Cognitivism in Practice

Dr. Orey explains that it is important to make connections between the old and new information we have stored in our brains (Laureate Education, 2007). Retrieving and activating this background knowledge will give our students an appropriate platform to link, and in turn recall, new information that they will be given. 

The Concept Mapping Tool’s explained by Novak (2006) visually depicts the relationships between concepts, by indicating a connecting line that links the new concepts.  You can take original background knowledge, and physically draw in the links that connect your old knowledge, to new concepts.  This form of Elaboration is an integral part of retaining long-term memory (Laureate Education, 2007).

Paivio’s (Laureate Education, 2007) dual coding hypothesis predicts that students will retain information better if it is stored as an image and text.  By using appropriate organizers provided in our book; Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) we can help our students create an associative connection using informational images and rich vocabulary.