Chapter 6 - Learning and Cognitive Processes

One reason I have chosen to become a teacher is because I want to help students reach their full potential and build a strong knowledge base.  I want to create lifelong learners who are excited about learning and able to connect with and apply their knowledge in real-life situations.  Simply put, I want what I teach and the things they learn to stick.  Thinking back on my own education career, it is amazing how much I have "learned" but do not remember.  I understand that it is not possible for my students to remember everything we do in class, but I also do not want them to simply learn for a test only to forget everything the second it is over.  I think many of us (myself included) are guilty of doing this especially in college, yet we would not be satisfied with our students doing so.

Of the classes I have had over the years, the ones I enjoyed and actually still remember what I learned were classes that I found relevant to my life.  I am always more engaged in classes that I connect with and find the information useful, so I want to provide this type of learning for my students.  The cognitive view of learning calls this meaningful learning.  I believe that as a teacher one of the best ways I can help my students learn is by connecting lessons to their background knowledge and previous experiences.  If they can form a relationship between the new knowledge and their old knowledge, then they will be more likely to remember the newer information. Another cognitive learning skill that aids in storing information is rote learning, rehearsal, and mneumonics.  In school, I recall having to copy countless numbers of spelling words, definitions, and math facts.  As much as I despise these learning methods, I think they can be beneficial for learning material in which it is difficult to attach meaning to and for creating automaticity. I want my students to understand that rote memorization or even using mneumonics is not always a complete picture of learning. They also need to make sure what they are rehearsing is accurate and be able to apply what they've memorized. For example, simply knowing "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" is not useful unless the students understand how to apply that knowledge to solve a problem.  Similarly, copying a misspelled word 20 times is not very beneficial.  

Once students learn new material, they also need to understand how to retrieve what they have learned. They need to know how to categorize what they have learned in ways that make it easy for them to remember and retrieve later. I want my students to be able to make multiple connections to what they learn. For example, if they understand the relationship between addition, multiplication, and division then they will have three possible ways to retrieve information about all three since they are connected. Students may be able to form these connections on their own, but often it will be the role of the teacher to point these out. The way we organize our instruction and build topics on one another will also help students form these relationships if done in a logical and meaningful manner.

Overall, I just want my students to benefit from being in my classroom. I want them to be as prepared as possible not only for the following grade level but for the real world. I hope that my students will be able to at least remember the key ideas of the lessons even if they cannot remember small details. I believe that the cognitive view of learning could be a useful approach to help me and my students accomplish these goals.