PGT201E

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
PRACTICES

Cognitivism Learning Theory

 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, students will be able to:
 Criticized the Behaviourist theory.
 Define Cognitivist theory.
 Explain the core idea of Cognitivist Theory.
 Discuss the application of the Cognitivist Theory.
 What’s wrong with Behaviorism???
• Too simplistic and rigid: Learning can not be just
Stimulus and Response.
• Neglect the thinking process: Behaviourism posits
human mind as black box, where inputs into the
black box, and outputs from the black box, are
known and measurable, but what goes inside and Cognitivism
what occurred inside the black box are entirely
ignored ( (-) Emotions).
• Generalise animals to humans. Animals and
Humans are different.
 So, how do people learn?
 Easy answer: We don’t know for sure.

 Difficult answer: We have multiple theories that provide

glimpses of an answer from many different perspectives.
These stem from psychologists, philosophers, sociologists,
anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, linguists,
neuroscientists…
 Cognitivism says ……..

More
important

Mind Change of
behavior
So when you ask the question What is learned?

Mental
Specific action
representation

When a rat learns that by pressing the button again and

again he receives more food….what has he learned
 Cognitivism says ……..

More
important

Mind Change of
behavior
So when you ask the question What is learned?

Pressing To press the

produces food button

When a rat learns that by pressing the button again and

again he receives more food….what has he learned ????
Cognitivism or Behaviorist
Cognitivism or Behaviorist
 Cognitivism view of learning
• Cognitivism explains what is going on inside the black box (mind) described by
Behaviourism.
• In other words, Cognitivism emphasises on the internal mental or cognitive models
processes that can not be seen.
• How humans process and make sense of new information
• How we access, interpret, integrate, process, organize and manage knowledge
• The conditions that affect learners’ mental states.

• Learning is a change in knowledge stored in

memory.
• Learning is a mental action: When knowledge /
information enters the brain, knowledge is
manipulated, stored and used when it is needed.
Cognitivism view on teacher  student
• Learning is TEACHER-CENTERED:
• The focus is on the teacher (or
computer).
• Knowledge is from the teacher who
would first pre-digest them, then it is
transmitted to students, either by the
teacher or by the instructional
software designed by the teacher.
• The primary role of the STUDENTS is
to UNDERSTAND FULLY what the
teacher presents.
• Learning is INDIVIDUAL MATTER.
• Cognitivism, like behaviourism,
focused on individualised learning
perspectives and procedures.
 Cognitivism view of learning
• Learning is affected by students’ prior knowledge, beliefs and attitudes,
meaning that students learn by fitting new information together with what they
already know and believe.
• As a consequence, the instructional designer is challenged with organising new
information for presentation that need to be carefully linking new information
to previous knowledge of students.

Prior
knowledge

Belief Cognitivism

Attitude

Past Knowledge New Knowledge

 Theorist of Cognitivism
The following schools of thought are associated with
cognitivist learning theory:
• Jean Piaget
• Atkinson & Shiffrin (Information Processing Model)
• Baddeley (Working Memory Theory)
• Gagne (9 Events of Instruction)
• Bartlett (Schema Theory)
 Theorist of Cognitivism

Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive development

Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the

Piaget nature and development of human intelligence. Piaget developed a four-stage
model of how the mind processes new information at different stages.
Atkinson &
Shiffrin

Baddeley

Gagne

Bartlett
 Theorist of Cognitivism

Atkinson & Shiffrin (Information Processing Model - IPM)

Piaget IPM explains how the mind is functioned.

Atkinson &
Shiffrin

Baddeley

Gagne

Bartlett
• Does not use animal experimentation of the behaviourist and towards
research on human.
• IPM is borrowed from computer science, as reflected in terms like input,
processing, and output (sometimes there are problems and limitations with
such analogy).
• IPM provides a helpful framework for thinking about memory.
 Theorist of Cognitivism

Atkinson & Shiffrin (Information Processing Model - IPM)

Piaget

Atkinson &
Shiffrin

Baddeley

Gagne

Bartlett

CTLM – Mayer ( video)

 Theorist of Cognitivism

Baddeley (Working Memory Theory)

• By the early 1970s, IPM was found too simplistic. Evidence suggested that
Piaget merely holding an item in Short Term Memory (STM) did not guarantee
learning would follow.
Atkinson & • IPM also found not explaining the underlying semantic processing in learner’s
Shiffrin mind.
• As a result, WM theory was proposed by Baddeley & Hitch, 1974

Baddeley

Gagne

Bartlett
 Theorist of Cognitivism

Gagne ( 9 events of Instruction )

Piaget

Atkinson &
Shiffrin

Baddeley

Gagne

Bartlett
 Theorist of Cognitivism

Bartlett (Schema Theory)

Piaget • Simply put, schema theory states that all knowledge is

organized into units. Within these units of knowledge,
Atkinson &
or schemata, is stored information.
Shiffrin • A schema, then, is a generalized description or a conceptual
system for understanding knowledge-how knowledge is
Baddeley
represented and how it is use.

The key elements of a Schema are:

Gagne • An individual can memorize and use a schema without even
realizing of doing so.
• Once a schema is developed, it tends to be stable over a long
Bartlett
period of time.
• Human mind uses schemata to organize, retrieve, and encode
chunks of important information.
• Schemata are accumulated over time and through different
experiences.
 APPLICATION OF COGNITIVISM
1. Do not overload short-term memory by presenting too much
material at once.
2. Chunk material into groups or categories to facilitate retention.
3. Present materials in more than one form to facilitate transfer to
long-term memory.
4. Give learners the opportunity to revisit topics to strengthen
retention.
5. Use key words and terms as memory cues.

In campus-based teaching:
Discussion forums
Small group work
Online collaborative learning
Practice
Cognitivism Learning Technology
Computers are the key learning technology for
cognitivist learning theorists.
Constructivism is used in two distinct ways, to refer to a
learning theory (how people learn) and to an
epistemology of learning (what is the nature of
knowledge).
The concept of mind as computer has led to several
technology-based developments in teaching:
Example 1: Intelligent Tutoring System, a refined version of teaching
machines, based on breaking down learning into a series of
manageable steps, and analysing learners’ responses to direct them to
the most appropriate next step. Adaptive learning is the latest
extension of such developments.
 Application of Cognitivism Theory
(Example: Intelligent Tutoring System)
 Application of Cognitivism Theory
(Example: Intelligent Tutoring System)
Application of Cognitivism Learning Theory
Information Organisation and Arrangement of Content in
a Sequence / Graph / Mind Map

Latihan pada bila-bila masa/

Exercise or practice at any time

Kandungan dalam
bentuk graf / Content
presentation in a graph format
Application of Cognitivism Learning Theory
 Application of Cognitivism Theory
(Example: Artificial Intelligence System (ITS))
Artificial intelligence, which seeks to represent in computer software the mental
processes used in human learning
 APPLICATION OF COGNITIVISM
based on an analysis and development of different kinds of cognitive activities, such as
comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
THANK YOU