking (driving and talking). We can generally only old 5-7 chunks of information or less in our working memory before it is overwhelmed the and information is lost.
Long-term memory- It is believed the more information we have stored on a particular topic the easier it is to remember new information about that topic. The more deeply we process information, the more we connect it with what we already know, the more likely we are to move that information into our long term memory.
There are 2 types of Knowledge:
Semantic vs Procedural
Semantic- Knowledge of words and word combinations. One must listen, store, recall.
Procedural- knowing how to do something, motor behavior or enacting scripts
Automaticity- tasks carried out by 'muscle memory' (second nature). An automatic response, pattern or habit resulting from learning, repetition, and practice. The ability to do things without occupying the mind with low-level details required. Ex: walking, speaking, driving a car.
Q1: Based on what we know about working memory, why is a textbook an important supplement to teacher lectures? Focus on the limited capacity of working memory in your explanation.
Answer:
Because working memory has a limited capacity, it is likely that students “miss” some of the presentation. In other words, the information may get into sensory memory but not be processed in the phonological loop because it’s already full. Some information is thus lost. A textbook is useful for students to fill in the gaps, providing additional knowledge to supplement their schemes. It’s also possible that pictures in a text will engage the visuospatial sketchpad component of working memory, whereas lectures may engage only the phonological loop.
Note: Lectures with pictures (slideshows) improve learning as do physical objects to touch and movement.
Q2: Students with good vocabularies have important advantages in listening to lectures over those whose vocabularies are limited. What is one of these advantages?
Answer:
First, many of the word meanings will be automatic for students with good vocabularies, which frees working memory space that can be focused on processing the information in the lecture. Second, language and concepts are linked, so more of the content of the lectures may be meaningful to students with large vocabularies—they will be able to attach the content of the lectures quickly to their already existing schemas.
Note: A broad based knowledge allows for more connections to previous knowledge. This question would be the answer to "why do we need to learn yet more grammar?! The answer being when you don't have to research each word being used you can grasp the overall concepts easier and quicker and more meaningful"
Q3: Two high school teachers were discussing their classes. The physics teacher commented, “I'm having a terrible time. The kids seem to understand the problems when I explain them, but they get wrapped up in their algebra when they try to do the problems on their own, so they wind up confused.”
Why are the physics students having difficulty? Include the concept of automaticity in your explanation.
Answer:
Too much working memory space is taken up by the algebraic manipulations involved in the problems, as evidenced by the teacher's comment “They get wrapped up in the algebra,” leaving inadequate space for them to process the physics concepts involved. To overcome the difficulty, the algebra skills need to be automatic, so the amount of working memory space they occupy is reduced, leaving more working memory that can be devoted to the physics in the problems.
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Note: Working memory space is limited, math skills need to be more automatic.
Q4: You are introducing a unit on the Far East in your world history class. You present information outlining the impact of religion on life in Japan in the early 20th century, exploitation by the British and other Western nations, the indignation Japan felt after World War I, Japan's overpopulation and scarce natural resources in the 1920s and 1930s, and how all these factors led to Japan's decision to attack the United States. The students seem interested, watching you attentively as you present the information.
However, the next day when you begin your review of the previous day's information, it's as if they hadn't listened after all. Using your understanding of working memory as a basis, explain what may have happened.
Answer:
Consider the processes involved in moving information from working memory to long-term memory. You have introduced a great deal of information in the lesson—religion, exploitation, indignation, overpopulation, scarce natural resources—and how all the details of these factors led to the Japanese attack on the United States. Because the students seemed attentive, it is likely that their working memories were overloaded, and rather than being able to encode the information into long-term memory, it was lost from their working memories.
Note: Working memories only hold at most 5-7 chunks of information, maybe less. Mini lectures are more effective with brain breaks and processing of information.
Working ---> Long term Memory
- Rehearsal
- Meaningful learning (new info hooked to what already know)(KnowWonderLearned)
- Elaboration
- Organization
- Visual Imagery
- Mnemonics
Crash course: The Growth of Knowledge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSycdIx-C48
Crash course: How we make memories
comprehension monitoring- the process of checking oneself to be sure one understands and remembers newly acquired information.
cognitive modeling- demonstrating how to think about as well as how to do a task.
encoding- changing the format of information being stored in the memory in order to remember it more easily.
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