The Information Processing

Approach

HASNAN HASSAN
nan1184@uum.edu.my

Memory - learning that has persisted

over time.

Learning Goals
1.

Describe the information-processing approach.

2.

Characterize attention and summarize how it

changes during development.

3.

Discuss memory in terms of encoding, storage,

and retrieval.

4.

Draw some lessons about learning from the way

experts think.

5.

Explain the concept of metacognition and identify

some ways to improve childrens metacognition.

The Information-Processing
Approach
The Nature of the
Information-Processing
Approach

Information,
Memory, and
Thinking

Cognitive Resources:
Capacity and Speed
of Processing
Information

Mechanisms of
Change

Characteristics of Information
Processing

The information-processing approach to

learning emphasizes that children manipulate
information, monitor it, and strategize about it.

The Information-Processing
Approach
Attention

What Is
Attention?

Developmental
Changes

What Is Attention?
Attention is the focusing of mental
processes
Sustained attention
Selective attention
Divided attention

Getting Students to Pay Attention

Encourage
attention and
minimize
distraction

Be
interesting

Use cues and

gestures
for important
material

Focus on active learning

and be aware of
individual differences

Use media and technology to

make learning enjoyable
8

The Information-Processing
Approach
Memory

What Is
Memory?

Encoding

Retrieval and
Forgetting

Storage
9

Enter the Debate

Should teachers require students to engage
in rote memorization?
YES

NO

10

8.10

Memory - is the retention of information over time

ENCODING

STORAGE

Getting
information
into memory

Retaining
information
over time

Keyboard
(Encoding)

Disk
(Storage)

Sequential Process

RETRIEVAL

Taking
information
out of storage

Monitor
(Retrieval)

Flashbulb Memory
Flashbulb memory - a highly emotional event
can cause a clear, strong, and persistent memory.

12

12

Encoding Strategies
REHEARSAL

DEEP PROCESSING

Consistent repetition of
information over time

Deeper processing,
better memory

ATTENTION
Concentrate and focus

ORGANIZATION

CONSTRUCTING
IMAGES

Aided by chunking

ELABORATION
Adds to distinctiveness

13

Levels of Processing
Whale
Q: Did the word begin
with a capital letter?

Structural
Encoding

Shallow

Q: Did the word rhyme

with the word
weight?

Phonemic
Encoding

Intermediate

Q: Would the word fit

in the sentence?
He met a __________
in the street.

Semantic
Encoding

Deep

Craik and Lockhart (1972)

14

Results

15

Visual Encoding
Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid
especially when combined with semantic
encoding.

Both photos: Ho/AP Photo

Showing adverse effects of tanning and smoking

Organizing Information for

Encoding
Complex information broken down into
broad concepts and further subdivided into
categories and subcategories.
1. Chunking
2. Hierarchy

Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable
unit. Try to remember the number below.
1-7-7-6-1-4-9-2-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1
chunk the number and see if you can recall it
easier. 1776 1492 1812 1941.

18

Encoding Summarized in a
Hierarchy

19

Atkinson and Shiffrins Theory

20

Memorys Time Frames

Sensory Memory Retains information for an instant
Short-Term Memory Limited capacity; retains for 30
seconds without rehearsal

Long-Term Memory Unlimited capacity over a long

period of time
21

Sensory Memories
Iconic
0.5 sec. long
Echoic
3-4 sec. long
Hepatic
< 1 sec. long

22

Developmental Changes in
Memory

23

Working Memory
(7 2 or 5-9 bits of
information)
and short duration
(about 20 30 seconds).

George Miller

Chunking
Capacity of working memory may be
increased by Chunking.
F-B-I-T-W-A-C-I-A-I-B-M

FBI

TWA CIA
4 chunks

IBM

25

Baddeleys Model of Memory

26

Atkinson and Shiffrins Theory

27

Semantic Memory

Episodic Memory

28

28

Hippocampus
Hippocampus a neural center in the limbic
system that processes explicit memories.

Weidenfield & Nicolson archives

29

Anterograde & Retrograde Amnesia

HM cannot make new memories. We call this
anterograde amnesia.
HM cannot remember 1-3 years before the
surgery. We call this retrograde amnesia
Anterograde
Amnesia
(HM)

Memory Intact

No New Memories

Surgery

30

Implicit Memory
HM can form new
memories that are procedural (implicit).

Each time he plays it he is unable to remember the fact that he has

already played the game.
31

31

Cerebellum
Cerebellum a neural center in the hindbrain
that processes implicit memories.

32

Representing Information in Memory

Network Theories

- Nodes stand for labels

and concepts
- Network is irregular and
distorted

Schema Theories
- Long-term searches are not
exact
- Retrieved information is fit
into an existing formation
(schema)
- Schemas: concepts,
knowledge, or
information about events
that already exist in the
mind and influence the
way we encode
information
33

Dja Vu
Dja Vu means "I've experienced this before.
Cues from the current situation may
unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier
similar experience.
The New Yorker Collection, 1990. Leo Cullum from
cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved

Retrieval

Recall

previously learned
information, as in essay or
fill-in-the-blank

Recognition

identify learned
information, as in multiple
choice

35

Serial Position Effect

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

TUV
ZOF
GEK
WAV
XOZ
TIK
FUT
WIB
SAR
POZ
REY
GIJ

(Primacy Effect)
Better recall
Poor recall

(Recency Effect)
Better recall

36

37

Context Effects (encoding specificity)

According to the principle of encoding specificity, the way we
encode a word during original learning determines which cues
will remind us of that word later.

