Unit 3: Cognitive Theories BICTE Third Semester

Unit 3: Cognitive Theories

Cognitive theory focuses on how people think, learn, and behave. It suggests that our internal mental processes, such as perception, attention, memory, language, problem-solving, and decision-making, influence our behavior. The mind is seen as a computer-like system that processes information through various mental operations. Schemas, which are organized frameworks of information, help us make sense of new experiences and shape our thoughts and behaviors. Learning and development occur through acquiring, organizing, and modifying mental representations and schemas. Attention, memory, and thinking are key processes in cognitive theory. It recognizes the influence of social and environmental factors on cognitive processes. Cognitive theory has contributed to understanding the mind and improving learning, behavior, and mental health.

3.1 Kohler's Insightful Learning

3.1.1. Meaning and characteristics

a. Meaning of Insightful Learning

Insight learning, also known as the Gestalt theory of learning, is a cognitive learning process that involves perceiving and understanding the relationships and patterns in a situation as a whole. It was postulated by Wolfgang Kohler, a Gestalt psychologist, and his associate Koffka in the 1920s.

The term "Gestalt" refers to the idea of an organized or meaningful whole, where the elements are perceived together in a unified manner. According to the Gestalt psychologists, learning is not a mechanical process that can be achieved through blind repetition or reinforcement, as explained in behaviourist theories. Instead, learning is seen as a purposive, exploratory, and creative endeavour.

According to Kohler: "Insight is sudden awareness of the relationship among various elements in a situation. It reflects the capacity to combine elements into a meaningful whole."

 

According to Gestalts, "Insightful learning is a perceptual reorganization process. It involves the learner's ability to restructure and organize percepts and purposes in order to develop a new understanding or solution to a problem."

 

In a nutshell, insight learning is a type of learning in which learners actively engage in observation and evaluation of the problem at hand. They perceive the problem as a whole rather than focusing solely on the individual components. By mentally restructuring the problem and considering the relationships and interactions between the elements, they are able to generate a sudden solution or understanding. This process often occurs in a flash of insight, where the solution seems to emerge suddenly in the learner's mind, often described as an "aha" or “eureka” or a bolt of lightning moment.

B. Characteristics of Insightful Learning

Insightful learning has some key characteristics that set it apart from other types of learning:

I.                   Perception: Insightful learning begins with perceiving a problem, which involves looking at it from different angles allowing learners to recognize, analyse, and evaluate problems using their own experiences, knowledge, intellect, and abilities. It contributes to a comprehensive and enduring understanding of the subject matter or problems at hand.

II.                Central Mediation: Insightful learning involves our brain and how it processes information. It's not just about trying things randomly until something works. Our brain actively thinks and makes connections to figure out the solution.

III.             Discovering New Relationships: Insightful learning is about finding new connections between ideas or things. We notice patterns or relationships that we didn't know existed before. This helps us understand the problem better and come up with more creative solutions.

IV.            Suddenness: Insightful learning can happen suddenly and unexpectedly. It's like a lightbulb turning on in our heads. We suddenly understand the solution clearly, almost out of nowhere.

V.               Dependency on Age and Experience: Insightful learning relies on what we already know and have experienced. We need some familiarity with the problem to see the solution. The more we learn and experience, the better we become at insightful learning.

VI.            Attention to the Goal: Insightful learners stay focused on the goal of solving the problem. They don't get distracted by irrelevant information. This helps them concentrate and find the solution more effectively.

VII.         Test of Insightful Learning Through Transfer: We can test insightful learning by seeing if we can use what we've learned in one situation to solve problems in a different situation. If we can do that, it shows that we've truly understood and learned through insight.

By understanding these characteristics, we can develop our ability to learn insightfully, solve problems creatively, and apply our knowledge to new situations.

