Cognitivist

**Team members:** Aneesa Abrahams Kola Aramide Ntoza Hlangani **1. Definition of Cognitivist Learning Theory** Cognitivism defines learning as the process of connecting symbols in a meaningful and memorable way. The theory describes how information is processed to produce learning through a change in learner's mental behaviour. The theory evolved out of Nativism school of thought that states that human basic knowledge and ideas are in-born and that the brain is structured architecturally so that it gradually with maturation identify objects, recognise them and relate with them. In other words the maturation of the brains and other parts of the body will determine the perception and identification of objects. Cognitivism believes in the Nature-Nurture synergy. Cognitivism emphasises changes in thought system influenced by internal structural system or the organised system. According to Lisa Fischer (About.com Guide) Cognitivism constitutes the thought processes of human beings. It attempts to look at how these thought processes influence how we understand and interact with the world.. Cognitives believed that knowledge of things are stored in the brain as symbols and they retrieved thus. This theory believes that most of the learning is internal and it focuses on gaining and maintaining the learner' through the use of rehearsals and visuals.The rehearsal and visuals are used to move the information into the memories. Cognitivists also believe in the use of reinforcement primarily as feedback. __**Main Assumptions:**__ } Learning results from internal mental activity and not from externally imposed stimuli } The learner comes with knowledge, skills and related experiences to the learning situation
 * Cognitivist Learning Theory**

Cognitivists view the human mind much like a computer. Information is entered, analyzed, made useful, and used.


 * Assumes that human brains are perceived to operate analogously to a computer or an ‘information-processor’ (Newell, 1990).
 * A learner’s mind is perceived to contain components of short-term and long-term memories, plus a working memory.
 * The assumption is that learning is about how information is received, processed and stored

__**Two Important Terms Associated With Cognitivism**__
 * Schema is a term that is used to identify acquired knowledge
 * Schemata are sets of physical actions, mental operations, or concepts that increase in complexity as learning occurs.

◦ Acquiring new information ◦ Transforming old information to fit a particular task ◦ Evaluating or measuring to see whether the transformed information works
 * There are three important processes when it comes to cognitive learning, which include**

media type="custom" key="10062675" **2. Key principles of Cognitivist Learning Theory ** The principles of cognitive learning theory suggest (a) People are active, (b) Learning and development depend on learners' experiences, (c) Learners construct understanding, (d) Prior knowledge influences knowledge construction, and (e) Learning requires a social environment, practice, and feedback. **3. Key theorists in Cognitivist Learning Theory ** } Robert Gagne (1916-2002) ◦ Concepts build on one another ◦ Building Block Principle:  Verbal Information (base)  Intellectual Skills (midsection)  Cognitive Strategies (midsection)  Motor Skills (midsection)  Attitudes (apex)

**Howard Gardner (1943-)** ◦ Theory of Multiple Intelligences:  People use 8 different intelligences to understand the world:  Linguistic-verbal  Logical-mathematical  Spatial-visual  Body-kinesthetic  Musical  Interpersonal  Intrapersonal  Naturalist


 * Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999) **

} Most famous for creating Bloom’s Taxonomy

◦ Six levels ranging simple to complex

◦ Used to acquire knowledge about a subject:  Knowledge  Comprehension  Application  Analysis  Synthesis  Evaluation



} The original taxonomy has now been [|revised] to make provision for the new [|knowledge and skills]that now exist as a result of the integration of web 2.0 tools in teaching <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Verbal and Visual combinations help people recall information <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Dual Coding Theory  People process information in two ways:  Images  Language  Three sub categories:  Representational-  Referential- nonverbal cues activate verbal processes (or vice versa)  Associative- Both text and graphics are used for mental recognition Jerome Bruner
 * Allan Paivio (1925-) **
 * He was born October 1, 1915 in New York City. Bruner received his A.B. from Duke University in 1937 and his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1941.
 * He was formally a professor of Psychology at Harvard University (1952-1972) and Oxford (1972-1980).
 * Currently he is at the New York University of Law.
 * In 1960, he wrote The Process of Education, which emphasizes curriculum innovation grounded in theories of cognitive development.
 * **Bruner asserts that learning is an active process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge.** []
 * Implications for the Classroom**

} Learning is the process of relating new information with what was previously learnt } Learning is cumulative } Learners should be assigned tasks that are age and stage appropriate


 * In the cognitive learning theory, learners learn by listening, watching, touching, reading or experiencing.
 * Learners use their prior knowledge and build on their schema as they need the information
 * When a learner is learning they place information in files that are stored in a “filing cabinet” in the brain. When new information is gained, a “new file” is created.