37

Context Effects

38

38

39

Moods and Memories (statedependent memory)

Tendency to recall experiences that are

consistent with ones current mood. Emotions,
or moods serve as retrieval cues.

Jorgen Schytte/ Still Pictures

Forgetting
Cue-Dependent
Forgetting

Caused by a lack of retrieval cues

Interference
Theory

Other information (new or old) gets

in the way of what we are trying to
remember

Decay Theory

Passage of time allows memory

trace to disintegrate

41

Retrieval Cues
Memories are held in storage by a web of
associations. These associations are like anchors
that help retrieve memory.
water

smell
fire
smoke

Fire Truck

heat

hose

truck
red
42

Retrieval Failure
Although the information is retained in the
memory store it cannot be accessed.

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon.

Given a cue (What makes the blood cells red?) the subject says
the word begins with an H (hemoglobin).

Forgetting as Interference

44

Proactive
interference
problem driving in
England after
learning in US.

45

46

Memory Construction
Misinformation Effect:
Incorporating misleading information into
one's memory of an event.

46

47

Misinformation and Imagination Effects

Eyewitnesses reconstruct memories when
questioned about the event.

Depiction of the actual accident.

47

48

Misinformation
Group A: How fast were the cars going
when they hit each other?
Group B: How fast were the cars going
when they smashed into each
other?

48

49

Memory Construction
A week later they were asked; Was there any
broken glass? Group B (smashed into) reported
more broken glass than Group A (hit).

49

50

Source Amnesia

Source Amnesia:
Attributing an event to the wrong source

50

51

False Memory Syndrome

A false but strongly believed memory of
traumatic experience sometimes induced by
well-meaning therapists.

Elizabeth Loftus

51

Improving Memory
Promote understanding
Assist organization of knowledge
Teach mnemonics

Method of loci
Pegword Method
Rhymes
Acronyms
Keyword
52
8.52

Method of Loci
List of Items

Imagined Locations

Charcoal
Pens
Bed Sheets
Hammer
.
.
.
Rug

Backyard
Study
Bedroom
Garage
.
.
.
Living Room
53

Method of Loci
1

54

Pegword Method
One is a bun
Two is a shoe
Three is a tree
Four is a door
Five is a hive
Six is sticks
Seven is heaven
Eight is a gate
Nine is a swine
Ten is a hen
55

Acronyms
HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
PEMDAS = Parentheses, Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract
ROY G. BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
King Philip Can Only Find his Green Slippers = Kingdom
Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

56

Planet Order

Mercury

My

Many

My

Mother

Venus

Very

Very

Vicious

Veronica

Earth

Educated

Elderly

Earthworm

Enjoyed

Mars

Mother

Men

Might

My

Jupiter

Just

Just

Just

Jam

Saturn

Served

Snooze

Swallow

Sandwich

Uranus

Us

Under

Us

Under

Neptune

Nachos /
Noodles

Newspapers

Now

Neptune

57

Planet and dwarf order

My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants

58

Rhymes
i before e except after c
thirty days hath September, April, June,

and November
The alphabet song

59

Keyword Method
la carta

60

Pato = duck

61

2 apples getting married

Annapolis is the

capitol of
Maryland

62

Keyword Method

63

64

Information Processing Theory

Theory into Practice
Ms. Blackwood has assigned her students 20
spelling words to learn for the week. She notices
that most of her students have no problems
remembering how to spell the first few and the last
few words, but many struggle with those in the
middle of the list.
Q: Why might students have an easier time
remembering how to spell the first and last few
words, but struggle with those in the middle of the
list? Explain.

8.65

The Information-Processing
Approach
Expertise

Expertise and
Teaching

Expertise and
Learning

Acquiring
Expertise
66

Experts

Detect features and meaningful patterns of

information
Accumulate more content knowledge;
organize around important ideas and
concepts
Retrieve important aspects of knowledge
with little effort
Adapt an approach to new situations
Use effective learning strategies
67

Learning strategies
Distributive practice versus massed practice
Question oneself (reflection)
Take good notes summarize, outline, concept

maps
Use a study system PQ4R
Preview
Question
Read
Reflect
Recite
Review
68

Concept Map

69

The Information-Processing
Approach
Metacognition

Strategies and
Metacognitive
Regulation

Developmental
Changes

The Good
InformationProcessing
Model

70

Metacognition
Knowing about knowing
Metacognitive Knowledge
Monitoring and reflecting on ones current or
recent thoughts

Metacognitive Activity
Students consciously adapt and manage their
thinking strategies during problem solving and
purposeful thinking

71

Improving Metacognitive Skills

Improvement of metacognitive skills
results from:
1.

Developmental changes as student matures

cognitively in metamemory and theories of mind

2.

The Good Information-Processing model that

includes specific learning strategies, knowing the
similarities and differences in multiple strategies,
and the benefits of using them

3.

Monitoring the effectiveness of strategies and

modifying when necessary
72

Crack the Case

The Test
1. What are the issues in this case?
2. With what type of learning is George having

difficulty?
3. What type of learning is easier for George?
4. Design a study skills program for George
drawing on principles of the cognitive
information-processing approach.

73

Reflection & Observation

Reflection:
What strategies have teachers used to
help you understand difficult concepts?
Why were these strategies helpful?

Observation:

What strategies does this teacher

use to promote students
understanding of the concepts in
this math lesson?
How does she develop their
metacognitive knowledge and
skills?

Thank you!
HASNAN HASSAN
School of Education and Modern Languages
College of Arts and Sciences
Universiti Utara Malaysia
nan1184@uum.edu.my