[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
| Sensory Memory & Short-Term Memory | Long-Term Memory |
| Recent experiences | Memory traces developed over periods of days, weeks, months, & years |
| Things that are currently in consciousness | Lifetime of information |
| Rehearsal / repetition are crucial | Meaning & organization are crucial |
| Capacity & retention duration are limited | Permanent repository (storehouse) |
Recall = understanding information + retrieving LTM becomes particularly important if we believe that learning is a constructive process (creation & re-creation of new knowledge in the context of previously established and retrievable knowledge) – role of prior knowledge and experience – it’s like building a new house using whatever resources you already have (bricks, cement, tiles, planks, etc.).
Types of Knowledge:
- Declarative Knowledge = factual knowledge (knowing ‘what’)
› Semantic Knowledge = general knowledge – concepts and principles – meaning and understanding of meaning
› Episodic Knowledge = personal experiences – personally dated, autobiographical experiences – “personal tags” association recall
- Procedural Knowledge = process knowledge (knowing ‘how’)
- Conditional Knowledge = knowing ‘when’ and ‘why’ to use DK & PK (needed to help us use DK & PK in real-life settings – at the right time, in the right place, for the right purpose)
| Explicit Memory | Implicit Memory |
| › Involves conscious recall or recognition of previous experiences; intentional information retrieval; a conscious or voluntary search for information
› declarative memory › Knowing information about a bike |
› Knowledge without awareness; unintentional, non-conscious/unconscious form of retention; actions influenced by a previous event but without conscious awareness/remembering; e.g., using computers, tying shoes, driving a car (procedural knowledge, conditioning, habituation); behavior can be influenced by memory of past events even without conscious awareness (stereotypes & prejudice?)
› In fact, when a person tries to reflect on how these skills are being performed, performance often deteriorates › Non-declarative memory › Knowing the physical process of riding a bike |
Note:
› We may know how to ride a bike, but it is very difficult to explain how to do so.
› If we believe in implicit memory or learning, it seems that people are unconsciously acquiring rules that they can use but NOT articulate.
› Overall, we are good at getting ‘the gist’ of things but falter on details!
The Building Blocks of Cognition (What make cognition possible?)
- Concepts
- Propositions
- Schemata
- Productions
- Scripts
Note:
1, 2, & 3 = ways of representing declarative knowledge
4 & 5 = ways of representing procedural knowledge
Concepts
› Conceptual categories – everything we know can be placed under meaningful categories based on perceived similarities (examples vs. non-examples of a concept)
› Attributes = similarities or common features required to define a concept
› Defining attributes = features essential to defining a concept
› Learning a concept involves discovering the defining attributes and discovering the rule or rules that relate the attributes to one another – leads to the formation of hypotheses and the testing of the same by examining attributes and rules
› Role of culture? Categorizing abstract concepts?
Propositions
› Consist of concepts
› The mental equivalent of statements or assertions (claims) about observed experiences and about the relationships among concepts
› Can be judged to be true or false
› Meanings emphasized rather than the exact form of information
› We retain meaning and not the surface structure of information (these are quickly lost)
› Propositions do not stand alone – connected with one another and may be embedded within one another
› A complex proposition is usually broken into simpler sentences (‘idea unit’) to enhance understanding of the meaning presented by the proposition
› Propositional networks = propositions sharing one or more elements are linked with one another (our ability to comprehend information and to use if effectively in cognitive operations such as problem-solving depends on the quality of networks we are able to create
Schemata
› Mental frameworks that we use to organize knowledge
› Control the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
› Data structures that represent knowledge stored in memory
› Fundamental to information processing
› Represent our knowledge about objects, events, sequences of events, actions, and sequences of actions
› When a fresh knowledge is acquired via accommodation (adding) or assimilation (changing and fitting into existing schemata), a new schema is said to be created
› Once a new schema is created, its traces serve as a basis of our re-collection – it is part of our long-term memory repository
› When schemata are not or cannot be activated during learning, new knowledge cannot be assimilated easily
› Memory consists of representations of knowledge, rather than exact copies of it…thus, encoding will vary according to the schemata activated at the time of encoding (learning). In this sense, recall is not simply remembering/recalling stored information…rather, it is re-creating information and events – memory is constructive and re-constructive in nature!
Productions (can be compared to propositions)
› ‘Condition-action’ rules – actions occur if the specified condition(s) exist
› If…then rules
› Memory for productions = implicit memory (conscious thought not involved)
› Automated skills
› Productions are organized in networks called ‘production systems’ – multiple productions may be active at a given time
› Example:
– Production A: If car is locked, then insert key in lock
– Production B: If key is inserted in lock, then turn key
– Production C: If door unlocks, then return the key to vertical
– Production D: If key is vertical, then withdraw key
Scripts (can be compared to schemata)
› Provide underlying mental frameworks for our procedural knowledge
› Schema representation for events
› Contain action sequences and subsequences + actors + objects + characteristics of the setting
› Accountable for stereotypical patterns of activity
Copyright September 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]