Cognitivism In the Classroom

We as teachers are life-long learners of not just our specific content area if we are teaching in secondary schools, but of all areas. The techniques and skills we learned as students are transferable to our students and their cognitive mindset of learning. This week's resources aimed at the understanding of how students retain information they have learned in various forms.


Dr. Michael Orey explains the various processing models that humans interpret resources daily. One method used is the Information Processing Model. An example of this would be the idea of "chunking" where in order to remember a list of ideas or concepts, students can break down this list into smaller groups and go from there. So instead of learning about all the different causes of the French Revolution, a teacher may break these causes down into economic, political and social. Dr. Orey also explains that cognitive learning theories play a role in student learning. They include short-term memory, elaboration, imagery and personal experiences (Orey, 2001). Utilizing these theories we can "connect to these pieces of information that we had been lacking" (Orey, 2001). 


Connecting these learning theories with instructional strategies is what solidifies as concrete growth and expansion of a student's awareness. Two aspects of instructional teaching that aims to involve these theories are note-taking and graphic organizers. 


With note-taking, the teacher's ability to focus on essential concepts and information and reinforce these ideas are what makes the information last. Utilizing color coded notes, mark ups that are able to highlight main ideas (via Microsoft Word) and beginning to brainstorm are great techniques that allow students to manipulate their learning. (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). I have used color coded note-taking and have highlighted key ideas in student notes that we complete as a class. Students also have the ability to use their own colored highlighters if they have them.


Graphic organizers are a huge help for teachers and students alike, especially for teaching the social sciences (History, economics, government). In helping to organize time lines, cause & effect and positive & negative types of differentiation among topics, graphic organizers "make sense of the content that they will cover that is not organized in its original form." (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007)

I believe a huge part of establishing and following through on these instructional strategies that have research to back up student learning is to expose teachers to the possibilities of using these resources in cohesion with technology. Doing so will allow teachers to flow from one portion of a lesson to another more easily. 


References


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010f). Program #: Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.