1.8 Educational Psychology
Problem 1: Memory
Learning goals:
Part A:
1) What are the definitions of the concepts and what is the theory behind them?
2) What is cognitive load and how is it related to memory?
Part B:
1) What can teachers do to make sure that students will remember the material?
Memory: process of saving information for period of time with emphasis on ability to recall
Storage: putting new information in memory
Encoding: changing form of the information
Retrieval: find information previously stored
Decay: input fades away
Dual-store model by Atkinson
two-way arrow because storing info in long-term memory requires connection of old
knowledge with new information
- Cognitive learning that describes processing, storage and retrieval of knowledge in the mind
Sensory Register
Receives large amounts of information from senses and holds it for very short time
Implications: people must pay attention to information to retain it
, 3 factors:
1. Capacity= very large intake of info.
2. Forms of storage= holds info. in the same way it arrived, e.g. visual stored as visual info.
3. Duration= very brief, visual input: under 1 seconds (some exceptions), auditory input: up to 2
sec (loud noises longer)
Moving information to working memory: The role of attention
important for moving information from sensory register to working memory
limited resource, active focus on stimuli while ignoring others
Influenced by: emotion, motion, size, intensity, novelty, incongruity (objects that dont make
sense in their context, e.g. I walk my tomato, social cues, personal significance
Figure-ground phenomenon: ability to attend only to one figure at the time
Cocktail party phenomenon: seemingly attending to one conversation, but listening to another
Short-term or working memory
Storage system that can hold limited amount of information for up to 30 seconds can be
overwhelmed if too much/difficult information
Interference= new info can “bump out” older information
Working memory= place where cognitive processing takes place
Information enters working memory from sensory registers or from long-term memory
Capacity= magical number 7 (5 to 9 bits of info.), others say 3-5, more in auditory form
- Rehearsal= repetition can improve retention
- Chunking= combine small bits into bigger bits of information
Central executive= controls and monitors the flow and use of information throughout memory
system
- does cognitive activities like focusing attention, reasoning, comprehension
- “head of the head”
Visual spatial sketchpad= component of working memory responsible for processing visual and
spatial info
Phonological loop= repeating same auditory stimuli, can keep small auditory info. fresh through
repetition
Episodic buffer= "place" where multiple inputs can be processed and pieced together for an
overall understanding of situation
Control processes in working memory:
Organization= longer retention of info due to organizing
- e.g chunking or giving a melody to numbers or giving them meaning
Retrieval= retrieval depends on how much info is stored in working memory, automatic scan of
whole LTM
Maintenance rehearsal= keeping info alive in working memory by repeating it
- e.g. repeating phone number over and over again upper limit to how many items can be kept
active in work mem
Long-term memory
Storage= Large amounts of information can be stored for long periods of time
, Episodic/sequential memory= images of personal experiences, organized by when and where
events happened
Semantic/declarative knowledge= how things are/were/will be
procedural knowledge= how to do things, (implicit) but when asked how to cycle it becomes
declarative
Explicit memory= knowledge that can be recalled and consciously considered
Implicit memory= knowledge we are not conscious of recalling but influences our behavior and
awareness
Encoding= process memories, e.g. by chunking to store in long-term memory
Interconnectedness= bits of information similar to each other are grouped and interconnected
Duration= Information stored for indefinitely long
Alternative models of memory
Levels of processing by Craik=
- memory through "central processor" of information (limited capacity)
- storage depends on how deeply things get processed (different levels)
- e.g simply remembering two words (levels)
1. repeating two words
2. putting them into a sentence
3. asking questions about the relationship of the two words
- "Intention of learning" important but depth of processing more when it comes to
successfully remembering
- Hence why Incidental learning (learning smt without specific intent to learn, just by deeper
processing) can be just as effective as intentive learning
Activation model=
- All information stored in memory is either in active (working memory) or inactive (long-term
memory) state
- Environment can trigger/activate info stored in LTM transfer into working memory so it is
active
- Unconscious info is majority, becomes active when triggered
, - Priming= if one idea gets triggered it triggers associated concepts in memory e.g waffle --) ice
cream, summer etc.
Cognitive Load Theory
Mental resources, mostly working memory, required to perform particular task - cognitive
capacity is limited
Schemas= putting information into a concept, e.g. driving a car, speaking a language
Automated schemas= "run" automatically, are in long-term memory and don´t require much
working memory
- vital for learning because automated schemas free up space in the working memory
The imagination effect= mental rehearsal (imagining things), aid for understanding
- students who imagine a concept perform better than peers who just studied material
- better learning because imagining forces working memory to process info more -- leads to
better retention in LTM
Element interactivity= the more two items are connected the higher the cognitive load
- E.g. grammar of a language (putting words in order) vs simply using unconnected words
- E.g. understanding the relation of X to other variables in an equation
- High lvl of interaction= high level of cognitive load
Types of Loads:
Intrinsic load= (task-related), individual load that task essential task content puts on learner,
power to process task properly
- Number of elements + element interactivity= determine load
- lower for expert than for novice (expert has more knowledge in LTM and better schemas)
Extraneous load= (instruction-related), negative
- Bad/complicated instructions can place avoidable extraneous load on learner
- good instructions save the learner "headspace"
Germane load= positive, load of integrating new knowledge with existing (working memory –
LTM)
- Desirable and should be encouraged by instructional design
if instructions poorly = increases extraneous load, takes away capacity for germane load
if done correctly= extraneous load reduced, germane load increased
The expertise reversal effect= CLT formats/instructions become less effective if learner already
has knowledge /expertise on the content
- unnecessary instructions can have a negative or neutral effect on "experts"
Motivation: learning also depends on individuals motivation how useful contents are
perceived as, self-efficacy, and effort towards task
Teaching strategies to help students learn
