1. Chapter 7 discusses mental images and how they can be stored in our brains; there is an ongoing debate between a propositional code and an analog code within these parameters. Interference is an issue with images and can occur between the actual visual image and the image in your mind in which these interferences can also effect one's motor imagery. Mental images are also stored in our brains as cognitive maps in which we use them to navigate images we see into storage in our memory and allow them to "guide us" when we are recalling information and visually see a map in our mind. One issue with cognitive maps is that they are distorted and are inaccurate with spatial errors.
2. When discussing the theories in the imagery debate, it reminded me of Chapter 2's distinctive features when discussing how we process a stimulus' features because I began to think that we look at those features and visually process them into our working memory, encode them using memory strategies, and process them into long term so those features are placed together and, in fact, could make a cognitive map of a location or area-or just a simple figure.
3. I would like to see those who are spatially inept or struggle with that issue to have been discussed. In most case studies, it discussed that there were always some who performed better (so I would assume they have better spatial skills) so I would like the author to have gone more in depth and looked at as to why they did not perform as well in the studies pertaining to the mental imagery. Interference was discussed and I can see that as a "disability" to the mental imagery, but I would like to know more about how and why some just don't have that cognitive spatial ability which would seem to place them into the "lower performing" groups in the studies. This would greatly help me as a teacher with students who just were not made the same way as higher achieving students.
4. The imagery debate made me more cognizant that my students are possibly storing mental images not only as pictures but possibly also as a language representation. I am also more aware that some students are not going to be good at rotating images and aligning figures in their mind. It seems more difficult for some but that can relate to my kids' reading when they may not be able to differentiate between different letter fonts because they simply cannot align or rotate the features from their "known" letters into different letters they do not recognize and they are unable to rotate those features into the letter that they know.
5. I find that the studies might be legitimate but I am unsure of all of the studies because they do not give any information related to those participating in this study. Since the book talked about the differences (although not quite as large as we thought) between genders with spatial abilities, I think the study would be more reliable if we knew the ratio of males/females. That could skew the results if more men or women participated and make the case studies researcher biased.
6. I think that this information has helped to improve how we teach to meet the needs of our students. We have learned that some students are more spatial than others and others are more visually processing. This helps us as professionals to realize that some students need to get up and move around to learn and some learn by looking at a stimulus and placing that image in their brain. And some are just going to be able to spatially move objects in their heads while others just have not been wired that way. We have to be creative and teach to different needs.
7. Again, I have to continually refer to my low reading students (since that's all I have) but this chapter helps me to see that not all of my students are going to place learned information the same way into their brain, so maybe I need to recreate and consider those differences among my students. I also need to consider that interferences can occur and maybe it's not that my students just don't "Get it," maybe it's just that at that moment during the learning process, an interference occurred between the visual and mental images.
8. I cannot imagine how much fmri's cost, but there has to be a better way of viewing the brain's activity during specific cognitive tasks. Right now I don't have the answer to that for a cheaper version of the test, but I would think that we could continue to have groups that are more "heterogeneous" and conduct studies analyzing responses rather than brain activity.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Chapters 6 & 13
1. Chapter 6 discussed memory strategies to help retrieve information from long term memory including techniques such as mneumonics (chunking, first-letter technique and the hierarchy technique). The differences between metacognition, metamemory, and metacomprehension were also discussed and how they are realted to memory. Chapter 13 discussed the differences and similiarities between babies, children, adults, and elders with memory. I found it quite interesting that younger children believe they are smarter and answer more questions correctly as compared to older children and adults who are realistic in how they believe they perform in recall/memory tasks.
2. Chapter 6 reviewed a bit of chapter 5 in order to show that long term memory plays a major role in memory strategies (mainly because the strategies help retrieve the info from the long term memory). In order to recall information, one must have properly stored the info in long term so it is there to recall. The levels of processing and self-reference effect are two ensured ways to encode information and keep in long term memory.
3. I am still unsure of how to teach my low students how to retrieve info. Maybe it's not even a retrieval issue. I'm beginning to wonder if it boils down to how they encode the information from short-term into long term and that is causing it to get lost or not stay in long-term. My students are so low they have no metacognition...let alone the thought of metacomprehension. I'm good to get them to read the words of a basic book and get basic comprehension, let along think about how they are thinking. What do I do with those having memory issues? Would these strategies help or hinder?
