Cognitivism: Psychology and Instructional Design

Comparing Models of Learning from Instructional Design

Cognitivism/Cognitivist’s Perspective * cognition is a group of mental processes that includes attention, memory, producing and understanding language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making * stressed on more complex cognitive processes such as thinking, problem solving, language, concept formation and information processing

1. How does learning occur? a. Learning is equated with discrete changes between states of knowledge rather than with changes in the probability response. b. Learning is concerned not so much with what learners do but what they know and how they come to acquire it. c. The learner is viewed as a very active participant in the learning process.

2. Which factors influence learning? d. Cognitive theories contend that environmental cues and instructional components (instructional explanations, demonstrations, illustrative examples) alone cannot account for all the learning that results from an instructional situation. Additional key elements include the way that learners attend to code, transform, rehearse, store and retrieve information. e. Learner’s thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and values are also considered to be influential in the learning process.

3. What is the role of the memory? f. Memory is given a prominent role in the learning process. g. Learning results when information is stored in memory in an organized, meaningful manner. h. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory because of interference, memory loss, or missing/inadequate cues needed to access information.

4. How does transfer occur? i. Transfer is a function of how information is stored in the memory (Schunk 1991). j. When a learner understands how to apply knowledge in different contexts, then transfer has occurred. k. Understanding is seen as being composed of a knowledge-base in the form of rules, concepts, and discriminations. l. Prior knowledge is used to establish boundary constraints for identifying the similarities and differences of information. m. Specific instructional or real-world events will trigger particular responses, but the learner must believe that the knowledge is useful in a given situation before s/he will activate it.

5. What types of learning are best explained by this position? n. Two techniques used by cognitivist in achieving effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge transfer are simplification and standardization. o. Knowledge can be analyzed, decomposed and simplified into basic building blocks. p. Knowledge transfer is expedited if irrelevant information is eliminated.

6. What basic assumptions/principles of this theory are relevant to instructional design? q. Cognitivists look at the learner to determine his/her predisposition to learning. (How does the learner activate, maintain, and direct his/her learning?) r. Cognitivists examine the learner to determine how to design instruction so that it can be readily assimilated. (What are the learner’s existing mental structures?) s. Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design: i. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process. (learner control, metacognitve training) ii. Use of hierarchial analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships. (cognitive task analysis procedures) iii. Emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal processing. (use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advanced organizers, etc.) iv. Creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make connections with previously learned material. (recall of the prerequisites skills)

7. How should instruction be structured? t. Cognitive theories emphasize making knowledge meaningful and helping learners organize and relate new information to existing knowledge in memory. u. Instruction must be based on the students existing mental structures or schema to be effective. v. Organize information in such a manner that learners are able to connect new information with existing knowledge in some meaningful way. (ex. Analogies, concept mapping) w. Cognitive theorist imply that the major tasks of the teacher include: v. Understanding that individuals bring various learning experiences to the learning situation which can impact learning outcomes. vi. Determining the most effective manner in which to organize and structure new information to tap the learners previously acquired knowledge, abilities, and experiences. vii. Arranging practice with feedback so that the new information is effectively and efficiently assimilated and/or accommodated within the learner’s cognitive structure.

Major instructional design theorists associated with Cognitivism are: * J. Anderson (1982) – Adaptive Control of Thought – theory of cognition that focuses on memory processes * C.M Reigeluth (1983) – Elaboration Theory – includes prescriptions for the progressive refinement of schemata * Merrill (1983) – Component Display Theory – "generality" is close to a schema * Gagne, Briggs, Wagner (1988) – Events of Instruction – based on info processing model; also, the notion of activating a schema in order to provide a relevant context for learning finds a close parallel in the third instructional event – stimulating recall of pre-requisite learning * M. Tessmer & J.F.Wedman (1990) – Layers of Necessity Model – actually a series of nested ISD models where the designer determines a layer of design and development based on project restrictions

Reference:
Ertmer, P.A. and Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(2), 50-72. [On-line] <http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/file.php/118/Week_6/Ertmer-Newby-beh-cog-const.pdf> Date retrieved: July 28, 2013