CCGNI1IVL LLAkNING 1nLCk

from noLes on Crmonds nomoo leotoloq

ref Crmrod !L (1999) Puman learnlng (3rd ed) upper Saddle 8lver n! renLlcePall
Slnce Lhe 1960s cognlLlvlsm has provlded Lhe predom|nant perspect|ve wlLhln whlch Learnlng 8esearch has been
conducLed and Lheorles of learnlng have evolved

n|story of and assumpt|ons of Cogn|t|v|sm

Ldward 1o|man proposed a Lheory LhaL had a cognlLlve flalr Pe was a behavlorlsL buL valued lnLernal
menLal phenomena ln hls explanaLlons of how learnlng occurs

5ome of his centro/ ideos were

O ehavlor should be sLudled aL a local level
O Learnlng can occur wlLhouL relnforcemenL
O Learnlng can occur wlLhouL a change ln behavlor
O nLervenlng varlables musL be consldered
O ehavlor ls purposlve
O LxpecLaLlons of facL behavlor
O Learnlng resulLs ln an organlzed body of lnformaLlon

ased on hls research of raLs 1o|man proposed LhaL raLs and oLher organlsms develop cogn|t|ve
maps of Lhelr envlronmenLs 1hey learn where dlfferenL parLs of Lhe envlronmenL are slLuaLed ln
relaLlon Lo one anoLher 1he concepL of a cognlLlve map also called a menLal map has conLlnued Lo be a
focus of research

esto/t psycho/oqy
CesLalL psychologlsL emphaslzed Lhe lmporLance of organlzaLlonal processes of percepLlon
learnlng and problem solvlng 1hey belleved LhaL lndlvlduals were predlsposed Lo organlze lnformaLlon
ln parLlcular ways

1he as|c |deas of CesLalL psychology are
1 ercepLlon ls ofLen dlfferenL from reallLy 1hls lncludes opLlcal llluslons
2 1he whole ls more Lhan Lhe sum of lLs parLs 1hey belleved LhaL human experlence cannoL be
explalned unless Lhe overall experlence ls examlned lnsLead of lndlvldual parLs of experlence
3 1he organlsm sLrucLures and organlzes experlence 1he Cerman word estolt means sLrucLured
whole 1hls means an organlsm sLrucLures experlence even Lhough sLrucLure mlghL noL be
necessarlly lnherenL
4 1he organlsm ls predlsposed Lo organlze experlence ln parLlcular ways lor example Lhe low of
ptoxlmlty ls LhaL people Lend Lo percelve as a unlL Lhose Lhlngs LhaL are close LogeLher ln space
Second example slmllar people Lend Lo percelve as a unlL Lhose Lhlngs LhaL are slmllar Lo one
anoLher

ro|emso|v|ng lnvolves resLrucLurlng and lnslghL L was proposed LhaL problemsolvlng lnvolves
menLally comblnlng and recomblnlng Lhe varlous elemenLs of a problem unLll a sLrucLure LhaL solves
Lhe problem ls achleved

|agets deve|opmenta| theory
esldes psychology lageL was lnLeresLed ln eplsLemology lageL used someLhlng he called Lhe
cllnlcal meLhod 1hls was research ln whlch he gave chlldren a serles of Lasks or problems asklng
quesLlons abouL each one Pe Lhen Lallored hls lnLervlews Lo Lhe parLlcular responses LhaL each chlld
gave Pls followup quesLlons varled from chlld Lo chlld 1hls meLhodology was very dlfferenL from Lhe
meLhods of conLemporary behavlorlsL research

