Ms. Gregorio’s approach of encouraging the use of cognates resonates with the instructional nature of elaboration. Elaboration theory argues that easier learning is achieved through organization of facts from the simplest to the most complex ones. Therefore, elaboration assumes that the easier learning content should precede the more complex ideas. Ms. Gregorio is upholding this concept by ensuring that her students use the simpler lingual notions to understand the more complex English-language concepts.
This approach has several benefits to learners one of which is encouraging students to foster meanings of complex English-language concepts using their native languages. In addition, this approach enables students to rapidly prototype the instructions’ development process. Elaboration allows Ms. Gregorio to instil broader language concepts in the students before indulging into the narrow ones.
The key role of metacognition is to enable students to take control of their thinking process while learning. Ms. Gregorio tries to achieve this by teaching students using text-noting techniques among other metacognitive skills. The concept of metacognition advances the notion that when learners become aware of their thinking process, it is easier for them to learn.
Therefore, through these memory tricks Ms. Gregorio’s students will be able to enhance their attention in class, control their learning goals, and understand their learning dispositions. Nevertheless, each metacognition skill can only apply to a selective group of students and Ms. Gregorio has to employ as many of these memory tricks as possible.
When teaching using memory tricks, Ms. Gregorio should be aware of the timing element in the application of each trick. According to metacognition scholars and theorists, recognizing the correct moment of using a certain metacognitive strategy is more important than knowing how to use the strategy itself.
The concept of working memory maintains that it takes time for the brain to complete the cognitive mechanism. The working memory enables a learner to assess and process information to and from the long-term memory. This is the reason why Ms. Gregorio pauses between learning steps to enable her students’ cognitive processes to be completed. Different individuals have different capacities when it comes to working memories and Ms. Gregorio seems to be aware of this fact.
If a learner is faced by information processing demands that surpass his/her working memory’s ability, he/she will be unable to learn properly. However, by using step-by-step teaching processes Ms. Gregorio is able to limit her learner’s information processing demands. Moreover, pausing when teaching gives the student’s working memory time to finish processing previous information before taking in new one.