3.1.2. Experiment on chimpanzee

Kohler conducted experiments on different animals like chimpanzees, pigeons, chickens, and humans to understand how they acquire insights. The experiments conducted on chimpanzees in the Denerif Forest of Africa from 1913 to 1917 are especially important in this regard.

The following two experiments conducted in a chimpanzee named Sultan, are discussed below:

Experiment on box problem

Kohler placed a hungry chimpanzee named Sultan in a locked room. The chimpanzee became restless, making noises and jumping around. Meanwhile, he noticed a banana hanging from the ceiling. Excited to eat the banana, he made several attempts but couldn't reach it. Eventually, he calmed down and observed some scattered boxes in the room. Moving around, he accidentally stepped on a box and realized he had become slightly taller and closer to the banana. Understanding the relationship between the boxes and the banana's distance, he fetched another box and stacked it on top. Climbing the boxes, he progressively got closer to the banana. In the end, he successfully arranged all the boxes and reached the top to enjoy the banana.

Experiment on stick problem

In this experiment, a hungry chimpanzee was confined to a room with scattered sticks. A banana was placed outside the room where the chimpanzee's hands couldn't reach. The chimpanzee made several attempts to grab the banana but failed. Inside the room, the chimpanzee noticed the scattered sticks and started playing with them. Eventually, the chimpanzee attempted to use a stick to pull the banana towards him, but it didn't work. After some time, the chimpanzee figured out that the sticks could be connected together. By joining the sticks, the chimpanzee managed to create a tool long enough to retrieve the banana. This experiment demonstrated that seemingly impossible tasks can be mentally solved. The solution to the problem originated from the chimpanzee's mental thinking and reasoning here can be termed as insightful learning.

 

 

4.1.3. Educational implications of Kohler's learning theory

Insight-based learning denies trial and error in learning. It fosters meaningful and transformative experiences. It can be applied to subjects like math, social studies, geography, and history. The educational implications of this theory can be stated as follows:

a.     Goal setting: Setting goals is an important implication of insightful learning. It helps learners focus their efforts and gives them direction. Goals provide motivation, guide learning activities, and allow learners to track their progress.

b.     Emphasis in problem solving method: Another important implication of insight-based learning is the use of problem-solving methods in teaching. It contributes to the development of insight in learners. However, when presenting a problem, it is important to create balance of learner's readiness, motivation, nature of the subject matter and learning environment.

c.      Presentation of the whole problem:

Insight-based learning focuses on observing things as a whole to learn. If learners only see the things in individual parts without understanding how they fit together, they may struggle to solve problems. That's why it's important to approach learning using the Whole-to-Part method, where learners understand the bigger picture before focusing on the details.

d.     Support for self-paced learning:

Insights learning suggest that, to help learners progress effectively, it's important to match the pace of the learning process with their readiness. They should be given enough chances to actively participate in learning and tackle challenges independently. This allows them to constantly improve their skills. Applying unnecessary pressure can have a negative effect on learning and may lead to frustration.

e.      Importance on cognitive and emotional readiness:

The theory of insight-based learning emphasizes the importance of matching the learner's cognitive and emotional readiness with the advancement of the learning process. Cognitive readiness refers to understanding the proposed subject matter through knowledge acquisition, generalization, reasoning, and critical thinking. Emotional readiness, on the other hand, refers to understanding the learner's mindset towards the learning material or environment. If the learner is not cognitively ready, they may not be able to learn effectively, even if they engage in mental activities. Similarly, if the learner is not emotionally ready, they may not be receptive to the proposed learning content. Therefore, in order to bring about effectiveness in learning, it is important to consider the learner's readiness.

f.       Sufficient help for ensuring success:

In order to achieve success in learning, insight-based learning theories suggest providing sufficient guidance, suggestions, and encouragement. Specifically, it is recommended to offer support to students in identifying problems, exploring possible solutions, and organizing obtained solutions. However, it is important to note that providing assistance does not mean providing the solution to the problem itself.