9ioqets ideos obout humon /eorninq
eople are acLlve processors of lnformaLlon nsLead of belng passlve respondenLs Lo
envlronmenLal condlLlons human belngs are acLlvely lnvolved and lnLerpreLlng and learnlng from Lhe
evenLs around Lhem
knowledge can be descrlbed ln Lerms of sLrucLures LhaL change wlLh developmenL lageL
proposed Lhe concepL of schema As chlldren develop new schemes emerge and are someLlmes
lnLegraLed wlLh each oLher lnLo cognlLlve sLrucLures
CognlLlve developmenL resulLs from Lhe lnLeracLlons LhaL chlldren have wlLh Lhelr physlcal and
soclal envlronmenLs As a chlld explores hls world and evenLually Lhey began Lo dlscover LhaL Lhey hold
a perspecLlve of Lhe world unlquely Lhelr own
1he process Lhrough whlch people lnLeracL wlLh Lhe envlronmenL remalns consLanL Accordlng
Lo lageL people lnLeracL wlLh Lhelr envlronmenL Lhrough Lo unchanglng processes known as
asslmllaLlon and accommodaLlon
n accommodaLlon an lndlvldual elLher modlfles an exlsLlng scheme or forms a new one Lo
accounL for Lhe new evenL
n asslmllaLlon an lndlvldual lnLeracLs wlLh an ob[ecL or evenL ln a way LhaL ls conslsLenL wlLh an
exlsLlng scheme
eople are lnLrlnslcally moLlvaLed Lo Lry Lo make sense of Lhe world around Lhem Accordlng Lo
Lhls vlew people are someLlmes ln Lhe sLaLe of equlllbrlum Lhey can comforLably explaln new evenLs ln
Lerms of Lhelr exlsLlng schemes Powever aL Llmes Lhey can encounLer evenLs Lhey cannoL explaln our
make sense of Lhls ls called dlsequlllbrlum a menLal dlscomforL 1hrough reorganlzlng LhoughL people
are able Lo Lhen undersLand Lhe prevlously unundersLandable and reLurn Lo equlllbrlum
CognlLlve developmenL occurs ln dlsLlncL sLages wlLh LhoughL processes aL each sLage belng
quallLaLlvely dlfferenL from Lhose and oLher sLages

9ioqets four stoqes
O SensorlmoLor sLage
O reoperaLlonal sLage
O ConcreLe CperaLlons
O lormal CperaLlons

5ensorimotor stoqe from blrLh unLll abouL Lwo years of age AL Lhls age chlldren are only aware
of ob[ecLs LhaL are dlrecLly before Lhem Lhus Lhe saylng ouL of slghL ouL of mlnd (Lxample 1he
game of peekaboo ls en[oyed only by lnfanLs 1helr [oy ln Lhls game comes from Lhelr flndlng Lhe
adulL whohldes by blocklng Lhe chllds vlew and Lhus dlsappears and reappears as Lhe chlld
experlences lL)

reoperat|ona| stage emerges when chlldren are abouL Lwo years old unLll Lhey are abouL slx Lo
seven years old 1hls ls Lhe sLage of looqooqe Jevelopmeot Lxpandlng chlldrens' vocabularles reflecL Lhe
many new menLal schemes LhaL are developlng 1hls sLage ls characLerlzed by a loglcal Lhlnklng buL noL
accordlng LoadulL sLandards A classlc example ls how young chlldren cannoL undersLand conservaLlon of
llquld 1hey wlll usually Lhlnk LhaL a Laller glass has more waLer Lhan a shorL glass even Lhough boLh have
been demonsLraLed Lo have Lhe exacL same amounL of waLer

Concrete operat|ons Lhls Lhlrd sLage of cognlLlve developmenL appears when chlldren are slx
or seven years old and conLlnues unLll Lhey are abouL 11 or 12 years old Chlldren begln Lo Lhlnk loglcally
abouL conservaLlon problems and oLher slLuaLlons as well Powever Lhey Lyplcally can apply Lhelr |oglcal
operaLlons only Lo concreLe observable ob[ecLs and evenLs

Iorma| operat|ons Lhe fourLh and flnal sLage usually appears afLer chlldren are 11 or 12 years of
age and conLlnues Lo evolve for several years afLer LhaL Llme uurlng Lhls Llme Lhe chlld develops Lhe
ablllLy Lo reason wlLh absLracL hypoLheLlcal and conLraryLofacL lnformaLlon
L musL be noLed LhaL some recenL research does noL conflrm lageLs four sLages ln Lhelr enLlreLy

Vygotskys deve|opmenta| theory

1hls 8usslan psychologlsL conducLed numerous sLudles of chlldrens Lhlnklng
Some of hls mosL lnfluenLlal ldeas are

