29 Dec 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Week 3: Cognitive Models of Learning
Class Notes
• Balancing intrinsic and extraneous
o Intrinsic can be optimized by segmenting – introduce elements before interactions
o Extraneous can be reduced by ge4tting rid of busy slides, irrelevant information
• Can increase germane by telling students to apply concept to different context
• How do we measure mental effort?
o Self-report – proven to be just as good a measure as others
o Response time
o Physiological measures i.e. heart rate (more costly and resource-intensive)
• Expertise reversal effect – unnecessary information doesn’t facilitate learning
• Ways to modify intrinsic load: segment information, signal to students how information chunked
• Efficacy and accuracy together determine expertise
• Benefits of constructivism
o Elaboration and retrieval for memory, make judgements about own learning i.e. avoid
fluency effects, make connections to add to existing schemata
Exam Review Notes
• Information processing theory – need people to pay attention (selective attention) and avoid
mind wandering to process incoming information effectively
o Need to maintain information in STM for a bit before encoded into LTM
o Information needs to assimilate with, or adjust, pre-existing schemata
o Information processed through two channels without doubled effort required
▪ Phonologically – process words/sounds regardless if reading or listening
▪ Visually/spatially – pictures/graphics
▪ Dual processing: offload information from one channel to another so students
can have both phonological and visual processing
▪ If information processed through two channels, cognitive capacity is also
doubled since equally capable
o Need to consider redundancy effects
▪ Best strategy to either put up text and be quiet to let them read, or put up related
visuals and speak aloud what’s not on the screen
• Complementary boosts comprehension – important to remember images
also take up mental effort
▪ Good to use PowerPoints as organizers i.e. on screen have four prompts that
would be the pillars of a theory for professors and students to refer back to, and
remember the broader concepts that information falls under
o If students given information they have no prior knowledge on, not going to remember it
▪ Have to scaffold information so there’s something in LTM it will stick to
o Then, retrieval useful for strengthening connections to make memories stronger
▪ Retrieval practices should be designed into course – okay if they get it wrong, but
important to make the effort and activate the memory traces, then be motivated to
correct their understanding
• Cognitive load theory – optimize intrinsic, decrease extraneous, maximize germane
o Sometimes might want to introduce some extraneous load i.e. funny pictures, humour,
music, to reduce stress – offer bit of a break and then bring them back, as personal side
for student-teacher relationships
• Constructivism – scaffolding, zone of proximal development (relating to intrinsic load)