4. I'm beginning to wonder this myself. I'm thinking if I begin to explicitly teach my students this higher order thinking (metacognition) and strategies to help them encode (i.e. learning in context) and utilizing their background knowledge, them maybe this would help them place it into long term memory and help their retrieval. I would like to begin teaching them categorizing and using more imagery. I have also been thinking this week that I should give them more time to think about what we are learning so it might be possible that they have time to process the info and have a greater retrieval.
5. There appeared to be valid case studies used in the two chapters. However, I questioned the testing effect case study on p. 170 when it failed to provide the students' age (in which I'm wondering if this could have been developmentally inappropriate depending on the age), how the students were divided into groups, and no control group was used. My wondering is if the ones who waited longer and scored higher are the more academically inclined students and that just happened by chance.
6. In chapter 13 when discussing older adults and how they are unable to maintain or retain information that should be placed from working memory to long term memory, I cannot help but think if there is a way to combat this. In one study, those with higher vocabularies (or seemingly education) did better on memory tasks than those without. I wonder if we became proactive and trained middle-aged people to stimulate their minds and practice memory strategies then maybe we would not have this discrepancy. We worry more about older adults and leaving them alone but why is it that we are not helping to train them and taking care of the problem before it happens?
7. Memory strategies should be taught even as early as pre-school age. One can begin with categorizing, teaching students to make connections to everyday life, and begin teaching visualizing. These strategies will begin a basis for correcly encoding info into long term memory so it is ready for retrieval. Even as kindergarten and first grade students begin reading, teach them explicitly what the strategies are and why we do them (this should in turn teach metacognition).
8. When thinking of all of the case studies, they all appeared to use money and time conscious research. We can continue to research strategies in schools. Classrooms are cheap, in place, and provide a ready to research atmosphere that is ample for 9 months of the year. Most teachers should be willing to allow someone in their room to explicitly discuss or administer memory strategies and calculate how they work.
2. Chapter 6 reviewed a bit of chapter 5 in order to show that long term memory plays a major role in memory strategies (mainly because the strategies help retrieve the info from the long term memory). In order to recall information, one must have properly stored the info in long term so it is there to recall. The levels of processing and self-reference effect are two ensured ways to encode information and keep in long term memory.
3. I am still unsure of how to teach my low students how to retrieve info. Maybe it's not even a retrieval issue. I'm beginning to wonder if it boils down to how they encode the information from short-term into long term and that is causing it to get lost or not stay in long-term. My students are so low they have no metacognition...let alone the thought of metacomprehension. I'm good to get them to read the words of a basic book and get basic comprehension, let along think about how they are thinking. What do I do with those having memory issues? Would these strategies help or hinder?
4. I'm beginning to wonder this myself. I'm thinking if I begin to explicitly teach my students this higher order thinking (metacognition) and strategies to help them encode (i.e. learning in context) and utilizing their background knowledge, them maybe this would help them place it into long term memory and help their retrieval. I would like to begin teaching them categorizing and using more imagery. I have also been thinking this week that I should give them more time to think about what we are learning so it might be possible that they have time to process the info and have a greater retrieval.
5. There appeared to be valid case studies used in the two chapters. However, I questioned the testing effect case study on p. 170 when it failed to provide the students' age (in which I'm wondering if this could have been developmentally inappropriate depending on the age), how the students were divided into groups, and no control group was used. My wondering is if the ones who waited longer and scored higher are the more academically inclined students and that just happened by chance.
6. In chapter 13 when discussing older adults and how they are unable to maintain or retain information that should be placed from working memory to long term memory, I cannot help but think if there is a way to combat this. In one study, those with higher vocabularies (or seemingly education) did better on memory tasks than those without. I wonder if we became proactive and trained middle-aged people to stimulate their minds and practice memory strategies then maybe we would not have this discrepancy. We worry more about older adults and leaving them alone but why is it that we are not helping to train them and taking care of the problem before it happens?
