Cognitivism in Practice

I feel it is important that educators know the key aspects of cognitivism in order to apply them to the learning of their students. First, educators must know that seven, plus or minus two, new pieces of information can be stored in short term memory. Educators should try to provide an episodic experience when possible so students can have en experience to connect new information to. Educators should elaborate information and also remember to use images effectively. The images used should be relevant to the topic or information learned.

With these important aspects of the cognitivism learning theory in mind, I can see how the use of ques, questions, and advanced organizers as well as summarizing and note taking would embed technology into the theory. First, through the use of ques and questions, teachers are helping students make connections to the information they are learning. Teachers may ask a question or use a que that will assist with a student's information retrieval. Dr. Orey noted in the video resource that if a student cannot remember an answer for a test, it is not that they forget the answer, instead they have forgotten how or where to retrieve it. Also, through the use of questioning teachers are able to incorporate higher level thinking that may allow students to apply the information. Through the use of advanced organizers, students are able to map out information just as their brain does, making the connections needed to retrieve the information. Within the advanced organizers, students and teachers can effectively use images that may aide in making a connection to the new information. Within an organizer, the teacher can also limit the amount of new information given by remembering that short term memory holds seven plus or minus two new pieces of information. Through the use of technology the teacher might preset a concept map that only has room for seven new pieces of learning. Also, with technology, students can enter relevant images by searching the internet that will allow them to connect their new learning to an image or experience.

Cognitivism connects with summarizing and note taking as well. I know these affect me as a learner in a big way. Summarizing is very helpful for me to remember important information. If I have a lengthy article to read, I find myself often getting lost in the minute details rather than the big picture. I feel then I miss the major points of the article and what it truly important. By highlighting the main points and writing notes in the margin, I am able to pick out points that I need to remember in order to understand the main focus of my learning. By incorporating technology into this, I feel students would be more willing to take accurate notes, as long as they are taught how. This may not be true for students who are not experienced with technology and their typing skills. I know that if I was a slow typist, I would not want to put my notes on a computer. However, with many of the programs available, notes are more easily accessible and can be shared through numerous commuinication programs such as blogs and wikis.