Describe:
This week’s reading focused on information processing and cognitive
theories of learning. These theories help us as teachers to understand the way
that students think and learn. Information processing models help us to
understand what happens in the brain when students are learning, and help us to
better understand memory.
Everything that we learn first comes through the sensory
register. The sensory register takes in all that is around us and holds on to
the information for only a few seconds. If we decide that what is coming is
important then it is added to our working memory. In order to make something
important, attention has to be placed on it. Once something is registered as
important and it is paid attention to, it is moved to working memory. The
working memory has a limited capacity and is also known as short-term memory.
In the working memory, information is held onto for a few seconds before it is
either discarded or added to long term memory. The working memory needs repetition
in order to move information to long term memory. Therefore, it is wise to not
teach too much at once, but to teach a little, then ask questions and allow
students “think time” in order to process information and add it to their long
term data stores. Something important to remember about working memory,
however, is that all people have different experiences and background
knowledge. New information is placed into long term memory in what are schema. Schema
could be thought of like categories, the way in which our minds separate and
make sense of information. A well-developed schema is full of understanding and
the more understanding a person has about something, the better they will
receive new information and be able to hold onto it. A poorly developed schema
does not offer much background knowledge, and so new information is more
difficult to attain.
The long term memory is a fascinating web of the ways in
which we see and remember the world. Different facets of the long term memory
include episodic, semantic, and procedural memory. Episodic memory helps us to
remember by reminding us of where and when something happened or what we heard
or saw in a moment. Episodic memory is vivid, but is difficult for our minds to
retrieve as much of what goes on around us is filtered out by the sensory
register. Semantic memory is the closest to the way in which we learn in
school. Semantic memory connects concepts and terms and places them into schema
that are then easier to tap into because of associations. Procedural memory is
the memory that we rely on when driving a car or riding a bicycle. It is what
keeps our bodies from forgetting how to perform.
Our brains are made of complex neural networks and
information is stored in many different parts of the brain. Some parts of the
brain are harder to retrieve information from than others. We come into contact
with so much information every day, it is no wonder that we sometimes forget
where things are stored or how to get to a memory! Our brains are like super
computers, so why do we forget things? We forget things for a number of
reasons. We may not remember recently learned information because of
interference from too much new information with no opportunity to rehearse the
important new learning. Memories may also get pushed to the side because we
categorize them as unimportant in order to make room for something that is
important to us. Another way that we forget is through retroactive inhibition.
During retroactive inhibition, we learn new information, but it may be confused
with information we have already learned and so the new learning is inhibited
by previous learning.
In order to best teach students, it is important to
remember that the brain is complex. We must keep in mind that all students do
not have the same experiences and so they do not have the same schemas in their
minds. It is the task of the teacher, then to assess prior learning and to give
background information when necessary. It is also the job of the teacher to
help students to develop metacognition by offering them different ways of
practicing with information until each student know how they best learn. There
are many different techniques that teachers can use to enhance brain function
and it is critical that different ways are facilitated often.
Analyze:
This chapter shows teachers that
what goes on in the mind is more than just input and output. The brain is
comprised of neurological pathways that contain and transmit information every
second of every day. As students are developing, so is their style of learning.
Each student is different and no two brains are constructed in the exact same
manner.
My classmate Whitney wrote about how she often
learns by using a paired-associative strategy. This means that she learns best
when her mind uses more than one avenue for processing. This could be auditory
and visual or aural and kinesthetic. Many students, I believe, have minds that
work in a similar manner. It is to the teacher’s advantage and to the student’s
benefit when teachers demonstrate learning and facilitate information in more
than one way.
Reflect:
Significance
of the concept concerning the context my classroom…
I have
always thought that the inner workings of the mind were interesting, but until reading
this chapter, I did not fully understand how the brain worked. Although, after
reading this chapter it is also evident that the precise ways in which the
brain works are still not completely known. This concept of information
processing is critical to my classroom. In my classroom, there are 22 four and
five year olds. Each one of them is developing foundational skills and it is
important that they develop a foundation of knowledge on which to learn and
grow for the rest of their lives. The concept of background knowledge stands
out to me the most. Because my students come into the classroom knowing
virtually nothing but what goes on at home, I have to fill them up with
background knowledge and help them to develop schema about numbers, places,
people, letters, books, etc… Knowing that they learn in different ways will
also help me to remember to not always teach information in the same way just because
it is convenient for me.
Handling
a situation differently based on this learned information…
Having an understanding of the way information is
placed into long-term memory helped me to see that I need to give my students
more wait time before asking them an answer or calling on a student to give an
answer. It also pointed showed me that I may need to go back and summarize what
has been learned more often. In order to help students process information into
their memories, I need to have them repeat information in several different
ways. This could mean saying it to a friend, playing a game with it, or acting
it out. Pre-k students respond well to all of these sorts of information reinforcers.
My
learning confirmed my knowledge about teaching…
This week, my learning confirmed that all students
are different. I had not really thought about the brain’s connection to
background knowledge and how more background knowledge enabled deeper learning,
but it makes sense. If you have something to tie new information to and
especially if you have an experience to tie information to, it makes it easier
to learn, hold onto, and makes it more meaningful. I know that this is true for
me as well. I spent four years of college learning Spanish. No one in my family
spoke Spanish and the only people I knew who were Spanish speakers were only acquaintances.
This made the language difficult for me to learn. In my senior year of college,
however, I went to Spain and was immersed in the culture of Spain and I was
able to use the language in a meaningful way. If students have no experience
with a concept and it is completely foreign to them, then it is my job to give
them something meaningful to connect their new learning to.
How I
feel about the concept…
I feel that it is important that
teachers understand the complexities of the minds of the children that they are
teaching and what needs to happen in order for them to truly learn something.
All learning cannot be done in the same way, and this research proves that.
Each child is different, and those teachers who are unwilling to try something
new but are constantly frustrated with the results that they get from their
students should try a different technique. The reading from this week gives
many examples of the way in which we can engage students, their memories, and their
thinking to benefit their long term memory. I feel that it is critical for
teachers to try different techniques so that every child has the opportunity to
learn in the way that they best connect with.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology:
Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, M
No comments:
Post a Comment