7. Memory strategies should be taught even as early as pre-school age. One can begin with categorizing, teaching students to make connections to everyday life, and begin teaching visualizing. These strategies will begin a basis for correcly encoding info into long term memory so it is ready for retrieval. Even as kindergarten and first grade students begin reading, teach them explicitly what the strategies are and why we do them (this should in turn teach metacognition).
8. When thinking of all of the case studies, they all appeared to use money and time conscious research. We can continue to research strategies in schools. Classrooms are cheap, in place, and provide a ready to research atmosphere that is ample for 9 months of the year. Most teachers should be willing to allow someone in their room to explicitly discuss or administer memory strategies and calculate how they work.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
In regards to Ray's comment last week, I realized I worded the answer wrong and I appologize. I meant to say that it is impossible for teachers to become complete experts on their content knowledge. We must be competent and have a knowledgeable understanding of our area, but it is impossible to understand and be experts in every single aspect of our content. And, with my area, it would not be ideal to be an expert in every single area of reading. With all of the foundational theories, everyone's reading techniques (at least the ones marketed), and current studies, we would never become an expert in our content because it is constantly changing. It might be more impossible. So, that is why I said we should know our students but I also think we must have an understanding and be good at our content. Experts might be a far cry because we would be reading research constantly and never obtain expertise because it is always changing. We might try, but I believe for these reasons it would be difficult. But, look at historians. They must specify an area to study to become an expert. But, to me, reading encompasses an extraordinary amount of material (we even use it across the content areas it's so vast) so would it be possible to become experts at reading? Or, maybe just experts in one aspect of reading?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Chapter 5-Long-Term Memory
1. Long-term memory encompasses engrained memories stored which can be recalled when something/someone reminds you or asks you to remember something. Everyone's long-term memory can be affected by personal experiences (schema), exaggerating a situation based on our experience, or even allowing our emotions to change how we viewed a situation at that time now stored in our memory. Long-term memory is stored memory and includes episodic, procedural memory, and semantic memory.
2. In chapter 2 of how people learn, the text discussed chess players and how they are experts in their field. It then went on to describe how those experts use chunking when storing information (chess moves) in their brains, apply critical thinking to many aspects of their game rather than a simple formula, and have an extensive recall. Pages 141-142 in Matlin reinforced the information from the online text and was consistent with the same information.
3. I am still unclear on the eyewitness testimony section. I understand that one's memory can become skewed and not able to clearly remember the situation exactly, especially after a longer amount of time has passed, but then why did psychologists allow shallow research prior to the 90's? Why is it that eyewitnesses were key in a court case but yet now they have placed many lives at stake due to lack of research on a topic that could have mistakenly killed many innocent people?!
4. I believe that the implicit and explicit memory tasks struck me for my profession along with the schema. It's important for me to keep in mind that the two tasks should be used in equal amounts to truly get an accurate understanding or assessment on students. The schema is super important for reading because everytime you read, you should apply your schema in order to connect and grow deeper into your text so you might remember it rather than forgetting it. This whole week I just wondered how I could better build schema for my students so they might have a better understanding of their text. (A lot of my students have not even had the experience or memory of going to a shopping mall!)
5. I am beginning to wonder just how biased the author is. On page 148, the author begins to give her opinion about Bush's reasonings for war. I began to wonder how biased she is and if the studies she has included are studies that only support her theory beliefs. Also, page 150 had a study completed by 2 people (I'd hate to even say researchers) and there was not a credible source sited, just the date the study was completed. How valid is this?
6. The study on memory is important because it allows us to research and find there are many differences between how we perceive situations and therefore how they are stored in our memory. I also must say it has completely made a difference in eyewitness testimonies since they are no longer held as the greatest evidence in a case. Memory is also important in improving how we teach students with recall. It helps us, as educators, to figure out how to engrain important info into our students but more importantly how to recall it.
7. I would use this info with my low reading students in making sure their schema is correctly built and they perceive situations accurately. By allowing students to access their schema, it is allowing it to stay used and ready for quick recall.
8. I am thinking the September 11th study was completed in a cheaper, faster method. They only saw the participants twice and we had no idea of their background or schema that may have effected their answers. The researchers also did not have them fill out a questionairre or cared to find out where they were during the time of the attack. There was no control group so how were they in reliability?
