Monday, June 22, 2009
Chapter 8- Information Processing Theory
Thinking back on my elementary, middle school, and high school education, what are some pieces of specific information that I have learned and am still able to retrieve (for example, the Pledge of Allegiance, the state capitals, mathematical formulas)? How did I learn this information? Why am I still able to retrieve this information? How do my responses to these questions relate to information-processing theory?
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I think a lot of it has to do with how you learned it in the first place. What connections did you make? Did you use "cram sessions" to memorize things for the test? What were you thinking at the time? How well were you focused? Did you try teaching the information to anyone else? These strategies have been established as great ways to improve memory, enhance recall, and increase retention of information. Experts say our long-term memory stores everything we've ever learned, but I'm not so sure I agree. If my brain does actually remember everything in the long-term store, then either my sensory register or my short-term store filed bankruptcy a long time ago. Let me just add one more comment: I find it very interesting that right at the start of this chapter it states that, "Although the absolute amount of information human beings can learn appears to be limitless it must be acquired gradually. So these crash courses in the summer don't work. Why does our educational department, of all departments, continue to set these up?
ReplyDeleteSome information I am still able to remember are:
ReplyDelete• The Preamble of the Constitution
• States in Alphabetical Order
• Order of Operations for Math – PEMDAS
• Order of planets – My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas
• Conjunctions – Baf Nosy
I think I was able to learn and retain this information because it was presented in such a unique and organized way. The Preamble and States were both songs, and the other three are mnemonic devices that helped me to remember the order of the words. When I first learned the information, it was stored in my short-term memory by rehearsal and repetition of saying or singing the information aloud. And obviously, since I still remember it, the information has transferred to my long-term memory. All of the items above are organized in a meaningful way, which aides myself and others to learn, retain, and retrieve the information. I definitely use these strategies in my classroom, and we try to think of new memory aiding techniques, such as the Great Lakes (SHO ME) and the three reasons for reading (easy as PIE – Persuade, Inform, Entertain). It provides something different for the kids to memorize information, and that is why it sticks throughout the years.
Some things I am able to remember how to do that I learned in elementary, middle, and/or high school:
ReplyDelete* Order of Operations "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally"
* Pythagorian Theory (A*A)+(B*B)=(C*C)
* 4 types of sentences
*Like our fists a paragraph packs a big punch (5 sentences make a paragraph like 5 fingers make a fist)
I was able to learn these three things in various ways. Order of Operations was a nmeonic devise, Pythagorian theory sounded cool when you said "A squared plus B squared equals C squared, and the four types of sentences were learned through acting them out. For all of these, I was able to make a connection, in some way, to my prior knowledge, and then the lessons were meaningful so I gave them my full attention and the information found its way to my long term memory. Also, I had repeated exposures at varying levels of difficulty with all of the concepts. I was able to think about my learning with all of these concepts, using my metacognition, to ensure that they were in my long term memory. None of these lessons were presented to me as just memorizing information. My teachers made learning fun and obviously memorable.
For the most part, the information that I am able to retrieve is information that I either use on a regular basis or information that was gleaned during an emotional experience. Information that has been retained in my long-term memory and can be easily recalled was taught to me in a way that got my attention, then reinforced in later lessons and in different ways. This is why I am such a big believer in the spiral method, which allows learners to re-experience information and build on prior knowledge. Information processing theory tells us that the brain is a pattern seeking organ and that information is best retained when connected to another memory or other information.
ReplyDeleteSome of the things I learned from school (prior to college) and still remember today are things that used some kind of a memory device or that were used year after year and gradually built upon in small chunks. Rhymes, acronyms, acrostics, and music were some of the most enjoyable, easy ways for me to learn. Some of the things I remember now are:
ReplyDelete• HOMES-the Great Lakes
• ROY G BIV- the colors of a rainbow
• Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally-order
of operations
• School House Rock songs-Preamble for
instance
• In eighteen hundred and forty-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
I am able to recall these things because of the way I learned them. Memory devices allow me to recall old, unused information that I would otherwise have likely forgotten. The only one I would have remembered even without the memory device is the order of operations. The reason for this is because of the repetition of using it over many years.
Using memory devices helps us organize materials, and organized materials are more easily retrieved because of how they are stored in connection to other information. Repetition of information over a long period of time also allows for information to move from our short term memories to our long term memories.
I must say that I agree with Blower. I know I need more time to really grasp and store ALL the information we’ve read and discussed in class in my long term memory. That said, I think I will remember some of the things that seem to immediately apply to helping me make my classroom a better place to learn. Hopefully my “Top 10” list will help me access the files of info in my brain.
I can still remember learning the 50 states in alphabetical order in a song. My teacher used the multiple/rhythmic intelligence to teach the song. I also remember learning the order of the planets of the solar system in an acrostic poem. These were effective strategies because they were put into a meaningful context. They can be retrieved because these strategies are memory devices. These examples show that how a teacher presents information is important for the short term but also for the long term effects. It is important to provide visual, auditory, and tactile experiences so the information can be stored in short term, then long term memory.
