Talking to the Text Using Cognitive Theory

1364 Words3 Pages

Many factors and processes make up cognitive theories. First, students rely heavily on memory, according to this theory. There are three parts to a person’s memory: the sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. The sensory register has a large capacity to store almost all the information you receive but only saves the information for a short period of time. The working or short-term memory is where a person moves their information from the sensory register to process it. Finally, the long-term memory is where people’s general knowledge and most important information from the short-term memory are stored. According to the theory, students are selective about the information they wish to process and store in the long-term memory. They build new information based on previous knowledge, using constructivism, the theory where learners construct knowledge by combining assorted knowledge to produce a general understanding of the new information. Learners also use higher-level cognitive processes, such as metacognition, to analyze, apply, and evaluate the newly learned knowledge. Metacognition is the process of “thinking about thinking” (Ormrod, 2011, p. 250) where learners reflect on their own learning process and analyze it. Although this theory is one of the most used theories in classrooms, it does have some weaknesses, when learners have trouble remembering important information, for example. Learners may sometimes forget information if they fail to store it in the long-term memory or if they experience interference while learning the new information. In addition, students may incorrectly fill in gaps of information using their own logic rather than the truth, thus making reconstruction errors (Ormrod, 2011).

Vid...

... middle of paper ...

...theories in the classroom. It illustrated the use of overt and covert learning strategies in the classroom and displayed the use of critical thinking. Ms. Jensen structured the lesson to allow students to relate the poem to their personal experiences and previous knowledge, by using constructivism. In addition, Ms. Jensen encouraged students’ critical thinking by asking open-ended questions about the possible meanings of every line of the poem. Overall, this was a great video that highlights the use of cognitive theories and can greatly help teachers implement these theories in their own classrooms.

Works Cited

Ormrod, J. E. (2011). Educational psychology: Developing learners (7th ed.). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson

Talking to the Text. (2001). Retrieved October 20, 2011 from https://www.2sc.usc.edu/course/

view.php?id=2401&modtype=assignment&modid=175894

More about Talking to the Text Using Cognitive Theory

Open Document