1. Chapter 7 discusses the characteristics of mental images (whether information is stored in picture-like analog codes or language-like propositional codes). It also discusses cognitive maps, which is a mental representation of the external environment (real-world settings).
2. This chapter fits in with what I've already read because the analog code relates very closely to the visuospatial sketchpad where mental images are apparent. In addition, the propositional code related to the phonological loop where language is involved.
3. I am still not clear on reinterpreting the ambiguous stimuli. From Demonstration 7.4, I could not see the parallelogram after visualizing a X superimposed directly on top of the H. I just pictures a bunch of lines going up, down, across, and diagonal. What am I missing?
4. I currently already apply the use of analog and propositional code to my teaching because I have students draw pictures of what comes to mind about their stories, their vocabulary words, etc., and I also have students write their ideas on paper as well, where we discuss in class.
5. The proof the author gives me is the picture of the duck on page 214, or is it a bunny? The analog viewpoint is whatever the person sees from that picture. I first saw the duck, but someone else pointed out the bunny ears.
6. I believe this is important because it helps to show that some people may see different view points on something that could be either one way or another. Teachers need to realize that students' view on something may be a little different than their own, but it may not necessarily be wrong.
7. I would use this to show students how everyone has different views on items. I think it is especially important for language arts because many stories have different meanings, just as many of the pictures that go with the story may have different meanings. The cool thing about language arts is that we can come up with many different viewpoints and it is okay.
8. Pictures speak a thousand words, so no I don't think there is any better way to accomplish this.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Chapters 6 and 13
1. To sum up Chapter 6 - Some memory strategies given were on mnemonics using imagery (pictures in the mind), mnemonics using organization (chunking, hierarchy, first-letter technique, and narrative technique), a comprehensive approach to memory improvement, and improving prospective memory (what is to be remembered in the future). In addition, metacognition is your knowledge and control of your cognitive processes, which consist of metamemory, tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, and metacomprehension.
Chapter 13 - Cognitive Development throughout the lifespan talks about memory in infants, memory in children, individual differences of children's intelligence and eyewitness testimony, and memory in elderly people. It also discusses the lifespan development of metamemory in children and elderly people. Finally, it discusses the development of language in infants and children. Some skills improve as children mature to adulthood, but some decline as they reach old age.
2. This fits into what I've already learned because in Chapter 5, I was taught about long-term memory and the previous Chapter 4 taught about working memory. Both of those chapters gave information about the research and theory on memory. Chapter 6 took the research into effect by showing strategies to help with memory and reading.
3. I'm a little confused about the difference between metamemory and metacomprehension. I think I'm going to go back to the book and reread about those.
4. I am going to apply this to my own teaching by helping students know why it is important to learn different strategies of memorizing, and I will give them some practice. I am going to definitely use this before the ISAT tests coming up in March. I hope students will benefit from the metacomprehension skills in order to remember and comprehend what they've read.
5. I believe what the author has to say because I find myself consciously aware of what I'm thinking and I feel like I've been doing a better job at reading and staying focused without letting my mind wander. I believe my metacognition skills are improving. Now, if I can just apply these skills to be able to teach my students to do the same? That is the question, my dear Watson!
6. The importance of being able to know this information and apply it is so that we can make our students aware of the different memory strategies and have students figure out which memory strategy works best for them. The sooner we introduce these strategies to students, the sooner they will be cognitively aware and the more practice they will get as they grow old (like me). I was jipped and was never taught these cool memory skills as a youngster, so I will probably have Altheimers some day :( (Just Kidding)
7. I might use these strategies especially for my low-level students and ADHD students, but I think all students will benefit from the different memory strategies. I realized the memory image works really well for me.
8. There might be even other strategies that can be accomplished other than what the book talked about. I think I'm going to research this some more to see if there are other ways to help students learn memory strategies, especially for reading comprehension (metacomprehension).
