By Robert Bloomer Jordan Jones Nicholas Richardson Cognitivism By Robert Bloomer Jordan Jones Nicholas Richardson

What is Cognitivism? The underlying concepts of cognitivism involve how we think and gain knowledge.  Cognitivism involves examining learning, memory, problem solving skills, and intelligence. Picture the Mind as a Computer! To where we can store knowledge.

Types of Cognitivism and Researchers. Schema Cognitive Dissonance Mapping Piaget Vygotsky Zone of Product and Development

Schema A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. Schemas can be useful because they allow us to take shortcuts in interpreting the vast amount of information that is available in our environment. Schemas can contribute to stereotypes and make it difficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world.

Example of a schema Example: A child might have this schema for the alphabet.

Schemas continued As the child grows the schema will become more difficult as in the example above.

Cognitive Dissonance Psychological conflict resulting from incongruous (not in harmony) beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously (Merriam-Websters) Say What?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.

Theorist on Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger (8 May 1919 – 11 February 1989) Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. “we hold many cognitions about the world and ourselves; when they clash, a discrepancy is evoked, resulting in a state of tension known as cognitive dissonance”

Example of Cognitive Dissonance

Information Processing Stimulus Input : Storage : Output : Response Concerned with the analysis of the stimuli. Covers everything that happens to stimuli internally in the brain and can include coding and manipulation of the stimuli. Responsible for preparing an appropriate response to a stimulus.

The Learning Journey Short Term Memory - to learn anything we must first notice it, or put it into our sensory registry. Only a small amount is retained and remains for only 30 seconds. Working Memory - when we consciously focus on stimuli, we begin to move that information from short term memory into working memory, where we can hold information for about 20 minutes before it either decays or continues the journey to long term memory. Long Term Memory - factors like repetition or rehearsal then determine whether information moves into long term storage. Long term memories are actually networks of neural pathways and are often retrieved through association with other words, settings, sensations.

Mapping Means through which people process their environment, solve problems and use memory. Edward Tolman 1940’s Professor at the University of California-Berkeley. Experimented on rats, challenging each rat with a maze that offered food at the end. He noticed that each time the rats passed through the maze they made fewer mistakes. Eventually, they were all able to move swiftly to the goal with no false turns. Tolman realized that the rats had internalized the maze in their brains, similarly, human infants learn through experience that crying will bring food or attention, etc.

Piaget

Stages: Birth-2 yrs old Sensorimotor Development of 5 senses Preoperational Focus on how world relates to self 7-12yrs old Concrete operational Focus on how the world relates to others as well 12yrs old onward Formal operational development of logical and abstract thinking

Vygotsky learning is passed down from generation to generation you must take the culture and social context into account. students must develop “Mental Tools” Vygotsky developed the idea of Zone of Proximal development(ZPD)

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) ZPD is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. Skills that are too difficult for a child to master on his or her own can be down with guidance and encouragement from a knowledgeable person.

Application Instruction should be organized, sequenced, and presented in a manner that is understandable and meaningful to the learner. Cognitivism emphasizes retention and recall through the use of quality teaching practices. Examples: Starting lessons with hooks to create interest Activating prior knowledge by beginning a lesson with review quiz Chunking information into digestible parts Using graphic organizer to help structure and relate content

Criticism New theories challenged the cognitivism approach. Situated Cognition “Knowing is inseparable from doing” by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts. Distributed Cognition “Knowledge lies not only within the individual, but also in the individual’s social and physical environment.”

References http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/def_schema.htm http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/cognitive_dissonance.htm http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/f/dissonance.htm http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/help-your-childs-memory-by-making- connections/ http://www.expertlearners.com/cip_theory.php http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cognitive-mapping.htm http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/31012664/Cognitivis m