Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Cognitivism and Strategies Related


Natalie Lavern Shirley Jackson

Cognitivism

            In this weeks’ video resources Michael Orey discussed the cognitive learning theories and they are organized in three different stages. With the Palvio dual coding hypothesis I learned of the importance of images and powerful texts. In relation to this cognitive learning theory the strategies of “cues, question, and advance organizers” as well as “summarizing and note-taking” can be quite similar.
            Chapter four in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction  that Works discusses the use of advance organizers and how the organizers can produce many different results, but they produce a numerous amount of questions (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). With this weeks resources focusing on the cognitive learning theory we have learned that questions and connections are imperative to students learning. The advance organizers will help students connect with the material by using cues and technology resources.
“The technologies that support cues, questions, and advance organizers assist teachers in quickly understanding students responses and organizing them into useful information”(Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). These technologies can include spreadsheets, multimedia, and other Internet sites.  These tools are set up much like the concept mapping that I learned about in the video. They organize the information and it is visual to the learners, for complete understanding.
In chapter six of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I learned of the significant relation to “summarizing and note taking” and the cognitive learning theory. “Being aware of the explicit structure of information is an aid to summarizing information”(Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). Students need to learn how to use this strategy for the classroom now and later. The chapter reads on and shows examples of how to setup your note taking based upon how the students relate objects or subjects to one another. This was a form of concept mapping as well. The large idea was in the middle and side notes were branching from the main idea.
Whether the strategy is “cues, questions, and advance organizers” or summarizing and note taking” these align very closely with the cognitive learning theories and the cognitive learning tools. These tools can help students make greater connections with concepts which allow the students to retain and recall more information. It is important that the students know how to weed out the information that is not needed in “summarizing and note taking” and that they understand the importance of organization for each thing they complete.

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

            classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

2 comments:

  1. Natalie,

    I just saw that you will be moving from 4th to 5th grade. I am making the same switch for this upcoming school year. I am thrilled to be able to come into this year with so many new tools that I can use with my students. Since I teach only language arts, using graphic organizers and concept maps will be especially useful. Each of the cognitive theories discussed this week lend themselves well to incorporating these types of activities. I have never used a virtual field trip, and am on the look out for some good suggestions so let me know.
    Thanks,
    Megan M

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  2. I agree with you that the tools learned this week connect with the cognitive learning theory. I feel that the advanced organizers give the students a visual way to organize the information so that they can recall it at a later date. You are correct when you say it is important for students to be able to weed out the information that is not needed. I have seen lots of students struggle to recall information because they wrote down every little detail and could not find the important information. I feel the advanced organizers can help guide the students and help them understand what information they are looking for. They can also help organize them, so that they can quickly find the material.

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