The Dual-store cognitive model

About Sensory Memory

• In the cognitive model, the learning process begins
when an external stimulus activates a sensory
receptor cell.
• Sensory receptors receive information. But it stays
with us for a very brief time.
• It is critical that the learner attend to the
information at this stage in order to transfer it to
the next one or else information is immediately
forgotten.
 About Short Term Memory
• Short-term memory is sometimes called working memory,
relates to what we are thinking about at any given moment
in time as well as what we have attended to in the recent
past.

• It will initially last somewhere around 15-30 seconds unless

it is repeated (called maintenance or rote rehearsal), at
which point it may be available for up to 20 minutes.

• Another major limit on information processing in STM is in

terms of the number of units that can be processed an any
one time.Miller (1956) gave the number as 7 + 2, but more
recent research suggests the number may be more like 5 + 2
for most things we are trying to remember.
 There are three major concepts for getting
information into STM:

First, individuals are more likely to

pay attention to a stimulus if it has an
interesting feature. [ Motion, Size,
Intensity, Novelty, Incongruity,
Emotions, Personal significance,
Social cues).
Second, individuals are more likely to pay
attention if the stimulus activates a known
pattern. To the extent we have students call
to mind relevant prior learning before we
begin our presentation, we can take
advantage of this principle.

[ Motion, Size, Intensity, Novelty,Incongruity,

Emotions, Personal significance, Social cues)
Third, because of the variability in how much
individuals can work with (for some it may be
three, for others seven) it is necessary to point
out important I
If some students can only process three units of
information at a time, we need to make certain
it is the most important three
information.
There are two major concepts for
retaining information in STM:

• Organisation

• Repetition
A related issue to organization is the concept of chunking or the
grouping into pieces of data into units. Chunking is a major
technique for getting and keeping information in short-term
memory;

• Component (part/whole)
• Sequential ( cause and effect, steps)
• Relevance ( central idea)
• Transitional (connective)
 Long Term Memory

Remember that learning is defined as “the

relatively permanent change in behavior (or
behavior potential) as a result of experience or
practice.
Until information is processed into long-term
memory, learning has not occurred.
 Cognitive Processes That Help Get Information
Into Long-Term Memory Storage

Selection Internal Organization

Attention (process to STM)

Rehearsal Meaningful Learning

Repetition (maintain in STM)

Elaboration Visual Imagery

Elaboration (process to LTM)
Four Processes for LTM

• Elaboration
• Meaningful learning
• Internal organization
• Visual imagery
Selection
What is Important ?

What Is Not ?

Learners must choose carefully when selecting

New knowledge from the environment.
 How Can Teachers Help Learners
Select Important Information?

• Assess prior knowledge

• Focus students attention

• Pre-Organize information

• Engage students meaningfully

• Self-generate knowledge

• Monitor understanding

• Practice, practice • Interact socially

• Provide timely feedback • Equate learning/Performance

contexts
 Rehearsal

Elaborative Rehearsal

of new knowledge will lead to

storage in the Long-Term Memory if
the learner connects it with existing
knowledge.( MEANINGFUL
LEARNING)

Different from rote-learning: It is

difficult to retrieve.
How Can the Learner use rehearsal to move new
information into Long-Term Memory?

• Work with small bites of information

• Keep attention focused on new
information
• Rehearse new information by rephrasing
key points

Encoding occurs when the learner actively uses the new

information in ways that relate to the existing knowledge
already in Long-Term Memory.
Elaboration LEARNING BETWEEN THE LINES/ADDING OWN INTERPRETAION

• Learning more than the actual

material presented; involves adding
detail which could be fictional, to the
information to be remembered.

• Provides and additional means for

retrieval of information if the more
direct retrieval route fails.

• Using new information and existing

knowledge to construct a sensible
explanation of and event.
Types of Elaboration

Imaging- create a mental picture

Method of Loci (locations)—connect ideas or things to objects

located in familiar places.

Peg-word- method (number, rhyming schemes)—

Connect things to be remembered to specific words (one-bun,
two-shoe etc)

Rhyming-(songs, phrases)—use rhymes to remember. (thirty days

hath Sept, April, June and Nov. etc.)

Initial Letter- the first letter of each word in a list is used to

make a sentence (the sillier, the better).
Mnemonic Strategies

Memory techniques that can be used

to memorize important information
for long term memory retention and
retrieval of information.
 Meaningful Learning

New information Existing knowledge Understanding

• Relating new information to existing knowledge gives

meaning to new information (understanding).
• Meaningful learning takes place when new
information is stored with other pieces of similar or
related information.
• Meaningful learning facilitates both storage and
retrieval.
Internal Organization

Organizing new
information
provides
effective
storage, when
the pieces are
interconnected.
Visual Imagery (experienced during reading a book)

• Forming mental images of

information to explain what was
seen or heard to help the learner
understand and remember.

• Stored quickly and retained for

extended periods.

• Not always an accurate

representation of information,
images tend to be less clear than
the original.
Retrieval
• Searching for stored contents in one location at a time until the
desired information is found. It is easy if :
• Information stored is connection with other memory
• Retrieval cues are present
• When we had practiced ( automacity)
• We are relaxed
Retrieval Process
• It is an constructive process
• Some pieces of info are directly retrieved
• Some are filled in create logical and coherent recollection. (
unlearned/new memories)
• Recall can be affected by misleading questions
• Recollection of an event once helps in future recollections.(
recollection=real event)
Forgetting
• Why it happens:
• Decay ( fading)
• Interference
• Failure to retrieve ( at specific times)
• Repression
• Construction error
• Therefore, external cues can be helpful
Kinds of Knowledge
1. Declarative : How things are. It enables you to interpret what
you see, hear ,know.

• Episodic : personal life exp

• Semantic: knowledge of the world

• Episodic is stronger than semantic

( eg : you remember the menu, but not what you ordered)

Semantic vs. Episodic Memory
Semantic Memory
• Declarative memory for general
knowledge and facts lacking
reference to the episodic
context in which it was learned.
• Examples:
• World knowledge
• Vocabulary
• Rules, formulae, and
algorithms
• “Knowing awareness”
28
Episodic Memory
• Memory for specific
events in context
• Comes with a sense of
reliving the event
• Called conscious
recollection or “Mental
time-travel”
• “Self-knowing”
 Procedural : How to do things
2.

3. Conceptual : why things happen the

way they are
4. Explicit: knowledge that we can
recall easily
5. Implicit: Knowledge that we cannot
consciously recall
 Forms of Knowledge
Concept: Category of events that share same properties ( + or –
instances)
Scheme: ideas about specific events ( visit to doc)
Personal theories: Coherent belief systems ( grandma’s medicines)
Conceptual change:
Expertise:
Revision
• What are the major component of a dual memory system.
• What is semantic and episodic memory.
• What are different types of elaboration techniques teachers
can use for better memory.