} As an educator: <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Without Technology:  Visual aids like posters and physical objects can be used to reinforce concepts <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ With Technology:  Visual aids can be used again  Powerpoints  Document Cameras  Interactive tools that challenge students past the basics  Smart boards  CPS Clickers } As a student: <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Without Technology:  Students are supposed to push themselves to think critically  Build on the concepts they’ve already learned via traditional avenues <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ With Technology:  Students are encouraged to test their theories and hypothesis  Smart boards  Virtual programs


 * Usefulness of Cognitivism**

} Cognitive theory is useful and logical in explaining and offering insight into the learning process.

} It can be used to highly promote the use of technology in the classroom because it emphasizes individuality in leaning processes.

} Cognitivists believe that learning difficulties often indicate ineffective or inappropriate cognitive processes; this indicates that learners who are doing poorly either don’t have methods to learn effectively or they are inappropriately using the schemata they have acquired.

} **Instructor** <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Teacher-centered with student input <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Help learners memorize information <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Organize information <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Connect to prior knowledge } **Learner** <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Learners motivated when event, object, or experience conflicts with what already know
 * Roles**

} People control their own learning. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Educational software can help students maintain their own pace and learn in a way that is best for them. } People organize what they learn. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Graphical User Interfaces are helpful in modeling mental organization techniques. } New information is most easily acquired when people can associate it with things they have already learned. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">◦ Those who are extensively computer literate should be able to learn foreign ideas easier through interaction with educational software programs. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Analysis of the learning theory of Ausubel ** Ausubel's theory is concerned with how individuals learn large amounts of meaningful material from verbal/textual presentations in a school setting (in contrast to theories developed in the context of laboratory experiments). According to Ausubel, learning is based upon the kinds of super ordinate, representational, and combinatorial processes that occur during the reception of information. A primary process in learning is subsumption in which new material is related to relevant ideas in the existing cognitive structure on a substantive, non-verbatim basis. Cognitive structures represent the residue of all learning experiences; forgetting occurs because certain details get integrated and lose their individual identity. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">According to Ausubel's theory on behaviour is explained in terms of attitudes, ideas, information, experiences and perceptions while learning is viewed as a change in knowledge and understanding due to a reorganization of past experiences and information. Ausubel's Meaningful Reception theory emphasizes that how quickly and thoroughly one learns depends on:
 * Educational Implications in Relation to Technology**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">n the description of meaningful learning, Ausubel theory emphasise that:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">how closely linked new and old information are,
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">and nature of relationship established between new and old information (e.g. if info is perceived as artificial, data quickly forgotten, hence the need to make it meaningful
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Learning: Learning as an internal mental process including insight, information processing and memory perception
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Meaningful learning as oppose to rote learning: Meaningful learning involves learning that is tied to previous knowledge and is understood well enough to be manipulated, paraphrased, and applied to novel situations while rote learning involves verbatim memorisation and not accompanied by understanding of terms:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Meaningful engagement such as posing and answering meaningful questions about concepts, making analogies, or attempting to apply the concepts or theories to solve problems is necessary for deeper and long lasting learning
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Prior knowledge forms the basis of learning. Present experience is always fitted into what the learner already knows
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Subsumption theory: this explains the fact that instructional materials should integrate new material with previously material. New and old ideas should be compared and cross-referenced. When a new idea enters the consciousness it is processed and classified under one or more of the inclusive concepts already existing in the learners cognitive structure.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use of advance organiser in facilitating learning. Organizers help to bridge the gap between what is already known and what is to be learned. "The learning and retention of unfamiliar but meaningful verbal material can be facilitated by the advance introduction of relevant subsuming concepts". Organizers are particularly useful when learners do not already possess the relevant concepts needed in order to integrate new information into their cognitive systems.
 * Stressed the importance of **active** mental participation in **meaningful** learning tasks
 * Learning must be meaningful to be effective and permanent
 * Made a distinction between **meaningful** learning and **rote** learning
 * **Meaningful Learning** – relatable to what one already knows so it can be easily integrated in one’s existing cognitive structure
 * **Rote Learning** – the material to be learnt is not integrated / subsumed into an existing cognitive structure but learnt as isolated pieces of information


