Cognitive theories are theories which aim to provide insight into how we process information, that is, how we learn. Anderson ( 1976, 1983) proposed two kinds of memory: declarative memory containing domain knowledge and production memory containing procedural knowledge. Most of the major theories concerning cognition agree that there are three areas of memory involved:
- Primary, which is where we initially perceive objects and ideas
- Short term memory, often called the rehearsal buffer or working memory, which is where the processing of information is done
“Working Memory. As a consequence of task requirements, or sometimes simply long-term strategies or habits, the individual sets criteria for the types of items that are selected for passage from primary memory into the limitedcapacity system termed the rehearsal buffer” (Atkinson (1989, p. 4)
- Long term memory, where the new information is finally stored after it is related to something already there:
“Long-Term Memory. The long-term system …..provides the basis for learned skills and knowledge. ….. Procedural memory…..is the assemblage of stored action routines that constitute skills and habits. The storage of procedural information (effectively, stimulus-response associations, or condition-action pairs) evidently need not involve working memory, and the stored procedural information is not necessarily accessible to awareness or verbal report ( Anderson, 1983; Tulving, 1983). The episodic system comprises memories of events in their temporal and situational contexts, whereas the semantic (alternatively termed categorical or declarative) system includes memory representations that are generally independent of context, for example, meanings, facts, and rules” ( Tulving, 1968, 1983). (1989, p. 5)
The major advance made in cognitive theory over the past decades is the idea that each person has a limited capacity in working memory which is somewhere between 5 and 9 items. Most people have at least enough room and retention ability to store 5 items in working memory and few can store more than 9. (This is why telephone numbers were grouped as they are.) Since this is so, we have discovered that grouping things to be learned helps retention. We also find non-boring ways to rehearse and ways to make connections. This is where discussion becomes important.
Another area of cognitive theory which has a strong impact on teaching and learning today is the idea that there are different learning styles. This probably depends upon the primary processing mode of the learner. The various theories dealing with learning styles:
“There are three broad classes of cognitive skills. In the first class are the basic operations of memory, including association, recognition, and recall. The second class consists of skills that derive general knowledge from experience, and includes such skills as induction and categorization. The third class consists of skills that interrelate or recombine existing knowledge to form new knowledge, and includes deduction, statistical reasoning, and analogical reasoning. Of course, these different classes of skills are highly interrelated in practice.” (Olson, 1989, p. 67)
Considering all of these, it points out that probably the most important advance in education over the past century is diversification, especially where it is applied in the same classroom. Different learning styles require different teaching methods. Different perceptions require different presentations. Different sets of knowledge brought to the table require different ways of connectin the newly acquired knowledge to what is already known. Different talents of expression require different methods of applying the knowledge just gained in order to make the best connection for easy retrieval and transference to other domains. In other words, the very wide variety of studies and the huge range of theories and proofs has developed a system of teaching to learn to teach. Research is constant, even in the small classroom and the teacher is constantly modifying methodology as new knowledge is gained.
References
Anderson J. R. ( 1976). Language, memory, and thought. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Anderson J. R. ( 1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Atkinson R. C., & Shiffrin R. M. ( 1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (Vol. 2, pp. 89-195). New York: Academic Press.
Olson, G. M. (1989). 2 Intellectual Development. In Foundations for a Psychology of Education, Lesgold, A. & Glaser, R. (Eds.) (pp. 51-78). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Tulving E. ( 1968). Theoretical issues in free recall. In T. R. Dixon & D. L. Horton (Eds.), Verbal behavior and general behavior theory (pp. 2-36). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Tulving E. ( 1983). Elements of episodic memory. New York: Oxford University.