Supprised by the Cognitivist Theory

As I have continued my search through the learning theories I have begun to look at the cognitivist theory. The theory proposes that all learning is built upon from prior knowledge in the mind. The brain creates links from old to new knowledge and based on the level of need or depth of the experience for this information, is stored in long-term or short-term memory.

This week I looked at the idea of concept maps for use in my classroom. A concept map is a graphical depiction which is used to help organize, arrange, or manipulate information. We already have these at our school but they go by the name thinking maps. I really like these maps because I am a very visual learner and these help me to understand the information tremendously. Concept maps can be designed in any number of ways but I prefer to look at them in a brainstorm type cloud. Seeing this helps me to understand the connections between the central theme and the sub-categories that relate. This is a perfect example of the cognitivist theory in work because I am building specific content from an initial piece of information.

If we were to use a computer program like webspiration to create our own concept maps for assignments we would actually be able to exceed just using text and would also be able to add pictures. This is another great tool for a cognitivist because it would create more than one mental stimuli which cause the depth of the information to increase and thus be stored into the memory.

Another idea that I will be implementing into my class is the idea a virtual field trip. I have been desiring to do something like this for quite some time. I have already set up a skype account and webcam and was simply waiting to find the class that I would collaborate with. My original intention however, was more like an online collaboration between two classes than a real virtual field trip. A virtual field is basically a place that you can go to on the internet where you are able to explore information. What I have come to understand is that right now their are hundreds of virtual field trips that our students can go and enjoy. I recently looked at the museum of art in Boston and was overwhelmed with all the information that was made available to me. Using this in my classroom follows the idea of the cognitivist theory because the experience is so rich. The mind encounters so much mental stimuli through multiple senses that it’s experience is stored more like an event than a random group of facts. I will be using this in my class probably by tomorrow.