ReplyDeleteThere are several pieces of information I am able to recall from prior learning. In music class, I remember the line and space notes by thinking "Every Good Boy Does Fine," and "F-A-C-E." I also remember all 50 states in alphabetical order according to a song we sang in elementary school. Finally, I can recall classifications of living things by thinking, "King Phillip Cried, Oh For Goodness Sakes." (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species). One method that seems to help me recall these pieces of information are the use of acronyms and/or mnemonic devices that organize facts into chunks and connect them to a sentence or word more conducive to memorization. I agree that the more students (and adults) get to use and apply new knowledge, the better chance it has of being stored in long-term memory and retrieved at a later time.
ReplyDeleteI can still remember pieces of information from my school days thanks to mnemonic devices, songs, jingles, acronyms, and repetition (I can still recite 50 prepositions in alphabetical order!) The theory of information processing includes elaborative rehearsal, which I think helped me to visualize the words, letters, planets, cardinal directions, etc. that I was trying to memorize. Since I had prior knowledge of those words I could construct visual images and store the information in my long-term memory.
ReplyDeleteI can remember such items as the order of operations and state capitals, to name of few. I found it easy to memorize information with the help of mneumonic devices, short songs, or little sayings. I think I can still remember things because information such as math formulas were retrieved and put into practical use for me. The more times you look up or recall information ( like a phone number ) the easier it is to do so on your own.
ReplyDeleteI learned to memorize facts way before my teachers ever required me to do so. My grandfather would teach me all the typical information you would memorize while we rode around on his tractor or horse checking fields and cows. He only had an education through the eighth grade, but made sure his kids and grandkids made it to college. I learned all my math facts, the state capitals from east to west, the presidents in order, and every other silly thing kids had to memorize just by riding around with him. One of our favorite games to play was quiz bowl after dinner. If you got all of his questions right, you got out of dishes. In regard to the information-processing theory, I believe I learned this information easily because it was in my favorite setting, on the farm with Grandpa. I think the only reason I can still retrieve this information is because of my husband and kids. When we travel by car, we do states and capitals or some other tidbit of information to pass the time, so I have to constantly recall this information or travel with more reference materials than my map.
ReplyDeleteI have very bad long term memory. I do not remember very much of what or how I learned certain things. I do remember, however, getting the paddle in third grade. I can still see the teacher's face in my mind. I did not clean off my desk in one min. I remeber this because it has VERY strong emotion connected to it! I also remember my middle school art teacher. He was a very happy guy, and his passion for art was contagious. Another things that sticks out in my mind is a high school English class. My teacher was a Kodyuk (sp?) twin, they both taught in our school. I remember her passion for Shakespear. Her enthusiasm was also very contagious and I just remember enjoying her class and learning about Shakespear, very much. All of these experiences were meaningful to me and based on strong emotions.
ReplyDeleteI learned the states in alphabetical order through song. This is the same way I learned parts of the Preamble. We had to sing it in our Fifth Grade Spring Musical program. Using music is an excellent way for concepts to be stored in the long-term memory. Again, I remember the days of each month through the song "Thirty days have September..." I think it was it easy for me to learn these things because I love music, and while I never tried to play an instrument, my schemata consisted of music being played in our home constantly. Not only did we listen to recordings, but I remember my dad playing the guitar. I also use what I would call "song association" in which hearing a particular song reminds me of certain emotions that I have felt at different times of my life. In addition, being orgainzed in my thoughts and routines has helped me to establish the acquistion of concepts into long-term memory.
ReplyDeleteFor me, mnemonic devices were the thing that worked best. I remember cramming for biology tests (that were basically recall answers and no higher level thinking) and memorizing things with acronyms and acrostics. I don’t remember any of it, because it was jammed into my short-term memory and forgotten the next day. I always called this “learn and dump” because I never remembered what I had crammed for. I remember poems that were meaningful to me, like Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” I was able to process these into long-term memory because they were important to me. In terms of information processing theory, these items were “dumped” because I sensed no importance in them, and so I never took the time to become emotionally or intellectually invested in them. Kids need to be totally immersed in information because you never know what is going to be important to them.
ReplyDeleteFor me, mnemonic devices were the thing that worked best. I remember cramming for biology tests (that were basically recall answers and no higher level thinking) and memorizing things with acronyms and acrostics. I don’t remember any of it, because it was jammed into my short-term memory and forgotten the next day. I always called this “learn and dump” because I never remembered what I had crammed for. I remember poems that were meaningful to me, like Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” I was able to process these into long-term memory because they were important to me. In terms of information processing theory, these items were “dumped” because I sensed no importance in them, and so I never took the time to become emotionally or intellectually invested in them. Kids need to be totally immersed in information because you never know what is going to be important to them.
ReplyDelete