Cognitive learning theorist Tolman, an American psychologist, felt learning occurred when people made connects or maps of their environment. He was a pioneer in this field and based his findings after conducting research with rats using mazes. Even though he was a behaviorist, “Tolman sought to demonstrate that animals could learn facts about the world that they could subsequently use in a flexible manner, rather than simply learning automatic responses that were triggered off by environmental stimuli” (Wikipedia, 2010).
Gestalt believed learning occurs more readily when the brain finds patterns. “The importance of the theory for real-world learning is the attention which it draws to wholes (and incidentally to problem-solving as a part of learning). Whereas behaviorism concentrates on breaking down a task into parts and how each is learned individually and incrementally, Gestalt acknowledges the “knack” element. It thus underpins all the cognitivist theories (Atherton, 2010).
This knowledge aids my understanding of the instructional strategies presented this week by Dr. Orey and how they correlate with the principles of cognitive learning theory. When I look at the instructional strategy of elaboration, I found the following website, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/id/elaboration_theory.html, informative on how to implement this strategy successfully. Within the seven step process, the student is beginning with “an overview of the simplest and most fundamental ideas of the subject and then continuously zooming into the details about the subject matter” (Clark, 2010). This strategy will help within my own teaching practices as I challenge the students to further their understanding on a specific skill we are discussing. We can begin with an overall concept and then “zoom in” to finite the details.
Concept maps are another instructional strategy that uses a graphic tool to organize and connect ideas together. According to Novak and Canas (2010) some characteristics of concepts maps are as follows: a) they “are represented in a hierarchical fashion with the most inclusive, most general concepts at the top of the map and the more specific, less general concepts arranged hierarchically below; and b) they include the inclusion of cross-links, which are relationships or links between concepts in different segments or domains of the concept map”. More importantly, the authors note these “two features of concept maps are important in the facilitation of creative thinking are the hierarchical structure that is represented in a good map and the ability to search for and characterize new cross-links” (Novak and Canas, 2010). Currently, I use this instructional strategy within my classroom. This tool allows me to have a working knowledge on the depth and connection of understanding students may have on at the onset of teaching a new skill. I can then tailor my instruction to meet the needs of the students and follow-up by having the students reconstruct the concept map at the end of the lesson to see the growth and connections they have made.
Atherton, J. S. (2010). Learning and teaching; Gestalt and learning. Retrieved January 17, 2011 at http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/gestalt.htm
Clark, D. (2010). Reigeluth's elaboration theory for instructional design. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/id/elaboration_theory.html
Novak, J. D. & Canas, A. J. (2010) The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct them. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from http://web.archive.org/web/20060524112734/cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.htm
Ormrod, J.E. (1999). Cognitive learning theory. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~lynda_abbott/Cognitive.html
Wikipedia. (2010). Edward C. Tolman. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_C._Tolman
Jeremie, I am definitely going to check out the website about implementing instructional strategies. Sometimes when I go back and evaluate my lessons I think that I try to teach too much information. Instead I need to focus on one specific skill and encourage students to find the "details", really zoning in on the facts that I am trying to teach.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeremie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. The extra research you made on the cognitive theory was very interesting to read. I agree with Gestalt’s idea that the brain works in patterns. I see this everyday in my classroom with math and reading. Patterns are everywhere if you really think about it.
I have used concept maps in my third grade classroom to help my students organize information or their thoughts. Concept maps are an easy way to organize an abundance of information. The wonderful part about concept maps is that they can be used in not only a multitude of ways, but for almost any grade level.
What are thoughts on the note taking and summarizing chapters in our class’s text? I feel like note taking has an important role in the classroom. I look forward to your thoughts.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jeremie--Sorry about above posting from "pod"--that is another account I have and I initially used it by mistake. Here is my posting again from the correct account.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this interesting post. I enjoyed reading this very much.
I find that cognitive theory can offer many insights into developing students' developing schemas and problem solving expertise. Experts typically have very well developed schemas for information--they have patterns they can draw on--automaticity on certain tasks--that help them in their problem solving.
Concept maps can help build expertise. They enable students to see relationships between information--to see how supporting facts or declarative information connect to overarching concepts or theme--it can help students to see cause/effect relationships and to chunk information. Novices sometimes have difficulty differentiating between what is important and what is a supporting detail--when they take notes they want to write every word--they can't tell how to organize the information in a logical way because they are new to the information.
A concept map can facilitate the understanding of how to organize information--when students have a well organized schema they are going to be able to retain the information--to retrieve it.
I find it helpful to have students create maps collaboratively--to share ideas about the organization of the content--to gain different perspectives.
Thanks for sharing.
Susan
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important the students learn how to summarize and take notes. These two skills require a core understanding of the material the students needs to know. In order to do either one of these skills they must be able to find the main idea and supporting details of any written work. Concept mapping is the first step in the process of teaching note-taking and summarizing. The students must find one or two words that is the focal point (main idea). Then they can branch out from this concept (supporting details).