1 Complex menLal processes began as soclal acLlvlLles As chlldren develop Lhey gradually
analyze Lhese processes and can use Lhem lndependenLly of Lhose around hlm vygoLsky called
Lhls process of soclal acLlvlLles belng lnLernallzed as menLal acLlvlLles lnLernallzaLlon
2 Chlldren can ofLen accompllsh more dlfflculL Lasks when Lhey have Lhe asslsLance of oLher
people more advanced and compeLenL Lhan Lhemselves
3 1asks wlLhln Lhe ooe of ptoxlmol Jevelopmeot promoLe maxlmum cognlLlve growLh 1hls ls Lhe
zone of learnlng for a chlld where he can learn someLhlng wlLh Lhe asslsLance of oLhers WlLhouL
such asslsLance he would noL be able Lo learn Lhe sub[ecL
4 1he ldea of scoffolJloq learnlng comes from vygoLskys ooe of ptoxlmol Jevelopmeot Lheory
Scaffoldlng refers Lo learnlng slLuaLlons ln whlch adulLs and oLher more compeLenL lndlvlduals
provlde some form of guldance or sLrucLure LhaL enables sLudenLs Lo engage ln learnlng
acLlvlLles wlLhln Lhelr zone of proxlmal developmenL

Ierbo/ Leorninq keseorch
verbal learnlng research ls anoLher area LhaL has affecLed cognlLlve Lheory verbal learnlng
research sLudled serlal learnlng and palred soclal learnlng etlol leotoloq ls characLerlzed by a parLlcular
paLLern eople usually learn Lhe flrsL few lLems and Lhe lasL few lLems flrsL of a llsL (le Lhey are more
llkely Lo forgeL lLems from Lhe mlddle of Lhe llsL Lhan Lhe beglnnlng or Lhe end)

Cver|earn|ng ls learnlng someLhlng Lo Lhe level of masLery and Lhen pracLlclng addlLlonally
Cverlearned maLerlal ls more easlly recalled aL a laLer Llme

D|str|uted pract|ce ls easlly more effecLlve Lhan massed pracLlce 1hls ls Lhe ldea of spreadlng
sLudy ouL over Llme lnsLead of lnLo one long cram sesslon

Learnlng ln one slLuaLlon ofLen affecLs learnlng and recall ln a laLer slLuaLlon
1he characLerlsLlcs of Lhe maLerlal affecL Lhe speed wlLh whlch people can learned lL lor
example lLems aremore qulckly learned when Lhey are meanlngful pronounceable concreLe raLher
Lhan absLracL or able Lo be menLally vlsuallzed

eople ofLen lmpose meanlng when learnlng new lnformaLlon

eople organlze whaL Lhey learn

eople ofLen use codlng sLraLegles Lo help Lhem learn (Lxamples mnemonlcs llke Lhe
sLraLegy of rememberlng PCMLS as a mnemonlc for Lhe names of Lhe CreaL Lakes (nuron CnLarlo
Mlchlgan Lrle and Superlor or a rhyme llke n 1492 Columbus sallded Lhe ocean blue Lo remember
LhaL daLe)

eople are more llkely Lo learn general ldeas Lhan Lo learn words verbaLlm

Introduct|on to Contemporary Cogn|t|v|sm

Ceneral assumpLlons of cognlLlve Lheorles
1 Some learnlng processes may be unlque Lo human belngs (Lxample complex language)
2 CognlLlve processes are Lhe focus of sLudy MenLal evenLs are cenLral Lo human learnlng and
Lhey musL Lherefore be lncorporaLed lnLo Lheorles of learnlng
3 1he ob[ecLlve sysLemaLlc observaLlons of peoples behavlor should be Lhe focus of sclenLlflc
lnqulry however lnferences abouL unobservable menLal process can ofLen be drawn from such
sLudy
4 ndlvlduals are acLlvely lnvolved ln Lhe learnlng process 1hey are noL passlve recelvers of
envlronmenLal condlLlons Lhey are acLlve parLlclpanLs ln LhaL learnlng process n facL Lhey can
conLrol Lhelr own learnlng
3 Learnlng lnvolves Lhe formaLlon of menLal assoclaLlons LhaL are noL necessarlly reflecLed ln overL
behavlor changes 1hls ls very conLrary Lo Lhe behavlorlsL poslLlon where no learnlng can
happen wlLhouL an exLernal behavlor change 1hls ls conLrasLed wlLh behavloral ob[ecLlves
6 knowledge ls organlzed An lndlvlduals knowledge ls self organlzed Lhrough varlous menLal
assoclaLlons and sLrucLure
7 Learnlng ls a process of relaLlng new lnformaLlon Lo prevlously learned lnformaLlon Learnlng ls
mosL llkely Lo occur when an lndlvldual can assoclaLe new learnlng wlLh prevlous knowledge

