PGT201E

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
PRACTICES

Cognitivism Learning
Theory
Dr Siti Nazleen Abdul Rabu
Critism of Behaviourism lead to
FROM
CognitivismBEHAVIOURISM TO
COGNITIVISM THEORY
An obvious criticism of behaviourism is that it treats
humans as a black box, where inputs into the black box,
and outputs from the black box, are known and
measurable, but what goes on inside the black box is
ignored or not considered of interest.
However, humans have the ability for :
conscious thought,
decision-making,
emotions, and
the ability to express ideas through social discourse,
all of which are highly significant for learning.

Thus we will likely get a better understanding of learning

if we try to find out what goes on inside the black box.
Cognitivis
m
Cognitivis
m
Cognitivists therefore have focused on identifying
mental processes internal and conscious
representations of the world that they consider are
essential for human learning (internal focus).
Thus the search for rules, principles or relationships
in processing new information, and the search for
meaning and consistency in reconciling new
information with previous knowledge, are key
concepts in cognitive psychology.
Cognitive psychology is concerned with identifying
and describing mental processes that affect learning,
thinking and behaviour, and the conditions that
influence those mental processes.
Cognitivis
m
Cognitivism emerged as a reaction to what had
become viewed as simplistic and rigid
emphasis by behaviorists on predictive
stimulus-response.
Cognitivism recognized that reinforcement did
impact on the probability of certain behaviors
but was in general interested in theorizing
and modeling the mental structures and
processes that could explain human
behavior.
The emphasis was on the mental or
cognitive models.
Cognitivis
m
Nonetheless, cognitivists shared certain
fundamental views and pedagogies with
behaviourists (sometimes hard to distinguish).
Cognitivist learning theory was instructor-
centered: the focus was on the instructor
and instructional design.
Knowledge was to be transmitted to the
learner, either by the instructor or by the
instructional software.
Cognitivis
m
The primary role of the learner is to
assimilate what the teacher presents.
Both behaviorism and cognitivism shared a
similar epistemology: objectivism.
This epistemology held that knowledge was
known by the instructor who would
predigest and then transmit it to the
student.
Cognitivism, like behaviorism, focused on
individualized learning perspectives and
procedures.
Cognitivis
m
Cognitivists have increased our understanding
of how humans process and make sense of
new information, how we access, interpret,
integrate, process, organize and manage
knowledge, and have given us a better
understanding of the conditions that affect
learners mental states.
The mind did play a tremendous
CONTEXT
role OF
COGNITIVISM THEORY
Limitations in the behaviorist theory of learning
began to be recognized by the early 1920s.
The major problem for researchers was that
behaviorism was unable to explain most social
behaviors.
For behaviorist scientists, what one cannot see or
measure does not count.
Believing was based only on seeing and the
ability to measure what was seen. Anything else
was not considered to be scientific or worthy of
consideration.
The mind did play a tremendous
CONTEXT
role OF
COGNITIVISM THEORY
Yet, as researchers and psychologists involved in
the scientific study of learning began to realize, the
power of the mind to influence or make decisions
that are not directly related to an external stimulus
was highly significant.
It began to become clear that the mind did play a
tremendous role.
Focus on the internal mental
COGNITIVISM
processes LEARNING
THEORY
Cognitive theory emerged as an extension of and a
reaction to behaviorist theory (although aspects of
behaviorist theory remain evident in cognitivist theory).
The rise of cognitivist learning theory was a response to
behaviorisms rigid emphasis on the direct link between
stimulus and response.
Cognitivist psychologists argued that the link between
stimulus and response was not straightforward and
that there were a number of other factors that
intervened to reduce the predictability of a response
to a stimulus (Winn & Snyder, 1996).
Focus on the internal mental
COGNITIVISM
processes LEARNING
THEORY
Nonetheless, cognitivism did not reject behaviorist
science altogether but shifted the emphasis from
external behavior to a focus on the internal
mental processes and to understanding how
cognitive processes could promote effective
learning.
Elements from the behaviorist tradition were
reshaped and incorporated into the cognitivist
model of learning: stimuli became inputs and
behaviors were the outputs.
Focus on the internal mental
COGNITIVISM
processes LEARNING
THEORY
Cognitivist theory was concerned with what comes between
stimulus and response, seeking to understand the
processes of the mind, the processes that the
behaviorists had rejected.
Behaviorists believed that these mental processes
could not be studied because they were neither
observable nor measurable.
However,
Cognitivists argued that these processes were what
constituted human learning and determined how we
think and act, and hence must be studied.
The difference
BEHAVIOURISM VERSUS
COGNITIVISM
Very soon cognitive theory replaced behaviorism as the
major school of thought and paradigm.