1. Long-term memory encompasses engrained memories stored which can be recalled when something/someone reminds you or asks you to remember something. Everyone's long-term memory can be affected by personal experiences (schema), exaggerating a situation based on our experience, or even allowing our emotions to change how we viewed a situation at that time now stored in our memory. Long-term memory is stored memory and includes episodic, procedural memory, and semantic memory.
2. In chapter 2 of how people learn, the text discussed chess players and how they are experts in their field. It then went on to describe how those experts use chunking when storing information (chess moves) in their brains, apply critical thinking to many aspects of their game rather than a simple formula, and have an extensive recall. Pages 141-142 in Matlin reinforced the information from the online text and was consistent with the same information.
3. I am still unclear on the eyewitness testimony section. I understand that one's memory can become skewed and not able to clearly remember the situation exactly, especially after a longer amount of time has passed, but then why did psychologists allow shallow research prior to the 90's? Why is it that eyewitnesses were key in a court case but yet now they have placed many lives at stake due to lack of research on a topic that could have mistakenly killed many innocent people?!
4. I believe that the implicit and explicit memory tasks struck me for my profession along with the schema. It's important for me to keep in mind that the two tasks should be used in equal amounts to truly get an accurate understanding or assessment on students. The schema is super important for reading because everytime you read, you should apply your schema in order to connect and grow deeper into your text so you might remember it rather than forgetting it. This whole week I just wondered how I could better build schema for my students so they might have a better understanding of their text. (A lot of my students have not even had the experience or memory of going to a shopping mall!)
5. I am beginning to wonder just how biased the author is. On page 148, the author begins to give her opinion about Bush's reasonings for war. I began to wonder how biased she is and if the studies she has included are studies that only support her theory beliefs. Also, page 150 had a study completed by 2 people (I'd hate to even say researchers) and there was not a credible source sited, just the date the study was completed. How valid is this?
6. The study on memory is important because it allows us to research and find there are many differences between how we perceive situations and therefore how they are stored in our memory. I also must say it has completely made a difference in eyewitness testimonies since they are no longer held as the greatest evidence in a case. Memory is also important in improving how we teach students with recall. It helps us, as educators, to figure out how to engrain important info into our students but more importantly how to recall it.
7. I would use this info with my low reading students in making sure their schema is correctly built and they perceive situations accurately. By allowing students to access their schema, it is allowing it to stay used and ready for quick recall.
8. I am thinking the September 11th study was completed in a cheaper, faster method. They only saw the participants twice and we had no idea of their background or schema that may have effected their answers. The researchers also did not have them fill out a questionairre or cared to find out where they were during the time of the attack. There was no control group so how were they in reliability?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Chapter 2-How People Learn
1. There are novices and there are experts. Experts look at the whole picture and see how they can solve problems by synthesizing their understanding or knowledge while novices just see the surface of the problem and apply basic understanding or knowledge gained...they are unable to synthesize their understanding. As educators, we should become experts of our students because content knowledge expertise is of no value unless we are able to continually use it, keep it current, and apply it with our students based on their learning needs.
2. The author discusses how experts are able to chunk information into their working memory by chunking it into "familiar patterns." Matlin reinforces this understanding when he states that we are able to chunk information into our short-term memory, since it holds limited information, by units of 5-9 chunks so we can better remember the information.
3. I am still not clear on how we can hold many accountable to being novices and not experts because they simply do not see the "whole picture." I don't believe it is an intelligence issue because our memories are able to hold the knowledge but what if the reason one has not become an expert because no one has explicitly taught or told one that we should try and synthesize the knowledge we have and apply it to other situations? Maybe we should begin to look at those who are experts teaching the content and point the finger at them because they are withholding that information and assuming they will pick up on that major concept!
4. As stated in #1, we as teachers should not become experts on content but rather on our students. I need to apply this by truly looking at each student individually and finding their strengths and weaknesses to teach each one specifically. I also need to keep in mind that their working memory only holds 5-9 chunks of info so I must not overload them but continue to reinforce the concept so it is practiced and moved out of working memory into long-term and is conditioned or habit to them.