Chapter 13 - Cognitive Development throughout the lifespan talks about memory in infants, memory in children, individual differences of children's intelligence and eyewitness testimony, and memory in elderly people. It also discusses the lifespan development of metamemory in children and elderly people. Finally, it discusses the development of language in infants and children. Some skills improve as children mature to adulthood, but some decline as they reach old age.
2. This fits into what I've already learned because in Chapter 5, I was taught about long-term memory and the previous Chapter 4 taught about working memory. Both of those chapters gave information about the research and theory on memory. Chapter 6 took the research into effect by showing strategies to help with memory and reading.
3. I'm a little confused about the difference between metamemory and metacomprehension. I think I'm going to go back to the book and reread about those.
4. I am going to apply this to my own teaching by helping students know why it is important to learn different strategies of memorizing, and I will give them some practice. I am going to definitely use this before the ISAT tests coming up in March. I hope students will benefit from the metacomprehension skills in order to remember and comprehend what they've read.
5. I believe what the author has to say because I find myself consciously aware of what I'm thinking and I feel like I've been doing a better job at reading and staying focused without letting my mind wander. I believe my metacognition skills are improving. Now, if I can just apply these skills to be able to teach my students to do the same? That is the question, my dear Watson!
6. The importance of being able to know this information and apply it is so that we can make our students aware of the different memory strategies and have students figure out which memory strategy works best for them. The sooner we introduce these strategies to students, the sooner they will be cognitively aware and the more practice they will get as they grow old (like me). I was jipped and was never taught these cool memory skills as a youngster, so I will probably have Altheimers some day :( (Just Kidding)
7. I might use these strategies especially for my low-level students and ADHD students, but I think all students will benefit from the different memory strategies. I realized the memory image works really well for me.
8. There might be even other strategies that can be accomplished other than what the book talked about. I think I'm going to research this some more to see if there are other ways to help students learn memory strategies, especially for reading comprehension (metacomprehension).
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Chapter 5
1. How can I summarize this reading in a few sentences? Long term memory entails a lot of information: In Ch. 5 we learned that encoding is information embedded in your memory and retrieval is locating and accessing that information. Autobiographical memory refers to memory for events and topics related to your own everyday life.
2. How does it fit into what I have learned already in this course? I am currently using my working memory to remember back to the first day of this class. In my episodic memory I remember the sights, sounds, etc. of the first encounter into this classroom. My encoding of long term was my initial introduction to the professor and the rest of the classmates. I can remember a few faces and a few names, but I cannot put them together. My retrieval of this information is not very good. My autobiographical memory reminded me that there was another middle school language arts teacher in the class because it relates to what I teach. (I suppose this also goes along with the self-reference effect).
3. What am I still not clear on? Does everything need a label/name? If the self-reference effect is where you try to relate that information to yourself and the Autobiographical memory refers to memory for events and topics related to your own everyday life, then what is the difference between the two? It also states in the book that episodic memory and autobiographical memory are highly similar. How am I going to get this all straight?
4. How would apply this to my own teaching/work? At the beginning of the year or whenever I get a new student, I have my students either interview each other and stand up and introduce each other, or we'll play a game where we stand in a circle and the person holding the ball has to say their name and one thing positive about themselves, then they can toss the ball to another person. The next person has to say their name and something about themselves. At the very end, we go backwards to see if everyone can remember the person's name and the comment of the person who threw them the ball, plus they have to say their name again. (This helps the students remember the names better). Although most students know each other already, it is a good way to have the new student get to know everyone and build camaraderie.
5. What proof does the author offer that makes me believe this is valid? Do I believe it? Why? I know my friends' names without even thinking about it. However, when it is someone I just met, I have a more difficult time retrieving the name from my memory if I didn't encode it into my memory by using some tactic to make it stick (for instance, relating the person to someone else, using a nmemonic device, etc.)
