Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
(Bulgren, Deshler, Schumaker, & Lentz, 2000). As an example, consider the fol-
lowing analogy from science:
Our circulatory system is like a pumping system that
carries the blood around our bodies. The veins and arteries are the pipes, and the
heart is the pump.
The veins and arteries are similar, but not identical, to pipes, and the
heart is a type of pump. The analogy is an effective form of elaboration
because it links new information to a pumping station, an idea learners already
understand.
Good fiction also makes extensive use of analogies in the form of similes and
metaphors, and authors are encouraged to use them in their writing. For example,
“He approached the door with the silent footsteps of a jungle cat” makes the story
both more meaningful and more interesting.
Mnemonic devices
are memory strategies that create associations that do not exist
naturally in the content (Terry, 2006). Mnemonics link knowledge to be learned to
familiar information, and they have been proven effective in a variety of content
areas (Bloom & Lamkin, 2006; Uygur & Ozdas, 2007) with learners ranging from
children to older adults (Brehmer & Li, 2007).
Mnemonics can take several forms. We can use acronyms, for example, such as
HOMES to remember the names of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan,
Erie, and Superior) and phrases, such as “Every good boy does fine,” to remember
the names of the notes in the treble clef (E, G, B, D, and F). When learners think of
the mnemonic, they link it to the information it represents, which aids the recall of
information.
Mnemonics are used to help remember vocabulary, names, rules, lists, and other
kinds of factual knowledge. Table 5.2 provides some additional examples.
The Importance of Cognitive Activity
Regardless of the encoding strategy being employed, it is essential that we are cog-
nitively active when we attempt to use the strategy. For example, suppose you and
a friend are studying for a math exam and have practice problems with worked
solutions available. You read and attempt to solve the problems and then study the
worked solutions. Your friend simply reads each problem and then studies the solu-
tion. Your approach is more effective because
you've placed yourself in a more
cognitively active role than has your friend.
Thinking about and attempting to write
a solution is active, and it capitalizes on both schema activation and elaboration. You
attempt to activate a relevant schema by searching long-term memory for informa-
tion related to the problems, and you then use elaboration when you answer them.
Merely reading the solutions is passive, resulting in fewer connections to informa-
tion in long-term memory and less meaningful learning. Similarly, when teachers
ask students to provide additional examples, they place the students in cognitively
active roles; a teacher providing the example does not encourage as much active
processing (Bransford et al., 2000).
