Cognitivism in Practice

Cognitive learning theory attempts to explain the processes through which new information is incorporated by learners into their existing understanding of the world (Novak & Cañas, 2008). The goal of formal education is to create experiences that facilitate this assimilation. Instructional strategies and technologies that support this purpose take many forms, but should reflect deliberate application of relevant learning theories. In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) discuss two instructional strategies that reflect cognitive learning theory and technologies that support them.

Chapter four of Pitler et al.’s (2007) book, “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” examines strategies that help learners “retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (p. 73). Cues and questions offer reminders that help students recall prior knowledge in order to prepare them to connect that prior knowledge to new information in an imminent learning experience. This strategy employs Ausubel et al.’s notion that authentic learning occurs when new ideas are assimilated into the learner’s existing cognitive structure (Novak & Cañas, 2008). According to Pitler et al. (2007), Ausubel developed advance organizers to help students organize and comprehend new information, particularly when it is presented in a poorly organized context. These organizers can take many forms (expository organizers, narrative organizers, graphic organizers, cues, inferential questions, analytic questions, questions and organizers produced by skimming ahead), as long as they provide some structure to guide subsequent ordering and interpretation of content (Pitler et al., 2007). Different types of organizers are appropriate for different purposes and may reflect different learning styles or intelligences, but all should be designed to focus on important content. Organizers produce more meaningful understanding if they focus on higher-order cognitive processes—those on the upper levels of Bloom’s taxonomy such as application, analysis, evaluation, and creation—rather than lower-level thinking such as factual recall (Pitler et al., 2007). Spreadsheets, concept maps, KWL charts, and even pre-reading background development through media experiences such as film clips and virtual field trips can provide advance scaffolding for learning experiences. Concept mapping tools such as CmapTools and Inspiration are particularly well suited to help students connect prior knowledge to existing cognitive structures because of their visual representation of connections among ideas. Learners may begin constructing a concept map by recording prior knowledge about a topic and showing how ideas are interrelated, then expand the map during and after the new learning experience. This application of constructivist learning theory can be further augmented when learners work collaboratively, either locally or through the Internet. Working collaboratively, learners may augment peers’ learning experiences by providing timely assistance when in what Vygotsky called the zone of proximal development (Novak & Cañas, 2008). As learners apply newly acquired information from their short term memory to the task of constructing the concept map, it moves into their working memory and, through the experience of visually representing interrelationships among ideas, becomes connected to prior knowledge and permanently established in long-term memory (Novak & Cañas, 2008). Multimedia tools can be used in similar ways to represent relationships between prior knowledge and new information in ways that appeal to various learning styles and intelligences. Use of images in multimedia organizers, presentations, and virtual field trips using computer technology takes advantage of the benefits of combining text and images Allen Paivio referred to as dual coding (Laureate, 2009). Students can use these technologies to incorporate new information into artifacts that represent episodic, archaic, or iconic associations (Novak & Cañas, 2008). And many of the same technologies that facilitate advance organization of new information are applicable to summarizing and note-taking.

(Novak &Cañas, 2008)

Pitler et al. (2007) define summary and notetaking skills as the “ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form” (p. 119). Learners summarize by eliminating extraneous and redundant data, replacing lists of specifics with set categories, and finding or generating topic sentences (Pitler et al., 2007). Computers can facilitate this process through word processing, concept mapping, presentation, information retrieval, communication, and collaboration applications. Microsoft Word is a particularly versatile tool. Students can use the auto summarize feature to condense content produced by others (perhaps to compare with their own summaries) or to check their own writing to see if their meaning is evident. Word can also be used for brainstorming, through its bullet feature, or to produce advance organizers representing various organizational frames using drawing or table generating tools. Concept mapping programs can be used to assimilate new ideas, but maps can also be exported in outline form to facilitate summarization and presentation of organized notes. Presentation tools, like PowerPoint, are a great medium for producing and sharing combination notes, especially for their capacity to integrate a variety of media (Pitler et al., 2007). Small groups collaborating on such a project may divide responsibilities for this production based on individual intelligences and learning preferences. Easy access to information, images, narratives, audio, and video resources through Internet search engines and databases can help students focus on developing and incorporating, rather than searching for, content. Communication and collaboration tools, such as blogs and wikis, allow learners to engage in reciprocal teaching, or share and collaboratively build learning artifacts based on their summaries and notes on shared learning experiences (Pitler et al., 2007).

Although the application of computer technology does not, in itself, guarantee effective learning, information and communication technologies can be used to implement cognitive learning theories to facilitate meaningful student learning.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

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