P540 - Learning and Cognition

Unit 3: Cognitive information processing

Readings
Instructor notes
Web resources

Readings
Driscoll, Chapter 3, Chapter 9
Optional: Gredler, Chapter 7
Additional Reading: Coker, Donald R. and White, Jane. (1993) Selecting and applying learning theory to classroom teaching strategies. Education, Fall93, Vol. 114 Issue 1. (Available online through Academic Search Fulltext Elite. This brief article encourages teachers to adopt cognitivist, rather than behaviorist instructional strategies. Note that the authors' use of the term cognitivist is somewhat broader than the way we define it in this unit.)
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Instructor notes

Introduction to CIP
Unlike the other theories we have examined so far in this course, cognitive information processing (CIP) is not associated with the work of a single theorist; rather, it builds on the work of a number of researchers who share a common paradigm. Like the behaviorists, CIP theorists are concerned about observable behaviors; but, unlike behaviorists, they use those behaviors to make inferences about underlying mental processes that cannot be directly observed. (Note that in the diagram on page 77 of the text, there is a box labeled "Responses". That box represents the observable behaviors that CIP theorists use to make inferences about mental processes.)
CIP, at least in the way we will look at it in this course, is concerned with basic mental operations, mainly how we perceive and remember events and information. We will cover higher-level skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking in later units.

Three fundamental components of memory are proposed: the sensory register, short-term or working memory, and long-term memory.

The sensory register

In order for something to get into long-term memory, it must first "register" with us. The meaning we assign to sensory impressions depends on both our background knowledge and the context in which we experience something. As we've all experienced, our attention can be very selective. We can be reading a newspaper with the television on in the background. All of a sudden we realize that the news story is updating the story we read in the paper. We stop to listen. We were sensitized to the information because we had just read it, so we attend to it.

The role of context is obvious in language perception. For example, the word "tape" can have several meanings. But if I say, "I have to wrap a birthday present--do you know where the tape is?", most people would have no trouble perceiving that I'm looking for the roll of sticky stuff, not a video- or audiocassette. Also, you've probably had the experience of encountering someone who you recognize from one realm of your life (e.g., they work in your building) in another realm (e.g., at your daughter's soccer game). You may realize you know that person, but not be able to figure out why you know them. This is a context issue.

One of the problems that CIP researchers have wrestled with is, how do we recognize things? You should be familiar with the different theories of pattern recognition discussed in the text.

Short-term memory

After a sensory impression has registered, it then passes into short-term memory, or working memory. The capacity of short-term memory appears to be rather limited. We can hold only about 7 "chunks" of information in short-term memory at a time. Of course, the size of a chunk is relative, not absolute. We might have trouble managing 7 single words in a language that was not known to us, but might easily be able to manage 7 sentences in our own language. The difference is that the unknown words are meaningless to us, whereas the sentences in our own language are meaningful, and therefore don't require as much working capacity.

What happens to information while it is in working memory determines whether--and how--it will get stored in long-term memory. We can hold things in working memory for a while by "rehearsing" them. An example of this is when we repeat a phone number or person's name to ourselves just long enough to dial a number or make an introduction. After we've used the information, it will probably be lost to us.

To get information stored in long-term memory requires that it be "encoded" in some way. Encoding can be accomplished in several ways. "Mnemonics" are memory tricks we can use to remember lists of names, numbers, etc. Many CIP researchers have been fascinated with what mnemonics can tell us about how memory works; however, these strategies are not in great demand in instructional settings today, since we usually don't consider memorization to be a very important learning outcome. In the longer term, the kinds of encoding strategies that work best are those that emphasize meaningfulness. One way to do this, with text for example, is to make the organizational structure of the material apparent. That's why we use outlines, headings, and other kinds of textual "cues" to indicate major and minor ideas, show relationships among concepts, etc.

Long-term memory

Some important concepts in long-term memory:

Declarative vs. procedural knowledge. Knowing "that" Bill Clinton was elected President of the U.S. is quite different from knowing "how" to conduct a successful presidential campaign. Similarly, memorizing the seven steps in the negotiating process is very different from being able to use those steps to negotiate successfully.

Declarative knowledge can be broken down in to episodic and semantic memory, or memory for events versus memory for verbal information. We have an episodic memory for the automobile accident we were in 13 years ago, but we have only a semantic memory of the "fact" that Columbus landed in the New World in 1492 (unless we were there). Although, of course, we sometimes have an episodic memory of sitting in classes where we learned certain facts.

Verbal and imaginal representation in memory. Words that have concrete referents (and therefore can easily be "pictured") are more likely to be remembered than abstract words. So, if I read a list of 30 words and ask you immediately afterwards to write down as many as you can remember, you will probably be more successful with words such as "skyscraper", "baboon", and "rake", than with words such as "strategy", "reference", and "nominal".

Retrieval. The difference between a "recall" task and a "recognition" task is an important one in education. As a student, I always liked multiple choice tests. Why? Because they usually require only recognition of some term or definition, which is much easier cognitively than an essay-type exam, which typically involves free "recall" tasks. However, life rarely presents us with multiple-choice options, so if we want school tasks to resemble life tasks... Well, you get the point.

Encoding specificity. The best retrieval cues are the same as the cues used for encoding. For example, remember the diagram of the theory-building process on page 7 of your text? Suppose I told you to memorize that for an exam. According to the concept of encoding specificity, it would probably be easier for you to reproduce the steps in that chart if I gave you a blank version exactly like the original chart than if I simply told you to list the seven steps. That's because the form of the chart (circular, with arrows) serves as a retrieval cue for the information.

Forgetting. Some theorists contend that we never truly "lose" anything once it is stored in long-term memory (unless the brain is damaged in some way). If that is so, then when we forget something, it must either be the case that it was never actually encoded in the first place, or that the information is still there, but we can no longer retrieve it. So the phone number that we repeated just long enough to dial is forgotten because it never really got into long-term memory. The phone number that my family had when I was a child is probably still stored in my brain, but I can no longer retrieve it. Likely, this number has suffered from retroactive interference, because of all the phone numbers I have had to learn and remember since then. It could also be that we've lost the location of the information--sort of like losing a card out of the old card catalog library organizing system. The book is still on the library shelf, you just won't be able to find it anymore.

Some implications of CIP for instruction

(adapted from Driscoll and Cognitive Psychology and Instruction, 3rd edition, 1999, by Bruning, Schraw, and Ronning.)

Provide organized instruction. Make the structure and relations of the material evident to learners, such as through concept maps or other graphic representations.

Link new material with what is currently known. This provides a sort of mental "scaffolding" for the new material.

Recognize the limits of attention (sensory register). Help learners focus their attention through techniques such as identifying the most important points to be learned in advance of studying new material.

Recognize the limitations of short-term memory. Use the concept of chunking: don't present 49 separate items, make them 7 groups of 7. Use elaboration and multiple contexts.

Match encoding strategies with the material to be learned. For example, don't encourage the use of mnemonic techniques unless it's really essential to memorize the material. If you want it to be processed more "deeply", then find encoding strategies that are more inherently meaningful.

Provide opportunities for both verbal and imaginal encoding. Even though it's not clear whether these are really two different systems, it does appear that imaging can help us remember.

Arrange for a variety of practice opportunities. The goal is to help the learner generalize the concept, principle, or skill to be learned so that it can be applied outside of the original context in which it was taught.

Help learners become "self-regulated." Assist them in selecting and using appropriate learning strategies such as summarizing and questioning.

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Web resources
The Web Resources page has one site each for CIP and Ausubel.
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Comments: joalexan@indiana.edu