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L

earning is making sense of external or environmental stimuli

through processes like perception, observation, and problem-solving, and building that knowledge onto existing units of information called schemas while referencing previous and current experience.

- Cognitive Learning Theory

What it is

KEY RESEARCHERS


KEY RESEARCHERS

Name &
Approximate Date of Contribution

Contribution - with an Education and Learning focus

Jean Piaget

​

1950s

1

 of  6

Cognitive processes, such as "observing, classifying, categorizing, attention, perception, interactivity, and reasoning" are integral to one's ability to absorb, process and store information. (Arshavskiy, 2018)

Researchers

Cognitivism and its Connections to Teaching & Learning: 5 Key Take-Aways

  1. Knowledge and experience are sorted into mental catalogs called schemas. New information either modifies (accommodates) a schema, possibly creating a new one, or is absorbed (assimilated) into one.
     

  2. A learner’s working memory can hold approximately 5-9 chunks of information.
     

  3. Working memory can be helped to transfer information into long-term memory by designing content that reduces cognitive load.
     

  4. People are active in their learning process but their self-efficacy and cognitive processes will differ.
     

  5. Structuring courses to be self-regulated allows learners to exert control in the amount and type of instruction they receive.

LIMITS & STRENGTHS

Limits =

  • eLearning does not always allow for observing how students interact with content
     

  • Assumes content structure is flexible/not linear
     

  • Inability to determine proper cognitive loads for learners
     

  • Motivation levels vary across learners, and it is difficult to design content to draw out all learner’s motivation

Strengths =

  • Recognition of working- and long-term memory as tools in learning
     

  • Content can be crafted to meet cognitive needs (e.g. - challenging but not too complex, includes subtopics for the learner to discover and explore, design to reduce cognitive load)
     

  • Readily available multimedia learning tenets
     

  • Offers tools for storing information (rehearsal) and retrieving it (content chunking, mnemonic devises)

Cons/Pros

The instructional designer must thoughtfully construct content to:

​

  • Ensure it is tailored to different levels of cognitive ability
    Allow dashboards or preferences to be customized, and include a variety of resources covering prerequisite to more complex skills.
     

  • Make it manageable
    Reduce students’ cognitive load by chunking a topic into subtopics that cover the largest, most relevant points.
     

  • Allow for discovery of and connection to information and experiences
    Encourage learners to dive deeper into what interests them through additional resources that integrate previously learned information, as well as provide topics in break out rooms or discussion boards that relate their personal experience with the new content.
     

  • Encourage interaction
    Employ scenarios, small group work, role plays and debates to encourage social learning as well as greater use of the students' cognitive processes.

 

 

Additionally, instructional designers should take creative approaches to:

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  • Reconciling Baseline Skill Levels
    Conduct a task or learning analysis to determine students’ current knowledge base or learning process.
     

  • Assessments
    Gauge the effectiveness of students’ learning strategies, through a multi-player educational game for example, rather than their ability to give a specific desired response.
     

  • Feedback
    Tailor feedback to grow the students' cognitive processes and learning strategies rather than coaxing them to the “correct” response.

Implications  for
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Implications

RESOURCES

Arshavskiy, Marina. (February 18, 2018). The Learning Theory Of Cognitive Development In eLearning. eLearningIndustry.com. https://elearningindustry.com/learning-theory-of-cognitive-development-elearning

 

Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Social Cognitive Learning Theory. LumenLearning.com. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/edpsy/chapter/social-cognitive-learning-theory/

 

Michela, E. (2020). Cognitivism. In R. Kimmons & scaskurlu (Eds.), The Students' Guide to Learning Design and Research. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/studentguide/cognitivism.

 

Online Teaching. (n.d.). 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning. University of Mississippi. https://elearning.olemiss.edu/12-principles-of-multimedia-learning/

 

Pappas, Christopher. (April 17, 2016). 7 Tips To Reduce Cognitive Overload In eLearning. eLearningIndustry.com. https://elearningindustry.com/7-tips-reduce-cognitive-overload-elearning

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Reynolds, Jon-Erik. (March 17, 2018). Implications Of Learning Theories On Instructional Design. eLearningIndustry.com. https://elearningindustry.com/learning-theories-instructional-design-implications

Smith, M.K. (2002). Jerome S. Bruner and the process of education. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. https://infed.org/jerome-bruner-and-the-process-of-education/

Zimmerman, B. (2001). Theories of self-regulated learning and academic achievement: an overview and analysis. In B. Zimmerman, & D. Schunk (Eds.), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 1-38). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbom Associates.
 

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