Abstract
The ability to process information has
tremendous effects on learning and is dependent on the ability to gathering information, organizing information
and to transform newly acquired information into mental retention or
schema. To gain a true understanding of learning educators must be interested
in the study of cognition and how humans learn. Information processing theory,
the stage theory model, involves an understanding of cognition and the
involvement of how new information is acquired, how information is processed
and how new schema is developed which
guides retention and information retrieval.
Cognitively, the stage theory model, for educators goes far beyond
simply the taking in and retrieving information. For the learner, educators must
gain the ability to transform new information into learning strategies while
taking into account the learning environment as well as how socialization plays
a role in the learning processes.
Information Processing and the Stage Theory
Model
Information processing theory,
involving the stage theory model, is a broad field dedicated to the study of
the mind and constructs of memory. Within the framework, the theory involves an
understanding of cognition and the involvement of how new information is
acquired, how information is processed and how new schema is developed which guides retention and information
retrieval. For the educator an understanding of how students learn, the means
in which they acquire new information, assists in determining long-term
learning objectives. The stage theory model, for educators, goes far beyond simply the taking in and retrieving
information in the development of learning strategies and objectives, yet also
is influenced by three stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term and
long-term memory. Educators must also
take into account the learning environment as well as how socialization plays a
role in the learning processes to insightfully develop learning objectives
leading to long-term memory.
The primary studies of cognition by
researchers is involves the memory.
Traditionally, based on the work of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) the most
widely used model of information processing is the stage theory model (Bruning,
Schraw, and Norby, 2011). The stage theory model recognizes three types or
stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term or working memory, and long-term
memory. Sensory memory represents the initial stage of stimuli perception. The
initial stage, sensory memory, as defined my Lutz and Huitt (2003), is
associated with the senses, and where there seems to be a separate section for
each type of sensual perception. Bruning, Schraw,
and Norby (2011) note the wonders of the sensory memory is that the cognitive
system can retain environmental information after it has disappeared and refer
to this as the sensory register. For the sensory register, they note that the
research has focused mostly on the visual registers and the auditory registers.
For educators, sensory memory is the memory component that perceives,
recognizes, and assigns meaning to incoming stimuli. This stage of memory is
temporally limited which means that information stored here begins to decay
rapidly if not transferred to the next stage. Educators, in consideration, Wyse, and Rogers (2016)
makes connections to multisensory learning to the sensory memory of learners. In
their discussion of the prefrontal cortex, primarily responsible for core
executive functions of the brain, such as working memory, attention control, planning, and self-regulation. They point out
that neuroscientific evidence implies that educators who stimulate a variety of our senses enhances stronger learning
and by strengthening neuronal networks support more sophisticated cognitive
thinking which relates to the second
stage of information processing, short-term memory.
Bruning, Schraw and Norby (2011) connect
sensory memory to short-term memory to the place where information is processed
for meaning. Lutz and Huitt (2003) identify this stage as the active or
conscious memory, beings that memory is being actively processed while new
information is being taken in. In their studies, two major ways effect
processing information for short-term memory, rote or maintenance rehearsal,
and maintenance rehearsal. In conjunction, short-term memory has capacity
limits since unrehearsed information will begin to be lost from it within 15-30
seconds if another action is not taken. Rote or
maintenance rehearsal consist of memorizing techniques based on repetition
which is the less desirable for instructional
methods. For instructional purposes,
maintenance rehearsal can be employed to information in short-term memory. An
alternative to rote/maintenance rehearsal involves instruction for the learner
involving meaningful learning, associative learning,
and active learning. In a review of
short-term memory, Bruning, Schraw and Norby (2011) in their study of Miller
(1956), view memory as complex involving chunks of information. In adjacent, in
their studies of short-term memory, Snowman and McCown (2015) suggest educators
take advantage of the principle of chunking, for the learner, making
associations between what you’re trying to learn and information they have in
long-term memory. The duties of the educator are
to plan, monitor, assess and improve the quality of learning opportunities to
assist the achievement of all students. The implications of this research are
clear, for learning to change permanently,
new information must transfer into long-term memory, and repetition and
maintenance rehearsal are not sufficient to produce a lasting effect. This has
great relevance to instruction and teaching, in order to incorporate new
information, long-term memory must be in communication with the short-term memory and must be chunked and dynamic
in order to be incorporated into the memory structure.
