Hello, it’s Timothy again. Once again, I am going to talk about the
weekly readings and discussions from my EDAT 6115 class. This week’s blog is centered on week 4
readings and discussions for EDAT 6115.
Our weekly readings focused on information processing and cognitive
theories of learning.. The thoughts and
discussions were in response to Chapter 6 from Robert E. Slavin’s (2012) book, Educational Psychology (10th
edition). This week’s readings focused on the biological and behavioral
factors that affect how students process
information and learn new materials.
Chapter six began by discussing the
information-processing model, which is “a dominate theory of learning and
memory since the mid-1970’s” (Slavin, 2012, p. 144). The model is made up from several
components. The first piece of the model
is sensory registers. “Sensory registers receive large amounts of information
from each of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste) and hold it for a
very short time” (Slavin, 2012, p. 144).
These elements are important to education on a couple of fronts. First, students need to pay close attention
to new acquired information if they want to retain it (Slavin, 2012). Next, teachers must emphasis which pieces of
information that they want students to learn, and they must limit the amount of
information given to students at one time (Slavin, 2012). This premise holds great importance with our
discussion question. In our weekly
discussion, we were asked why it was important for teachers to vary instructional
methods. One reason to vary strategies
is to pay attention to students’ sensory registers. By transitioning strategies, teacher can
introduce or re-emphasize information
that they want their students to learn.
The second component of the information-processing
model was short-term or working memory (Slavin, 2012). Short-term memory is information that is held
for a very short time period and is actively being included in thought (Slavin,
2012). This kind of memory requires
education practices, such as rehearsal, that aids in allowing students to hold
information. This was also pertains to
our weekly discussion. I try to use
instructional practices that have the students repeat, recite, and practice
applying new information.
The third part of the
information-processing model is long-term memory (Slavin, 2012). Long-term memory is just what it sounds like. This is information that has the capability
of being stored for a long time (Slavin, 2012).
Long-term memory is broken into three sections: episodic memory,
semantic memory, and procedural memory (Slavin, 2012). This concept probably held the most attention
among classmates when discussing varieties of teaching strategies. Differing instructional methods can attempt
to trigger all three categories of long-term memory. Slavin (2012) mentioned how high-quality
instruction and student-involved instruction can help a child deposit new information
into their long-term memory. This idea
contributed to many of the posts for our discussions. As many classmates pointed out, students have
different learning styles. Therefore, it
is necessary for instructors to vary instruction in the hopes that one aspect
of the lesson may contribute to the information being put into long-term
memory. If the assignment was fun and
had memorable activities, the information might be entered into some students’
episodic memories. Furthermore, if the
lesson builds upon previously learned ideas, the information may be stored in
students’ semantic memory. This can
attempt to explain why teachers must vary instructional strategies.
The chapter also discussed how the
brain operates. “Findings have shown how
specific parts of the brain process specific types of information in concert
with other specific brain sites” (Slavin, 2012, p. 178). This thought could be applied to the
classroom, and more importantly, to national measures of student outcomes. Slavin (2012) talked about how “some types of
learning are easier than others” (p. 157).
Learning language is much easier than learning complicated mathematic
principles (Slavin, 2012). This should
be remembered by states when creating standardized tests and accountability
measures.
The chapter also talked about why
people remember or forget information. Practicing is thought to help students
remember information (Slavin, 2012). This is a very important part of
instructional strategies. In contrast,
Slavin (2012) mentioned that people may forget new information when it is
confused with other pieces of information or moved to make room for new
information. This is very important for
classroom teachers with being aware of making sure that students properly retain
information before they move onto new information. There are many strategies that can be taught
to help students remember information.
Slavin (2012) mentioned that teachers can use “mnemonics…paired-associate
learning, serial learning and free-recall learning” (Slavin, 2012, p. 178) Moreover, Slavin (2012) spoke to the
importance for instructors making use of
information that is meaningful to students. Teachers should also use a variety of
instructional strategies (note-taking, summarizing, outlining, analogies,
questioning techniques, use of background knowledge, and metacognition) to help
students to process information into long-term memory.
The readings from this week offered
theories and ideas that are not often presented to teachers. The discussions from the week mainly focused
on students’ learning styles, but they did not rely on the ideas presented in
the book. Most of my classmates, much
like myself, seemed to have a hard time applying these scientific theories as
to why instructional strategies should be varied.
This concept has a couple of
meanings for me. First of all, I have
learned more about the biological and physiological reasons that students
retain information. So often, teachers
are instructed as to the attention that needs to be paid to students’ learning
styles. However, this chapter focused a
great deal on understanding that instructional methods help direct information
to different sections of the brain.
Secondly, I have learned that the brain will can process information
through many different experiences. The
delivery of my instruction can help direct the information that I present to
students’ memory banks.
I felt that this concept was very
important. However, I found studying
this chapter to be very laborious. The
information was relevant, but the manner of delivery was very mundane. Slavin (2012) spoke of the problems with overloading
the brain with too much information. I
definitely felt that my brain was overloaded after reading the chapter. In spite of this, I feel that I will retain a
good bit of the information because of its meaningfulness to my
profession. These concepts are very
important in helping me guide my future instruction. In my early years of teaching, I tended to
base lessons on my perceptions of what was best for the student rather than
researched theories on how students learned best. I feel that the concepts presented in this chapter
are very important to my future plans.
In fact, I feel that it would be beneficial for educational programs and
conferences to focus on information-processing theories and models. Teachers, especially young teachers, need to
understand how the brain works so that they can plan instruction accordingly.
This idea of how to process
information and how memory is retained
is very important to my classroom. I
need to make my information meaningful.
I also need to make sure and include more metacognition, hands-on
activities, and lessons that offer memorable episodes. An important lesson that
I can apply is to be aware of what makes my students forget information. In the past, I have had several students tell
me that I have “overloaded” them with information. As Slavin (2012) pointed out, information can
be easily forgotten if it is mixed with other information or replaced by new
information. This idea should guide me
in having my lessons organized in a manner that isolates important pieces of
information.
I found it very refreshing to learn
that some of the instructional practices that I use have been proven to be
effective methods of helping students retain information. I have used the PQ4R method in my classrooms
though I did not refer to them by this name.
The method involves: previewing the material, questioning the material,
reading the material, reflecting on the material, reciting the information
learned, and reviewing the material (Slavin, 2012). I have found this method to be very effective
in helping struggling readers.
Furthermore, I am a big believer in students rehearsing
information. When I present new
information, I try to make students repeatedly rehearse how to apply the
information. I also include summarizing
as a big part of my instructional plans.
It was very helpful for me to learn that these methods were thought to
be beneficial in helping students retain information.
I can much of the material presented
in this chapter to improve my teaching.
As stated before, I have realized that I need to be more organized with
my lessons. I do not use advanced
organizers a great deal. After reading
about these organizers positive effects on students, I will use them more with my
lessons. This would be a good way to
prepare students for upcoming material.
Overall, I learned a great deal
from this week’s readings and discussions.
This was information that I have not had presented to me since my
enrollment in my bachelor’s degree (over ten years ago). However, the information was lengthy and very
verbose. I feel like my brain is soup
after processing all of this information.
Now, I am reminded of what my students feel like when I am introducing
types of dependent clauses or the various grammatical rules of writing.
Slavin, R.E. (2012). Educational
psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
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