Week 3 Cognitism

What is learning?
The cognitive process is all about organization. How the content is organized helps the student learn the information. To learn something we need to know it, not just for the moment, or to pass a test, but to retain the information over time. As a teacher I am very concerned about how students generalize information from one setting to another. If I am teaching a reading class, and we are learning about comprehension, I want to generalize the comprehension strategies to multiple settings. For example we might practice the strategies by studying for a science test, or making a recipe.

How can a teacher best effectuate learning?

A teacher can best effectuate cognitive processing by breaking tasks into meaningful steps, and generalizing those skills in different setting. It is important for students to apply what they have learned to multiple settings so they can internalize their knowledge. I remember in college I took human biology, we were learning about the Krebb's cycle. I had a tough time with this concept, and today I could not tell you much about it. My boyfriend (now husband), was an Animal Science major, so I had him help me. He knew the Krebb's cycle in and out from other classes, and could explain it, and teach it, he really internalizes what he learns and remembers everything!! He definitely uses the cognitive process to learn most thing. I on the other hand never quite grasped the Krebb's cycle, I just memorized enough to pass the test. Hence, I was using the behaviorism theory, I wanted reward (a grade), and he used the cognitive process because he internalized it. In the long run internalizing the information is much more important, then simply being able to spit out information for the sake of the grade. As a teacher we need to reinforce to our students the importance of not only knowing the information, but being able to apply the information to everyday life.