Informat|on rocess|ng 1heory
1hls Lheory focuses on how people process Lhe lnformaLlon Lhey recelve from Lhe envlronmenL
how Lhey percelve Lhe sLlmull around Lhem how Lhey puL whaL Lheyve percelved lnLo Lhelr memorles
and how Lhey flnd whaL Lhey have learned when Lhey need Lo use Lhe knowledge

Construct|v|sm

n Lhe lasL 30 years lL has become apparenL LhaL people donL [usL recelve lnformaLlon aL face
value nsLead learners do a greaL deal wlLh Lhe lnformaLlon Lhey acqulre LheyL acLlvely organlze and Lry
Lo make sense of lL 1hls ls ofLen done ln a unlque and speclal way MosL cognlLlve Lheorles now show
learnlng as a consLrucLlon of knowledge raLher Lhan [usL a recepLlon or absorpLlon of knowledge from
Lhe surroundlng world

Contextua| v|ews

Several cognlLlve Lheorles have emerged LhaL place conslderable emphasls on Lhe lmporLance of
Lhe lmmedlaLe envlronmenL (le Lhe conLexL) ln learnlng and behavlor 1hls vlew lncludes Lhe ooe of
ptoxlmol Jevelopmeot ConLexLual use of learnlng has many labels such as sltooteJ leotoloq sltooteJ
coqoltloo and JlsttlboteJ lotelllqeoce ulsLrlbuLed lnLelllgence ls shown when we Lhlnk abouL and
dlscuss ldeas wlLh oLhers and Lhlnk more lnLelllgenLly Lhan when we Lhlnk alone

Genera| educat|ona| |mp||cat|ons of cogn|t|ve theor|es

1 CognlLlve processes lnfluence learnlng
2 Learnlng dlfflculLles ofLen lndlcaLe lneffecLlve or lnapproprlaLe cognlLlve processes especlally for
chlldren wlLh learnlng dlsablllLles who Lend Lo process lnformaLlon less effecLlvely 1herefore
Leachers need Lo be aware LhaL all sLudenLs are Lrylng Lo learn someLhlng as well as whaL Lhey
are Lrylng Lo learn
3 As chlldren grow Lhey become capable of lncreaslngly more sophlsLlcaLed LhoughL
4 eople organlze Lhe Lhlngs Lhey learn 1herefore Leachers can faclllLaLe sLudenLs learnlng by
presenLlng lnformaLlon ln an organlzed manner 1hls organlzaLlon should reflecL sLudenLs
prevlous knowledge and show how one Lhlng relaLes Lo Lhe oLher (le helplng sLudenLs
undersLand and make connecLlons)
3 new lnformaLlon ls mosL easlly acqulred when people can assoclaLe lL wlLh Lhlngs Lhey have
already learned 1eachers should Lhen show how new ldeas relaLe Lo prevlous learnlng
6 eople conLrol Lhelr own learnlng ulLlmaLely sLudenLs noL Lhelr Leachers deLermlne whaL
Lhlngs wlll be learned and how Lhey wlll be learned

Summary

CognlLlvlsm ls currenLly Lhe predomlnanL perspecLlve wlLhln whlch human learnlng ls descrlbed
and explalned ConLemporary cognlLlvlsm emphaslzes menLal processes and proposes LhaL many
aspecLs of learnlng may be unlque Lo Lhe human specles CognlLlvlsm has affecLed educaLlonal Lheory
by emphaslzlng Lhe role of Lhe Leacher ln Lerms of Lhe lnsLrucLors effecLlveness of presenLaLlon of
lnsLrucLlonal maLerlal ln a manner LhaL faclllLaLes sLudenLs learnlng (eg helplng sLudenLs Lo revlew and
connecL prevlous learnlng on a Loplc before movlng Lo new ldeas abouL LhaL Loplc helplng sLudenLs
undersLand Lhe maLerlal by organlzlng lL effecLlvely undersLandlng dlfferences ln sLudenLs learnlng
sLyles eLc)