Information ProcessingTheory

“Information processing... where gaps in memory are traversed through metacognition.”

The two main components to Information Processing are MEMORY and METACOGNITION.

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Assumptions of Info-Processing

1. Information is processed in steps or stages

– Attending to a stimulus

– Recognizing it

– Transforming it into a mental representation

– Comparing it with info already in memory

– Assigning meaning to it

– Acting on it in some fashion

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Assumptions of Info-Processing

2. There are limits on how much info can be processed at each stage. Amount may be limitless, but

must be learned gradually.

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Assumptions of Info-Processing

3. The human info-processing system is interactive– Information already stored in memory

influences and is influenced by perception and attention

= RECOGNITION

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Information Processing Theory – The Memory Stores

Environmental Stimuli

Sensory Register

Short Term Memory

Long TermMemory(A wonderful dinner date)

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Sensory Register

• Environmental Stimuli

• Recognition

• Attention

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Short-term Memory• Rehearsal

Maintenance

Elaborative

• Organization Clumps

• Meaningfulness Association with long-term

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Long-term Memory

• Organized like a library

• Schemata - abstract structures of information

when well formed and event is consistent with expectation, comprehension occurs

when poorly structured or absent, learning is slow and uncertain

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John Flavell's research• Older children are better at

choosing effective learning strategies, because they have more experience.

Metacognition

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Flavell proposed a three part classification scheme:

• Personal Variables

• Task Variables

• Strategy Variables

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Metacognition and Motivation

• Sequence

• Filtering

• Transfer of Knowledge

• Memory Processing

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Learning Tactics

• Rehearsal

• Mnemonic Devices

• Self-questioning

• Notetaking

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Information Processing Theory – Mnemonic Devices

• Rhyming• “I” before “E” except after “C”

• Acronyms• First letter mnemonic device• HOMES – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

• Acrostic• A sentence mnemonic• Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful New Purposes – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

• Keyword Method• Isolate parts of a word• Form a visual interaction between the different parts of the word • Example: pato = duck

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Learning Strategy

1. Metacognition

2. Analysis

3. Planning

4. Implementation of the plan

5. Monitoring of progress

6. Modification

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Infant Memory

Freud - infantile amnesia

Jean Piaget supports Freud's Theory

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New Research“Babies memories are not lost but continually

updated as learning progresses."

-- Chamberlain

Babies remember and learn what they need to know at appropriate stages

NOTES, RESEARCH STUDIES AND

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

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I. Metacognition is the knowledge we have about how we learn. It is how you know what you know. And, depending on your knowledge of how you learn and what works best for you in different situations you may or may not be successful. Most students admit that they wish to do well in school. Really good students use effective learning tactics to help them digest information and recall it when needed. On the other hand, others learn but not in an effective manner. They may learn information for the moment or jsut hold that information and not apply it to other areas. John Flavell, a psychologist, developed research concerning metacognition because he wanted to know why children at different ages cope with learning in different ways. An example of this was shown in an experiment with seven year olds and ten year olds. Both groups were given a pair of nouns and two strategies for remembering and recalling the words. One of the strategies was less effective than the other. The seven year olds chose to use the less effective strategy for recalling the nouns. The ten year olds chose to use the more effective strategy and thus were more successful. The explanation for this was that the seven year olds had not had enough learning experience to have learned that there are some strategies that work better than others. Some children fail to ever see this difference. Here is a quote from John Flavell to clarify what engaging metacognition might be like. "I am engaging in metacognition... if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double-check C before accepting it as a fact; if it occurs to me that I had better scrutinize each and every alternative in any multiple-choice type task situation before deciding which is the best one; if I become aware that I am not sure what the experimenter really wants me to do; if I sense that I had better make a not of D because I may forget it; if I think to ask someone about E to see if I have it right. Such examples could be multiplied endlessly.“ We as teachers can help our student to learn how to monitor our learning. We can model questions that we need to ask ourselves to be sure we are learning the information and that the methods we are choosing effective in helping us. When teaching strategies, the teacher needs to explain what the strategy is, why it is useful, how it should be used, and when to use it. At first a student will probably have to think about using the strategy, even plan to use it, but over time it will become second nature to them and they will use it without thinking. Effectively using learning strategies will help students to obtain a goal that has been set. A student must know that effective learning requires an analysis of the learning situation. By thinking about the type of task to be accomplished the learner can decide how best to achieve the goal. There are many questions that can be considered when starting a task. Act like an investigator and explore the possibilities. Next the student will develop a plan to act upon. Once the plan is made then the actual work begins and the plan is followed. To be truly effective the learner must question and analyze the progress being made. If there is no learning going on then the learner must make modifications to the plan and then begin again.

WORKS CITED

Biehler, R., & Snowman, J. (1997). Psychology applied to teaching, Eight edition. Houghton Mifflin Co.

Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), the nature of intelligence. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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II. Metacognition is defined as, "knowledge about the operations of cognition and how to use them to achieve a learning goal" (Biehler 547). A simpler definition would be that metacognition is "knowledge of how we think." It refers to the knowledge we already have about how we learn. Metacognition is one of the key components we have to regulate our learning processes. The developmental psychologist John Flavell proposed a three-part classification scheme in 1987 that can be used to get a better understanding of the metacognition concept. The three parts are knowledge of person variables, task variables, and strategy variables.