Along with short-term memory,
Lutz and Huitt (2003) connect long-term memory to all perceptions, knowledge,
and learned information by an individual. In their citing of Abbot (2002), long-term memory can reside dormant
until it can be fetched back into consciousness. In the discussion of long-term
memory, there are two divisions: the
types of long-term memory and the type of knowledge unit stored in long-term
memory. However, evidence supports some specialized categorization system
within the human mind promoting long-term learning. According to Lutz and Huitt (2003) Bruner
(1998), “to perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to
learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize’” (p. 5).
Piaget, in discussions of organization, concurred that it’s the minds naturally
tendency to organize information into interconnected structures. Organization refers to the mind's
natural tendency to organize information into related, interconnected
structures and whereas the most basic structure is the scheme. For the educator, the understanding of tendencies to categorize and to organize
information for learning is a vital step
in ordering instruction for the learner’s long-term-memory. If learning is to occur, educators must
ensure that new information is processed in such a way that it can be retained
in long-term memory. In order to achieve this, elaboration and connection must
occur between previously learned memory and new information. Therefore, in order to make
new material meaningful, instruction must be presented in such a way that
students can easily access and connect previous learning and experiences with
the new material. Lutz and Huitt (2003) bring about most cited references involving levels of elaboration for
instructional purposes, the Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain developed by Bloom
and his colleagues, recently revised by Anderson and Krathwohl (2000). Bloom
proposed that education objectives can be classified into six levels and where each more complex than the previous.
Knowledge, the lowest level, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Unitizing instruction based on Bloom’s
Taxonomy assists in the connection of previous learning. To have a knowledge of a specific learning outcome
assist in lessons of comprehension, prepares the
learner in the application, and
conjures the ability for the learner to analyze, synthesize and to evaluate
learning objectives.
Furthermore, in the devising
of affection instruction strategies and learning objectives for the learner,
environmental issues need to be considered which may obstruct learning. It is
questionable whether the cognitive load theory as addressed by Bruning, Schraw,
and Norby (2011) views that learning environments, such as classroom settings
and student socialization can impose a limit on
the cognitive resources creating a high informing processing overload for
certain individuals. It is this environmental issue which needs to take into
account in the developing of suitable lessons for the learner due to a
heightened information processing load for the limited cognitive resources in
working memory. In consideration of
classroom management the stage theory model has definite educational
implications for students with learning and behavior problems. Teachers with a
greater understanding of the theory and how it is formed to, select learning
strategies in order to improve the retention and retrieval of learning.
In conclusion, for educators,
a stage theory model, provides a basic connection to the learner's cognitive processes, memory, and reasoning even though there include many different theories of information
processing. The key elements of this
model view learning and memory as
discontinuous and multi-staged. It is understood that new information can be
constructed by the educator based on the sensory memory, and is someway
manipulated in planned out instruction to make connections to new information
within short-term memory, which is then manipulated in some way before it is
stored into long-term memory. In order
for this process to benefit the individual, lessons,
and their designs need to be based on the
abilities of students, their maturation levels,
and interests. There to needs to be an
accounting of classroom management to assist students in their learning. As noted by Lutz, William, and Huitt (2003) the information processing model will be
used as a metaphor for successful learning because it is well supported by
research and provides a well-articulated means for describing the main
cognitive structures and processes in the learning cycle.
References
Bruning,
R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Norby, M. M. (2011). Cognitive Psychology and
Instruction (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Lutz, S., & Huitt, W. (2003).
Information processing and memory: Theory and applications. Educational Psychology
Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [9/27/16],
from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/infoproc.pdf
Moss, C. M., & Brookhart, S. M.
(2012). Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in
Today's Lesson. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Rogers,
S. (2016). A Guide to Early Years and Primary Teaching (D. Wyse, Ed.).
Thousands Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Snowman, J. (2015). Psychology
Applied to Teaching (14th Ed.). Stanford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Wyse, D., & Rogers, S. (2016). A
Guide to Early Years and Primary Teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications.
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