The Cognitivism theory is extremely interesting to me. I think that a lot of knowledge in teaching comes from being able to understand how the brain receives information and decides what to do with that information. In many cases, I feel as though I am not getting through to my students, but now realize that maybe their brains need a different way of receiving the information so then they know what to do with it.
One strategy that I found to connect extremely well with the Cognitivism theory is that of graphic organizers. Dr. Orey spoke about who the brain makes connections to previous knowledge and can create a network of information. Essentially a graphic organizer does the same thing; there is one central topic and it expands based on information related to that one topic. Having a network of information allows a student to make connections between new information and their previous knowledge. All students have had many different experiences and have a lot of prior knowledge, but sometimes it can be hidden away. When new information is received, it may take awhile to find where that previous knowledge is hidden before an actual connection can be made.
Another strategy that I found interesting in how it relates to the Cognitivism theory is that of note taking. Dr. Orey talked about how Paivio's duel coding hypothesis indicates that the brain can store information in different places. Often the brain stores information with an image and text to go with that image. Note taking includes a combination of both imagery and text, therefore making it easier to store the information in long-term memory. I really liked how the inverted T was described by requiring students to write text on one side and draw images on the other side. Too often than not, images are not required when taking notes. I feel a lot of people do not realize how important it is for our brains to take in pictures.
All in all, I think that a lot of what we do in our classrooms has a connection to the Cognitivism theory, even if we do not realize it. I do feel that it is important to understand why we are using certain strategies over others. I truly believe in knowing the reasons why, rather than just doing it. I ask my students all the time, "How do you know?" and "Why is this true?" The same goes for us as teachers, "How do we know that certain teaching strategies work?" and "Why is it true?"
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I also find Paivio's duel coding interesting. I know when I take notes myself I always draw little pictures, both because I have need that visual but also because I am very kinethetic. By drawing the pictures I add another connection to my notes and help to create a better network for my mind to find information when I need it. I constantly tell my students to draw a picture next to words they do not understand for that same reason. It does not always apply to primary students but I believe that middle school and high schools can benefit from this practice.
ReplyDeleteYou also discuss the need for reasoning why a student should know this and it is important to ask those essential questions and answer them, so our student's can make those connections.
It is very true that our students have a lot of prior knowledge and experiences stored in their brains but it can be hidden. With using graphic organizers it allows for new information to come in through multiple path ways to get to that stored knowledge. I also liked the inverted T. I know when I take notes I tend to include drawings to help me remember the information. When I am teaching math I provide my students with text and examples and require students to copy both. If time allows, I ask students come up with their own examples. I completely agree with you about integrating cognitive traits within our classrooms without realizing we are doing so as the same with the behaviorist theory.
ReplyDeleteThe note-taking discussion you mentioned in your blog also caught my eye. I agree with Mr. Z above- I also have a habit of drawing a small picture to correlate with the information I am writing down. This makes it easier to remember certain aspects of a lesson, as just the picture can trigger information that I have previously learned.
ReplyDeleteGraphic organizers have always been a big help to me as well. Especially with my younger students, who cannot write down information in outline form yet, graphic organizers really help to cement the learned information. My students created a pie drawing to learn author's purpose (Persude, Inform, Entertain), an umbrella and raindrops for cause and effect, and a hand print for summarizing (who, what, when, where, and why go in the fingers).