6. Why is this important? What does it help improve or explain or predict? This is important because we need to know that we are normal. I use to think I just had a bad memory. Now I know I'm not the only one. On a more serious note, it helps me as a teacher be able to find ways to get my students to learn information long term, rather than just for a test and then lose the information.
7. When would I actually use this – under what kind of circumstances and for what kind of students? I can use this information to help all students learn ways to help them remember.
8. Are there other ways to accomplish the same thing that are faster, cheaper, and/or better? No, I don't think so?
2. How does it fit into what I have learned already in this course? I am currently using my working memory to remember back to the first day of this class. In my episodic memory I remember the sights, sounds, etc. of the first encounter into this classroom. My encoding of long term was my initial introduction to the professor and the rest of the classmates. I can remember a few faces and a few names, but I cannot put them together. My retrieval of this information is not very good. My autobiographical memory reminded me that there was another middle school language arts teacher in the class because it relates to what I teach. (I suppose this also goes along with the self-reference effect).
3. What am I still not clear on? Does everything need a label/name? If the self-reference effect is where you try to relate that information to yourself and the Autobiographical memory refers to memory for events and topics related to your own everyday life, then what is the difference between the two? It also states in the book that episodic memory and autobiographical memory are highly similar. How am I going to get this all straight?
4. How would apply this to my own teaching/work? At the beginning of the year or whenever I get a new student, I have my students either interview each other and stand up and introduce each other, or we'll play a game where we stand in a circle and the person holding the ball has to say their name and one thing positive about themselves, then they can toss the ball to another person. The next person has to say their name and something about themselves. At the very end, we go backwards to see if everyone can remember the person's name and the comment of the person who threw them the ball, plus they have to say their name again. (This helps the students remember the names better). Although most students know each other already, it is a good way to have the new student get to know everyone and build camaraderie.
5. What proof does the author offer that makes me believe this is valid? Do I believe it? Why? I know my friends' names without even thinking about it. However, when it is someone I just met, I have a more difficult time retrieving the name from my memory if I didn't encode it into my memory by using some tactic to make it stick (for instance, relating the person to someone else, using a nmemonic device, etc.)
6. Why is this important? What does it help improve or explain or predict? This is important because we need to know that we are normal. I use to think I just had a bad memory. Now I know I'm not the only one. On a more serious note, it helps me as a teacher be able to find ways to get my students to learn information long term, rather than just for a test and then lose the information.
7. When would I actually use this – under what kind of circumstances and for what kind of students? I can use this information to help all students learn ways to help them remember.
8. Are there other ways to accomplish the same thing that are faster, cheaper, and/or better? No, I don't think so?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Chapter 4
1. In Chapter 4 I learned about the working memory approach where phonological loop stores a limited number of sounds, visuospatial sketchpad stores visual and spatial information, central executive helps a person stay focused on one task or another, and episodic buffer temporarily stores information from the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and long term memory.
2. Each chapter builds on the next, as it should. In the previous chapter, I learned about my consciousness or awareness and realized that I did things (like solving problems) without being aware of how I was doing it. This chapter helped me understand the different theories of short-term memory and why we can only remember a certain number of items and how we process information so that I now can understand why some kids have ADHD. In fact, I'm wondering if I might have this disorder.
3. I'm still not clear on episodic buffer and how it differs from central executive.
4. I have already applied this to my own teaching. I have noticed more about my students. In fact, today we were discussing different topics on controversial issues (preparing students for a persuasive essay). We were discussing one topic, then we moved onto another topic. After we were into the discussion on the second topic, a student raises her hand and says something about the first topic we discussed five minutes earlier. That reminded me of the central executive and daydreaming section I read.
5. This is convincing to me because I am one who is easily distracted since I often daydream while I am reading, etc. I also tried the demonstration on p. 112 "A Task That Requires Central-Executive Resources". I am a proven daydreamer.
6. This is important to know because now I understand myself better and I will also be able to understand why certain students' attention is the way it is.
