Comparing Information Processing and Operant Conditioning

873 Words2 Pages

The information processing theory explains that the material that we come across travels from sensory storage to working memory and lastly to long term memory (Snowman & McCown, 2015) The long term memory is a permanent storehouse of knowledge, so once the material has reached that region, students can then easily recall and retrieve the familiar information (Snowman & McCown, 2015). This concept is different from the operant condition theory in several ways. For example, operant condition theory is more of a behavioral learning method that’s focused on rewards from the environment and constant reinforcement to help strengthen positive behavior (Snowman & McCown, 2015).
If I were to explain the differences to a parent I would explain that operant conditioning is typically a type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences (Miller, 2011). Then I will further explain that …show more content…

For example, when students are just learning about an unfamiliar topic, they need to develop strategies that will help convert the information into something they can easily store and accurately refer to and access whenever they want (Miller, 2011). Since students have different ways of accomplishing these tasks, each strategy will be unique. How each student stores information is also related to their age, for example, common strategy used by 7 years olds are mnemonics, which is when they repeat information taught to them that helps improve their memory. By the time they reach adolescences, students are now able to store information by elaborating on to what they already know since they have more knowledge of the world (Snowman & McCown,

Open Document