Unlike the behaviorist theory that focuses on rewarding desirable behavior and punishing undesirable behavior, cognitive theories focus on mental processes and memory.
Q: How do the instructional strategies we explored this week correlate with the principles of cognitive learning theory?
A: Cues, questions, and advance organizers focus on "enhancing students' ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic" (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 73). In other words, it focuses on memory. Power Point advance organinzers have been shown to help students retain "more information than those who did not receive this type of multimedia advance organizer" (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 82). Marzano et al. have shown that "higher-order questions produce deeper learning than lower-order questions do" (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 78). Deeper learning means better associations and connections to retreive the information later - i.e. memory (short-term to long-term).
A: Summarizning and note taking focus on "enhancing students' ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form" (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 119). This is a mental process, hence cognitive. Summarizing and note taking help students to "process information" and that is the Information Processing Model - a Cognitive Learning Theory.
A: One of the components of the Cognitive Learning Theories" is Concept Mapping. Concept mapping is a graphical way of "replicating a network model for a content area" (Laureate, 2009). The networking referred to is the networking of the brain and how it remembers things.
A: Virtual Field Trips are a powerful tool to "create episodes that you can tie to constructionistic activities that gives them (students) a basis to make rich connections" (Laureate, 2009). This episodic memory is a type of long-term memory.
So, as you can see, many of the instructional strategies described in the resources we explored correlate with the principles of cognitive learning theory.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Brain Research and Learning [Motion Picture]. CognitiveLearning Theories. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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Hello Sherry~ I enjoyed how you set up the blog this week. I also agree the tool of using a PowerPoint presentation or projects are beneficial to students. It can create a powerful image and visual information to make stronger connections when students are learning. The opportunity for students to be engaged on a higher level supports the content to be retained longer. Theses strategies are very powerful and I look forward to incorporating them more often within my classroom.
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very easy to follow. It was a great summary and a great review. I really enjoyed learning about virtual trips this week. It was a little different than what I expected but I certainly found a way to trigger student's interest and engagement after this weeks learning.
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