7. I have two particular students that I can think of right now whom I would love to do a study on this topic. They are disorganized scatterbrained daydreamers (whereas I am an organized daydreamer). I wonder if there is a difference and if it will be something discussed in our Cognition book in later chapters?
8. Sorry, I don't know an answer to this question this time.
2. Each chapter builds on the next, as it should. In the previous chapter, I learned about my consciousness or awareness and realized that I did things (like solving problems) without being aware of how I was doing it. This chapter helped me understand the different theories of short-term memory and why we can only remember a certain number of items and how we process information so that I now can understand why some kids have ADHD. In fact, I'm wondering if I might have this disorder.
3. I'm still not clear on episodic buffer and how it differs from central executive.
4. I have already applied this to my own teaching. I have noticed more about my students. In fact, today we were discussing different topics on controversial issues (preparing students for a persuasive essay). We were discussing one topic, then we moved onto another topic. After we were into the discussion on the second topic, a student raises her hand and says something about the first topic we discussed five minutes earlier. That reminded me of the central executive and daydreaming section I read.
5. This is convincing to me because I am one who is easily distracted since I often daydream while I am reading, etc. I also tried the demonstration on p. 112 "A Task That Requires Central-Executive Resources". I am a proven daydreamer.
6. This is important to know because now I understand myself better and I will also be able to understand why certain students' attention is the way it is.
7. I have two particular students that I can think of right now whom I would love to do a study on this topic. They are disorganized scatterbrained daydreamers (whereas I am an organized daydreamer). I wonder if there is a difference and if it will be something discussed in our Cognition book in later chapters?
8. Sorry, I don't know an answer to this question this time.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Chapter 3 - Perceptual Processes II: Attention and Consciousness
Chapter 3 discusses three types of attention: divided, selective, and saccadic eye movement. Divided attention is trying to pay attention to more than one detail, but causes a decrease in accuracy when this is done. Selective attention is where someone is instructed to respond selectively to certain kinds of information, while ignoring other information. Saccadic eye movements is the process which our visual system makes during reading. Chapter 3 also discusses consciousness, which is the awareness that people have about the outside world and about their perceptions, images, thoughts, memories, and feelings.
So far, we have learned about the types of perception: visual, audio, facial, and speech and I believe that when one is conscious of what is going on around them, using these perceptions, they are more aware and can give better attention.
This chapter was very interesting, so I understood most of it. One thing I had to reread to understand better was the working memory.
I would like to apply this to my own teaching by using my conscious to pay more attention to which students have high working-memory versus low working-memory.
After trying all of the demonstrations the author provided, that was proof enough to believe these theories. I fell for every one of them.
It is important to know this information in order to be able to know our students better through knowing their attention processing capabilities. The saccadic movements students use to read will help me differentiate from the poor readers and the good readers.
I would use the saccadic eye movement in order to help students practice being better readers. I am currently researching the EyeQ reading program, which I think helps with improving reading by exercising the eyes by reading words on a computer screen from left to right.
This EyeQ program is very expensive, so I believe this may be accomplished just by having students read anything on a computer screen or maybe have the words fly across the computer to build faster readers (it may start out slow, then move faster as the student progresses).
So far, we have learned about the types of perception: visual, audio, facial, and speech and I believe that when one is conscious of what is going on around them, using these perceptions, they are more aware and can give better attention.
This chapter was very interesting, so I understood most of it. One thing I had to reread to understand better was the working memory.
I would like to apply this to my own teaching by using my conscious to pay more attention to which students have high working-memory versus low working-memory.
After trying all of the demonstrations the author provided, that was proof enough to believe these theories. I fell for every one of them.
It is important to know this information in order to be able to know our students better through knowing their attention processing capabilities. The saccadic movements students use to read will help me differentiate from the poor readers and the good readers.
I would use the saccadic eye movement in order to help students practice being better readers. I am currently researching the EyeQ reading program, which I think helps with improving reading by exercising the eyes by reading words on a computer screen from left to right.
