Reflective Journal Entry #3 Chapter 6 “Information
Processing and Cognitive Theories of Learning”
Describe:
This chapter in the textbook was
all about how students learn. The brain
is something that can be difficult to understand. But, the author points out,
that research has been done to understand how the brain works and how brain processes
information. The author organized the information by asking several questions.
The first question is “What is an
information processing model?” The
author describes that this is a model that has three components on how the
brain stores information. First is the “sensory
register phase”. This is where the brain
brings in large amounts of information, but only holds it for a short time. In
order for it to become long term or permanent information, a person must pay
attention to it. Next, is the “short
term or working memory?” This phase is where information is brought into the
brain and stored in the working memory. This means the person is thinking about
it and rationalizing it. As soon as the person stops thinking about it, it is
lost. The final phase is the “long-term
memory” phase. This is where the brain
keeps things for long periods of time. The information has gone through the
first two stages, and stays. The memory
can either be episodic, semantic, or procedural.
The second question asked is, “What
is learned from research on the brain?”
Neurologists now have what is called an “fMRI” which stands for “functional
magnetic resonance imaging”. This is
where neurologists can actually watch human’s brains react to certain things
that they are experiencing. Different
parts of the brain react to different things.
One part of the brain processes language; another part processes
emotions, etc. Researchers have also
learned that not all learning is easy and that everyone learns different. Other research has shown that when you are
born you are not born with a certain amount of brain capacity, it matters what
you are exposed to and what you experience.
The third question in the text is “What
causes people to remember or forget?” There are several things that cause
someone to forget things or help them to remember. For instance, “interference” is where a
thought or piece of knowledge you already have gets mixed up with something
else. Maybe you learn a date to the Battle of Shiloh but you get it mixed up
with the date of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Another example the text uses is when children already know the letter “b”
and try to learn the letter “d”. “Proactive
inhibition” is where you are learning how to do something in a different way.
This can help someone remember something longer or better. There are also individual differences that
help people remember/forget. If a child has ADHD, they may have a harder time
remembering or focusing on certain facts.
The next question discussed in the chapter
is, “How can memory strategies be taught?”
There are several ways to help students remember concepts that they are
being taught. There are several types of
verbal learning that help. Paired-associate
learning, serial learning, and free-recall learning are all techniques that can
help students to remember thoughts/concepts.
“What makes information meaningful?”
This is the next question in the chapter.
Although rote-learning is sometimes looked down upon. The author does a great job explaining that
sometimes this type of learning is necessary. For example, when learning a new
language or about the scientific names of body parts, rote learning is
necessary and helpful. Meaningful
learning is another thing that helps make information meaningful. This is where the teacher relates information
to something the student already knows.
Schematic learning also fits into an existing “schema” to make learning easier.
The next question pertains to “metacognitive
skills”. Metacognition is a person
understands of how they learn.
Metacognitive skills are “thinking skills” or “study skills” that
students have to help them learn.
“What strategies help students
learn?” Is an important question toward the end of the chapter. This is where
what we have learned about the brain and memory, deals with how our students
are served in our classrooms. The author lists several strategies; practice
tests, note-taking, underlining, summarizing, writing to learn, and outline and
concept mapping. The author also lists “PQ4r”
as “the best known study technique”.
This stands for “preview, question, read, reflect, recite, and review”. This strategy helps students organize information
over time to where they can best understand it.
The final question in the chapter
is, “How do cognitive teaching strategies help students learn?” The best way to help students learn something
new is to relate it to something that they already know. There are several ways that this can be
done. A few that the author describes
are; advanced organizers, analogies, and elaboration. All of these relate the
new information being learned to something the students already know.
Analyze:
This
chapter had a lot of information in it that was very useful to educators. First, it is very important to know how the
brain works and how information is stored.
Many times as educators with “standards” to teach and follow, we get much
bogged down in “covering” all of the standards.
The research and reading from this chapter show us that if we put the
effort in at the beginning and really thoroughly teach the material, the
students are likely to retain the information longer. Making learning memorable means relating it
to the student’s real life. This is
often why we are asked by students, How will I ever use this”, or “what does
this have to do with my life”? By
beginning lessons with how the learning is relevant to your students, this will
already get the students more interested in what you are about to say.
This is
another reason why using different learning strategies is so important. Everyone’s brain works differently, but they
are also similar. This is why teachers
have to work their hardest to create lesson plans that not only relate to the student’s
life, but also relate to a number of different learning styles. This is one reason the author promotes the “PQ4R”
strategy. It relates to a variety of
different learning styles and also goes through a process that helps the brain
retain the concept longer.
Reflect:
This
chapter was very informative for me in reminding me how my students learn best
and the ways that they process information.
The concept of cognitive development and how students learn is very important
when considering that we are teaching the future businessmen, doctors, lawyers,
teachers, etc. We have to find ways to
teach students that they can understand and retain. Only lecturing a class is not going to help
them long-term, but using a variety of methods to teach them will help.
I think
that I can use this information to be a better teacher by applying the
techniques suggested by the author in the text.
First, I can be sure not to just touch the tip of the iceberg with my
students, but to make sure to teach the content fully by using a variety of
methods in each lesson. I can make a
goal to use at least three to five different learning strategies a day in a
lesson. I have learned that the more
input I put into a lesson the more my students will get out of it. Another way I can be a better teacher is by
spending more time actually learning how my students learn best, rather than
doing what is “easiest” or “most convenient” for me. This will give my students that long-term
memory and learning experience they need to do well in class and in life.
One way
I might look at things differently is by actually using a learning interest
inventory in my classroom at the beginning of each school year. This will help me to find out which ways my
students learn so that I am not using techniques that they do not respond to. The information in this chapter gave me a lot
of good ideas, in which I will be using next year in my classroom.
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