5. It appears most information is valid but I have to wonder where they got all of their people for the case studies. For instance, did the chess players come from a place where chess is more of a sport and not looked on as "nerdy"? It appears that the study studied 10-11 year olds and college aged students and was comparing their working memory with chess to remembering numbers. The two are completely different and should not be compared because some players just might have the skill of chess down to a science of understanding but that does not mean that they have more or less of a working memory because they can or cannot memorize and recall numbers. Maybe they are just not wired to memorize numbers but they have just been conditioned to play a game of skill.
6.It is important to see that there are differences between experts and novices in order to try and counter-act the issue and strive to nurture more novices to become experts. The book offered no additional information as to why the examples given had not become novices, it simply appeared that it was due to how they process their information into their working memory that seems to make them more apt to their knowledge and synthesis.
7. I can continue to use the working memory 5-9 chunks when providing my students with new information as to not overload their brains so they are unable to remember. I also need to begin allowing them the experience to think critically in order to become experts in their thinking. I believe I can have some 1st graders who are experts at questioning. But, when they move to 2nd grade, they will no longer be experts because the bar is now raised higher to move to the next level in questioning.
8. The discussion between historians and gifted high school seniors could have been conducted in a better manner. This study should have saved time and money by comparing masters students working on their thesis papers rather than the high school students. The researcher obviously knew the outcome prior to administering the test so why waste time and money and the poor seniors' egos by setting them up for failure. By comparing those with the same amount of schooling and those writing their thesis (they are or should be more experts in their field through the writing of their thesis), the researcher could have had a more accurate result and used something already in place at an existing college, rather than drag the historians and seniors to a different location.
2. The author discusses how experts are able to chunk information into their working memory by chunking it into "familiar patterns." Matlin reinforces this understanding when he states that we are able to chunk information into our short-term memory, since it holds limited information, by units of 5-9 chunks so we can better remember the information.
3. I am still not clear on how we can hold many accountable to being novices and not experts because they simply do not see the "whole picture." I don't believe it is an intelligence issue because our memories are able to hold the knowledge but what if the reason one has not become an expert because no one has explicitly taught or told one that we should try and synthesize the knowledge we have and apply it to other situations? Maybe we should begin to look at those who are experts teaching the content and point the finger at them because they are withholding that information and assuming they will pick up on that major concept!
4. As stated in #1, we as teachers should not become experts on content but rather on our students. I need to apply this by truly looking at each student individually and finding their strengths and weaknesses to teach each one specifically. I also need to keep in mind that their working memory only holds 5-9 chunks of info so I must not overload them but continue to reinforce the concept so it is practiced and moved out of working memory into long-term and is conditioned or habit to them.
5. It appears most information is valid but I have to wonder where they got all of their people for the case studies. For instance, did the chess players come from a place where chess is more of a sport and not looked on as "nerdy"? It appears that the study studied 10-11 year olds and college aged students and was comparing their working memory with chess to remembering numbers. The two are completely different and should not be compared because some players just might have the skill of chess down to a science of understanding but that does not mean that they have more or less of a working memory because they can or cannot memorize and recall numbers. Maybe they are just not wired to memorize numbers but they have just been conditioned to play a game of skill.
6.It is important to see that there are differences between experts and novices in order to try and counter-act the issue and strive to nurture more novices to become experts. The book offered no additional information as to why the examples given had not become novices, it simply appeared that it was due to how they process their information into their working memory that seems to make them more apt to their knowledge and synthesis.
7. I can continue to use the working memory 5-9 chunks when providing my students with new information as to not overload their brains so they are unable to remember. I also need to begin allowing them the experience to think critically in order to become experts in their thinking. I believe I can have some 1st graders who are experts at questioning. But, when they move to 2nd grade, they will no longer be experts because the bar is now raised higher to move to the next level in questioning.
8. The discussion between historians and gifted high school seniors could have been conducted in a better manner. This study should have saved time and money by comparing masters students working on their thesis papers rather than the high school students. The researcher obviously knew the outcome prior to administering the test so why waste time and money and the poor seniors' egos by setting them up for failure. By comparing those with the same amount of schooling and those writing their thesis (they are or should be more experts in their field through the writing of their thesis), the researcher could have had a more accurate result and used something already in place at an existing college, rather than drag the historians and seniors to a different location.
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