 * Implications for Classroom**
 * Teacher has to enhance the meaningfulness of new material to increase the chances of its being anchored to what is already known
 * New material must be organized to be easily relatable to what is already known
 * New material must be appropriately sequenced to facilitate integration
 * Use of **advance organizers.** These facilitate the learning process by providing ideas to which the new knowledge can be attached
 * Introductory material presented in advance of the new material
 * Information that activates relevant background knowledge
 * Material that orients learners to the subject matter and relates new learning to what is already known
 * Can take the form of textual material, pictures, titles, topic summaries, questions


 * Attention should be given to:**
 * The need to organize and structure **meaningful** learning activities.
 * The requirements of the task must be appropriate to the developmental stage (Piaget, Bruner) and allow for the development of HOTS (Bloom)

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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 115%;">Principles: <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 115%;">1. The most general ideas of a subject should be presented first and then progressively differentiated in terms of detail and specificity. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 115%;">2. Instructional materials should attempt to integrate new material with previously presented information through comparisons and cross-referencing of new and old ideas.


 * 5.** Raise some of the **key critiques** of this theory

Cricism of Advance organiser <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. The most pervasively voiced criticism of advance organizers is that their definition and construction are vague and, therefore, that different researchers have varying concepts of what an organizer is and can only rely on intuition in constructing one-since nowhere, claim the critics, is it specified what their criteria are and how they can be constructed"(Barnes, B. R. & Clawson, 1975; Hartley & Davies, 1976).  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"The organizers are reported to contain nothing which could be directly helpful in answering posttest questions. Instead Ausubel believes that organizers facilitate retention in an indirect manner by providing "ideational scaffolding." The weak link in the argument is that none of the studies thus far have included controls to show that the organizer alone does not improve performance. Therefore the possibility remains that the organizers have a direct rather than an indirect effect." The fact that Advance organiser facilitated learning was disputed by Barnes and Clawson (1975) as they concluded that advance organiser as presently constructed do not facilitate learning.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Also, though many find advance organizers to be a useful tool for teaching students new concepts when they do not have previous knowledge of a concept, there are those who feel that advance organizers are not beneficial, especially to students who have a good understanding of concepts and do come with previous knowledge. Although it is seen that advance organizers do not benefit these good students, they may benefit slower learners and those that do not have a wide knowledge of topics available to them (Mayer, 2003).

Relate this specific theory to the use of ICTs in Education by refering to at least one researcher (e.g. Novak & Canas 2008) who has used this theory and providing an:
 * 6. Relation of Ausubel's learning theory to the use of ICTs in Education**



Use of Concepts Maps in Teaching and learning
 * explanation of a good example of how this theory has been appropriated to support learning in a technology-enhanced activity or program [[image:Good_Map.JPG]]


 * explanation of a poor example of how this theory has been appropriated to support learning in a technology-enhanced activity or program



Make recommendations on where this theory may provide a useful explanation for how learning occurs when using particular ICT tools in specific ways. You can refer back to one researcher (e.g.Novak & Canas 2008) or draw on others, just remember to provide references! media type="youtube" key="dwl08n7ZlcE?version=3" height="234" width="383"
 * 7. Recommendations of where this theory may provide a useful explanation for how learning occurs when using particular ICT tools in specific ways**

Barnes, B.R. and Claeson, E.U. (1975). Do advance organisers facilitate learning? Recommendations for further research based on analysis of 32 studies. //Review of Educational Research,// 45, 637-659 Hartley, J. and Davies, I.K. (1976). Presinstructional strategies: The role of pretests, behavioural objectives, overviews and dvance organisers. //Review of Educational Research,// 46, 239-265 Mayer, R. (2003) Learning and Instruction. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
 * 8. References**

concept maps <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Joseph D. Novak] & [|Alberto J. Cañas]