Mind is seen more as a computer or a file of cabinets. Knowledge is

seen as objects and the memory as a place that contains objects.
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
THEORY
Cognitivism emphasized - man has his ways
of organizing information - mental process.
Thus, the way people think and interpret the
environment affects the way they understand
and comprehend the outside world.
Cognitivists do believe in reinforcement and
repeating the content as to ensure the
information is processes into knowledge and
kept as a long term memory.
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
THEORY
The basics its all about an expert (teacher
usually) figuring out how to map their
knowledge onto the learners existing
knowledge.
Learners considered as a vessel where
information is poured and learning happens
when they are able to follow the rules and
mirror the experts performance.
Thus, they solve the addition problem correctly
because they have seen the addition problem
solved correctly, and they duplicate that.
Focus on the internal mental
COGNITIVISM
processes LEARNING
THEORY
Scholars or Theorist of
Cognitivism
Jean Piaget (Cognitive information
processing model ) Piaget
Bartlett (Schema Theory) Bartlett
Gagne (9 Events of Instruction) Gagne
A number of schools of thought are associated with cognitivist learning
theory :
Cognitive information processing (CIP)
Schema theory
Gagns theory of instruction.
Scholars or Theorist of
Cognitivism
Information Processing
Model (IPM) Piaget

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMMRE4Q2FGk
http://www.education.com/reference/article/information-processing-theory/
Information Processing
Model (IPM)
COGNITIVISM LEARNING PEDAGOGY
There are many theoretical and pedagogical links between
behaviorism and cognitivist learning theory, and many key
theoreticians and researchers can be associated with both
schools of thought.
This is especially true of instructional design.
Robert Gagn, the major name associated with
instructional design theory, was initially a member of the
behaviorist learning school of thought before his association
with cognitivism.
Robert Gagn 9 Events of Instruction.
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
PEDAGOGY
Cognitivist
Instructional Design
Cognitivist instructional design - from the predictability of
human behavior, similar to the behaviorist perspective.
Hence, instruction was designed to be prescriptive (telling
people what should be done, instead of how).
And given the belief in predictability, it was assumed that
if a certain stimulus resulted in a particular response or
outcome, it would do so again and again.
The role of the instructional designer was to identify
the learning stimulus that would lead to certain
outcomes.
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
PEDAGOGY
Cognitivist
Instructional Design
Gagns instructional theory has had significant influence
and prominence in educational practice.
Provided instructional designers with explicit steps to
incorporate into the training procedures.
Gagns instructional theory, nonetheless, was the
most linked to educational practice among cognitivist
theorists.
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
PEDAGOGY
Gagne 9 Events of
Instruction
Organizational Strategies (sequencing and organizing the content)
- how instruction will be sequenced, what particular content will be presented, and
how this content will be presented.
Gagnes Nine Instructional Event

1. Gaining attention
2. Informing learner of objectives
3. Stimulating recall of prior learning
4. Presenting the stimulus material
5. Providing learning guidance
6. Eliciting the performance
7. Providing feedback about performance correctness
8. Assessing the performance
9. Enhancing retention and transfer
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
PEDAGOGY
Gagne 9 Events of
Instruction
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
PEDAGOGY
Gagne 9 Events of
Instruction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpw7tWeHnX
Q
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
PEDAGOGY
Gagne 9 Events of
Instruction
How to Make Pancake & Chinese Tea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA6P0ewCz7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfz3GVGGUs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxPt75bU6rc&list=PL_A
sqwqJoJoY5UiOA1QpSWv8y8fyprnnm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP1l55U1sQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPDkrkVekkE
Cognitive Teaching Strategy

Focuses on the Product of learning:

Term intro Concept formation Exploration

Lecture: drills, worked examples,

repetition/memorization.
Practice: learn, apply, transfer.
Simulation
Role playing
Learning time is limited.
COGNITIVISM LEARNING
TECHNOLOGY
The field of educational technology emerged during the
behaviorist period and gained increased importance and
influence for cognitivist researchers and instructional
designers.
Computers were the key learning technology for
cognitivist learning theorists.
APPLICATION OF COGNITIVISM
LEARNING THEORY
In terms of practice, this concept of mind as computer
has led to several technology-based developments in
teaching, including:
intelligent tutoring systems, a more refined version
of teaching machines, based on breaking down learning
into a series of manageable steps, and analysing learners
responses to direct them to the most appropriate next step.
Adaptive learning is the latest extension of such
developments.
INTELLIGENT TUTORING
SYSTEM
APPLICATION OF COGNITIVISM
LEARNING THEORY
artificial intelligence, which seeks to represent in
computer software the mental processes used in human
learning (which of course if successful would result in
computers replacing many human activities such as
teaching, if learning is considered in an objectivist
framework).
pre-determined learning outcomes, based on an
analysis and development of different kinds of cognitive
activities, such as comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation.
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
PRE-DETERMINED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
LEARNING THEORY
Cognitivists have increased our understanding of:
how humans process and make sense of new
information,
how we access, interpret, integrate, process, organize
and manage knowledge,
have given us a better understanding of the conditions
that affect learners mental states.
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
LEARNING THEORY
Every student has previous knowledge in which a teacher
must be able to connect the previous to new knowledge.
In the application of teaching and learning, a teacher may
want to use the induction set to bridge the pre-requisite
knowledge and transfer to the new knowledge.
The influence of cognitivist the chunking of information,
and the sequencing learning content to be more organised
in a system so students can learn and digest the
information effectively.
Mnemonic is one way of organising information to ensure
easy memorisation method.
Most important aspect the integration of assessment as to
ensure students achieve the learning outcome at the end of
the term or semester.
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
Information Organization and Arrangement of Content in a Sequence/
LEARNING
Graph/ Mind Map
THEORY

http://cmapspublic3.ihmc.us/rid=1LG4GT9Y8-1LM69G2-11FS/Learning%20Theory%20v4.cmap
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
Information Organization and Arrangement of Content in a Sequence/
LEARNING
Graph/ Mind Map
THEORY

Latihan pada bila-bila masa/

Exercise or practice at any time

Kandungan dalam
bentuk graf/
Content presentation
in a graph format
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
Information Organization and Arrangement of Content in a Sequence/
LEARNING
Graph/ Mind Map
THEORY

Penggunaan rajah /kitar bagi

menggantikan perenggan
(Diagram)

Penggunaan hirarki/
Struktur
(Bullets/ Structure)

(Advance Organizer)
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
LEARNING THEORY
CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVISM
LEARNING THEORY

http://www.ithink.org.my/Home/Index
IMPLICATIONS OF COGNITIVISM
FOR PRACTICE
COGNITIVISM WEAKNESS

However, this theory still has its own weakness

where learning is considered linear and lacking
in student creativity.
SIMILARITY (Behaviorisme & Kognitivisme)

Nonetheless, cognitivists shared certain

fundamental views and pedagogies with
behaviourists (sometimes hard to distinguish).
Behaviorist & Cognitivist learning theory was
instructor-centered: the focus was on the
instructor and instructional design.
Knowledge was to be transmitted to the
learner, either by the instructor or by the
instructional software/computer program.
SIMILARITY (Behaviorisme & Kognitivisme)

The primary role of the learner is to

assimilate what the teacher presents.
Both theories perceived that knowledge was
known by the instructor who would
predigest and then transmit it to the
student.
Cognitivism, like behaviorism, focused on
individualized learning perspectives and
procedures.
Summary Cognitive Theory
Mind is predictable.
Mind = computer.
Knowledge in the person:
information processing Machines : STM, LTM
Schemas (changes: accretion, tuning,
restructuring)
Processing strategies.
No students are the same.
Learning = changes in capabilities, attitudes,
schema, or knowledge structures.
Summary Cognitive Theory

While the behavioral perspective has an

external focus, the cognitivist one has an
internal focus.
Learning is described as a change in
knowledge stored in memory.
As a consequence, the instructional expert is
challenged with organizing new information
for presentation, carefully linking new
information to previous knowledge and using a
variety of techniques to guide and support the
mental processes of the student.
 The End

Cognitivism