 

 

4.2. Information Processing Theory

4.2.1 Introduction

The information processing theory of learning is a cognitive theory that explains how people receive, store, and process information. It is based on the idea that the human mind works like a computer, with input, processing, and output stages. It suggests that learning involves several stages, including reception, perception, short-term memory, long-term memory, and retrieval. This theory has been used to explain various learning phenomena, such as acquiring new information, remembering, problem-solving, and decision-making.

What is learning according to information processing theory?

Learning is a complex mental/ cognitive process that involves the acquisition of new information and the modification of existing knowledge.

The information processing theory of learning has been criticized for being too simplistic and for failing to take into account the social and emotional aspects of learning. However, it remains a popular and influential theory of learning. It has been used to explain a wide range of learning phenomena, and it has been used to develop a variety of instructional strategies. The theory is still under development, but it has become one of the most influential theories of learning in psychology.

4.2.2. Key Features of Information Processing Theory

The key features of the information processing theory of learning are:

·        Information is processed in stages: Information is first received through the senses, then stored in short-term memory, and finally transferred to long-term memory.

·        Information is processed by a series of mental processes: These mental processes include attention, perception, memory, and thinking.

·        Learning is influenced by a variety of factors: These factors include prior knowledge, motivation, and the environment.

 

4.2.3.  Basic Elements of Information Processing Theory: (Sensory register, short-term memory/store, long-term memory/store)

Information Processing Theory is a cognitive framework that explains how information is perceived, processed, stored, and retrieved by the human mind. It involves three key elements:

·        Sensory Register: This is the initial stage of information processing where sensory information from the environment is briefly registered and retained after the original stimulus has ceased.  It consists of different types of sensory memory, including iconic memory for visual information lasting approximately half a second, echoic memory for auditory information lasting 3 to 4 seconds, and haptic memory for touch lasting two seconds. While the storage capacity of the sensory register is unlimited, the duration of storage is very short due to the decay of information over time.

·        Short-Term Memory/Store: It is also called working memory where information goes after it gets attention from the sensory register. It can hold a small amount of information for a short time, usually about 30 seconds. Think of it as a mental notepad that can only hold around 7±2 items.  Distractions, complexity, and similarity of information can make it harder to remember things in this stage.

·        Long-term Memory/Store: Long-term memory is the final stage of information processing, where information is stored for longer periods, ranging from days to a lifetime. It has an unlimited capacity and can hold a vast amount of knowledge, experiences, skills, and memories. Long-term memory is organized into different categories, such as factual knowledge (semantic memory), personal experiences (episodic memory), and procedural skills (procedural memory). Retrieval of information from long-term memory is crucial for learning, remembering, and applying knowledge.

 

 

4.2.2. Educational implications of information processing theory

Information processing theory is a cognitive theory of learning that views the mind as an information processing system. This theory has a number of implications for teaching and learning, which are as follows:

·        Organize the curriculum in a repetitive sequence that builds on prior knowledge, facilitating the transfer of information to long-term memory and supporting knowledge construction.

·        Procedural knowledge, involving skills and processes, requires more emphasis and practice than declarative knowledge, which focuses on factual information.

·        Attention, rehearsal, and overlearning are essential for effective learning, ensuring the allocation of cognitive resources, maintenance of information in working memory, and enhanced durability of learned material.

·        Visual aids and mnemonic devices can help students remember information by creating mental connections and associations.

·        Break down complex tasks into manageable steps that allows students to comprehend and master each component before progressing further.

·        Focus on motivation, prior knowledge, scaffolding for struggling students, and assessment for monitoring learning progress.

·        Provide opportunities for students to practice and apply new skills in various contexts to promote transfer and application of knowledge.

·        Give timely and constructive feedback to guide students' learning and enable them to make adjustments and improvements.

·        Create a positive and supportive learning environment that fosters engagement, motivation, and a sense of belonging, contributing to effective learning.

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