Education Psych Quest 2

learning

process through which experience causes permanent change in knowledge or behavior

behavioral learning theories

explanations of learning that focus on external events as the cause of changes in observable behaviors

contiguity

association of two events because of repeated pairing

classical conditioning

association of automatic response with new stimuli

respondents

responses (generally automatic or involuntary) elicited by specific stimuli

operant conditioning

learning in which voluntary behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences to strengthen behavior

punishment

process that weakens or suppresses behavior

continuous reinforcement schedule

presenting a reinforcer after every appropriate response

intermittent reinforcement schedule

presenting a reinforcer after some but not all responses

extinction

disappearance of a learned response

stimulus control

capacity for the presence or absence of antecedents to cause behaviors

effective instruction delivery

instructions that are clear, concise and specific, and that communicate an expected result

cueing

providing a stimulus that “sets up” a desired behavior

applied behavior analysis

the application of behavioral learning principles to understand and change behavior

Premack Principle

principle stating that a more preferred activity can serve as a reinforcer for a less preferred activity

shaping

reingorcing each small step of progress towards a desired goal or behavior

task analysis

system for breaking down a task hierarchically into basic skills and subskills

contingency contract

contract between the teacher and a student specifiying what the student myst do to earn a particular reward or privilege

token reinforcement system

system in which tokens earned for academic work and positive classroom behavior can be exchanged for some desired reward

good behavior game

arrangement where a class is divided into teams and each team receives demerit points for breaking agreed-upon rules of good behavior

group consequences

rewards or punishments given to a class as a whole for adhering to or violating rules of conduct

positive practice overcorrection

practicing correct responses immediately after errors

response cost

punishment by loss of reinforcers

cognitive view of learning

a general approach that views learning as an active mental process of acquiring, remembering, and using knowledge

cognitive science

the interdisciplinary study of thinking, language, AI, and the brain

mirror neurons

areas of the brain that fire both during perception of an action by someone else and when performing the action

domain-specific knowledge

information that is useful in a particular situation or that applies mainly to one specific topic

general knowledge

information that is useful in many different kinds of tasks; information that applies to many situations

declarative knowledge

verbal information; facts; “knowing that” something is the case

procedural knowledge

knowledge that is demonstrated when we perform a task; “knowing how”

self-regulatory knowledge

knowing how to manage your learning, or knowing how and when to use your declarative and procedural knowledge

information processing

the human mind’s activity of taking in, storing, and using information

sensory memory

system that holds sensory information very briefly

perception

interpretation of sensory information

bottom-up processing

processing based on noticing separate defining features and assembling them into a recognizable pattern

gestalt

people organize perceptions into coherent wholes

top-down processing

making sense of information by using content and what we already know about the situation; sometimes called conceptually driven perception

attention

focus on a stimulus

working memory

the brain system that provides temporary holding and processing of information to accomplish complex cognitive tasks such as language comprehension, learning, and reasoning; the information that you are focusing on at a given moment

short-term memory

component of memory system that holds information for about 20 seconds

phonological loop

part of working memory; speech and sound-related system for holding and rehearsing words and sounds in short-term memory for about 1.5-2 seconds

central executive

part of working memory that is responsible for monitoring and directing attention and other mental resources

visuo-spatial sketchpad

part of working memory; holding system for visual, tactile, and spatial information

episodic buffer

process that brings together and integrates information from the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and long-term memory under the supervision of the central executive

cognitive load

the volume of cognitive resources necessary to complete a task

intrinsic cognitive load

the resources required by the task itself, regardless of other stimuli

extraneous cognitive load

the resources required to process stimuli irrelevant to the task

maintenance rehearsal

keeping information in working memory by repeating it to yourself

elaborative rehearsal

keeping information in working memory by associating it with something else you already know

levels of processing theory

theory that recall of information is based on how deeply it is processed

chunking

grouping individual bits of data into meaningful, larger units

long-term memory

permanent store of knowledge

explicit memory

long-term memories that involve deliberate or conscious recall

implicit memory

knowledge that we are not conscious of recalling but that influences our behavior or thoughts without our awareness

semantic memory

memory for meaning

propositional networks

set of interconnected concepts and relationships in which long-term knowledge is held

images

representations based on the physical attributes of information

dual-coding theory

suggests that information is stored in long-term memory as either visual images, verbal units, or both

concept

a category used to group similar events, ideas, objects, or people

defining attributes

qualities that connect numbers of a group to a specific concept

prototype

a best example or best representation of a category

exemplars

an actual memory of a specific object

theory-based

an explanation for concept formation that suggests our classifications are based on ideas about the world that we create to make sense of things

story grammar

typical structure or organization for a category of stories

episodic memory

long-term memory for information tied to a particular time and place, especially memory of the events in a person’s life

flashbulb memory

clear, vivid memories of emotionally important events in your life

source monitoring

deciding if a memory is real and accurate by remembering where you encountered particular information

procedural memory

long-term memory for how to do things

scripts

schema, or expected plan, for the sequence of steps in a common event such as buying groceries or ordering a pizza

productions

the contents of procedural memory; rules about what actions to take, given certain conditions

priming

activating a concept in memory or the spread of activation from one concept to another

spreading activation

retrieval of pieces of information based on their relatedness to one another. remembering one bit of information activates recall of associated information

retrieval

process of searching for and finding information in long-term memory

reconstruction

recreating information by using memories, expectations, logic, and existing knowledge

elaboration

adding and extending meaning by connecting new information to existing knowledge

organization

ongoing process of arranging information and experiences into mental systems or categories. ordered and logical network or relations

imagery

the ability to form and use mental images

context

circumstances and situations that interact with the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions to shape development and learing

desirable difficulty

the more effort that is required to remember something, the better you will learn and the stronger the memory will be

mnemonics

techniques for remembering

serial-position effect

the tendency to remember the beginning and end, but not the middle of a list

part learning

breaking a list of items into shorter lists

distributed learning

practice in brief intervals with rest intervals

massed practice

practice for a single extended period

automated basic skills

skills applied without conscious thought

executive control processes

processes such as selective attention, rehearsal, elaboration, and organization that influence encoding, storage, and retrieval or information in memory

metacognition

thinking about thinking

KWL

strategy to guide reading and inquiry

learning strategies

knowing how to approach learning tasks (planning and focusing attention, comprehending, cognitive monitoring, practicing)

concept maps

a drawing that charts the relationships among ideas

production deficiencies

students learn problem-solving strategies, but don’t apply them when they could or should

problem solving

creating new solutions for problems

embodied cognition

theory stating that cognitive processes develop from real-time, goal-driven interactions between humans and their environment

schema-driven problem solving

recognizing a problem as a disguised version of an old problem for which one already has a solution

algorithm

step by step procedure for solving a problem; prescription for solutions

heuristic

general strategy used in attempting to solve problems

verbalization

putting your problem-solving plan and its logic into words

functional fixedness

inability to use tools or objects in a new way

response set

tendency to respond in the most familiar way

representativeness heuristics

judging the likelihood of an event based on how well the events match your prototypes— what you think is representative of the category