1. Person Variables - An example of this would be to know that one was good at learning verbal material and poor at learning mathematical material. Knowledge of information encoded incorrectly or not rehearsed is another example of person variables.

2. Task Variables - Knowledge that simply written passages are easier to understand than long passages with unknown vocabulary is an example of task variable.

3. Strategy Variables - One example of a strategy variable is that some skim through text to know its length and difficulty (Biehler 329, 332).

There has been research on metacognition. The area of teaching reading has received at least ninety percent of the metacognition research and efforts. Mathematics rates second as far as metacognition research goes. all areas should receive fair amount of research efforts. These ignored areas include science, language, social sciences, fine arts, and music (Metacognition Issues). Metacognition is used in everything to be learned.

WORKS CITED

Biehler, Robert, and Jack Snowman. Psychology Applied to Teaching. 8th ed. Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

Metacognition Issues. http://128.205.200.100/~josborne/Metasiss.html

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II. Before learning can begin, the student must recognize the objectives of the task to be learned. The theory of Information Processing suggests that motivation is the integral factor of a student's ability to recognize and establish learning objectives. In her essay, "The Learning Helix," Rune Petterson states that attention is a sequential process influenced by the "sequence in which information is presented to us.“

In all learning situations the information existing for processing exceeds the capacity of the processing mechanism. Selective attention (filters) reduces the vast array of stimuli, allowing for logical processing of information. How the filters are applied to stimuli is a function of motivation. As Petterson states, "new impressions are dependent on and interpreted against the background of previous learning and experience."

Therefore, stimuli registered by sensory processing, from which a connection to a past event can be constructed, will transfer from the sensory register to the short-term memory register. If the motivation evoked by stimuli is particularly strong, selective attentionwill prioritize stimuli, rendering insignificant any stimuli that cannot provide a meaningful context and moving the prioritized stimuli to long-term memory.

In her article, "The Learning Helix," Petterson relates an anecdote of a short film entitled, "Precious Images," which is a six and a half minute montage of 469 classic movie moments. Petterson states, "The carefully chosen images retain their meaning and emotional impact, and trigger your memory."

WORKS CITEDBiehler, Robert and Jack Snowman. Psychology Applied to Teaching. 8th ed. Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

Petterson, Rune. "The Learning Hole," ERIC Number ED391522, 1995.

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AbstractThe human brain is an extraordinary organ which is now shown to be actively working in infants in the areas of memory and cognition. Spokane stated, "...new

results shown that infants as young as 6 months old are capable of remembering and imitating specific actions a day after the original behavior." (1997, p. 1). Ever since Sigmund Freud established his idea of infantile amnesia and Jean Piaget justified Freud's theory with his own ideas of a newborn's limited intelligence,

"...Research has been avoided on memory testing of preverbal infants." (Chamberlain, 1997, 1).Harlene Hayne describes infantile amnesia as, "... the inability of children and adults to remember events that occurred during infancy and early childhood...

Prior to the age of 3 or 4." (1997, p. 1).It is interesting how many scientists believed that infants were mentally incompetent without doing any testing or research. Chamberlain said, "A key idea in

medicine and psychology which made it difficult to accept any sophisticated early use of the mind was the idea that the immature and unfinished brain could not support memory and learning." (1997, p. 1). This idea has been disproved with a wealth of research studies.

"One of the reasons adults are unable to recall memories from their infancy may be that there is no way to duplicate the situations and surroundings..." (Spokane, 1997, p. 1). "Ability to recall procedures involving a series of steps, after long delays, depends not on age but on the same factors and conditions which improve recall in older children and adults, such as the nature of events, the number of times they experience them, and the availability of cues or reminders." (Chamberlain, 1997, p. 1).

Numerous case studies have proven that babies do indeed remember and learn what they need to know at appropriate stages. Chamberlain states, "Babies memories are not lost but continually updated as learning progresses." (1997, p. 1-2). Researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand were able to prove that babies could mimic actions seen a day earlier. Chamberlain also says that "... Experimental psychologists have managed to prove that children age three, age two, and age one are all capable of both immediate and long-term recall of specific events in their lives." (1997, p. 1). Research also has established that infants as young as two months "... Can recall details about hidden objects, their location, and size." (Chamberlain, 1997, p. 1).

As recently as four years ago, infants were still seen as lacking the ability to process information. These theories have now been disproved over and over by the current research reported above.

ReferencesChamberlain, David. (1998). The Intelligent Newborn. Birth Psychology [On-line]. Available: http://www.birthpsychology.com/birthscene intelligent2.htmlHayne, Harlene. (1997). Development of Learning and Memory in Infants and Young Children. Harlene Hayne [On-line]. Available:

http://psy.otago.ac.nz:800/staff/academic/hayne.htmlSpokane. (1997). Six-Month-Old Infants Can Remember Actions for 24 Hours, Research Shows. Spokane Net [On-line]. Available:

http://virtuallynw.com/stories/1997/Oct/29/s299087.asp