This EyeQ program is very expensive, so I believe this may be accomplished just by having students read anything on a computer screen or maybe have the words fly across the computer to build faster readers (it may start out slow, then move faster as the student progresses).
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Chapter 2
1. Chapter 2 discussed perceptual processes and different theories on how both our visual and auditory systems impose organization on our perceptual world. Some different theories were top-down and bottom-up processing, visual and auditory object recognition, face recognition, proximal stimuli vs. tre distal stimuli and the general mechanism approach to speech perception.
2. Chapter 1 discusses the idea that your cognitive processes are interrelated. For example, when one figures out a problem to something, they must use their perceptual processes, which according to Chapter 2, is the visual and auditory recognition that use our previous knowledge to interpreet the stimuli that are registerd by our senses.
3. With all of the different theories discussed in the chapter, I am a little confused on why some students are quicker learners than others or faster readers, etc. I am also confused on why students are different learners. How does this fit in with cognition. Is it active learning, genetic, or does it have to do with their surroundings (behaviorist theory) where they had reactions to stimuli in the environment. Is it top-down/bottom-up processing that makes a person "see" things or is it the fact that we build our memories the more we see or are exposed to something? I don't know.
4. How would apply this to my own teaching/work? According to Chapter 2, the way I would apply these theories, which I have done so already, is to make sure students see, hear, and have hands-on experiences in all areas. They must see a facial expression when being spoken to and they must hear the sounds that go along with certain things. Today I did a lesson on Adverbs and I used the bottom-up and top-down processing to help students become more familiar with these words. I gave them each a different adverb to write on a sticky note, then I had them stick their adverb on a chart in the correct column labeled "HOW," "WHEN," "WHERE," AND "TO WHAT DEGREE". Then they had to try to verbally use the word in a sentence. Students commented on how much easier it was for them to understand what an adverb was after that lesson.
5. I'm not sure this theory goes with the above lesson, but it was convincing enough to me when it talked about how students could read faster by recognizing words that were used correctly in a sentence vs. words that were spelled wrong or out of order.
6. I guess this is important because in order for us to be better teachers, we can create more successful lesson plans and be able to reach more students.
2. Chapter 1 discusses the idea that your cognitive processes are interrelated. For example, when one figures out a problem to something, they must use their perceptual processes, which according to Chapter 2, is the visual and auditory recognition that use our previous knowledge to interpreet the stimuli that are registerd by our senses.
3. With all of the different theories discussed in the chapter, I am a little confused on why some students are quicker learners than others or faster readers, etc. I am also confused on why students are different learners. How does this fit in with cognition. Is it active learning, genetic, or does it have to do with their surroundings (behaviorist theory) where they had reactions to stimuli in the environment. Is it top-down/bottom-up processing that makes a person "see" things or is it the fact that we build our memories the more we see or are exposed to something? I don't know.
4. How would apply this to my own teaching/work? According to Chapter 2, the way I would apply these theories, which I have done so already, is to make sure students see, hear, and have hands-on experiences in all areas. They must see a facial expression when being spoken to and they must hear the sounds that go along with certain things. Today I did a lesson on Adverbs and I used the bottom-up and top-down processing to help students become more familiar with these words. I gave them each a different adverb to write on a sticky note, then I had them stick their adverb on a chart in the correct column labeled "HOW," "WHEN," "WHERE," AND "TO WHAT DEGREE". Then they had to try to verbally use the word in a sentence. Students commented on how much easier it was for them to understand what an adverb was after that lesson.
5. I'm not sure this theory goes with the above lesson, but it was convincing enough to me when it talked about how students could read faster by recognizing words that were used correctly in a sentence vs. words that were spelled wrong or out of order.
6. I guess this is important because in order for us to be better teachers, we can create more successful lesson plans and be able to reach more students.
Monday, January 12, 2009
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