Annotated Bibliographies for Module 5
Reading #1
Driscoll, M. (2005). Meaningful learning and schema theory. Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.) (pp. 111-152). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
This chapter examines two theories of how people make learning meaningful; meaningful learning theory and schema theory. Both share many similarities in general terms with schema theory often considered a more detailed explanation of many of the tenants of the older meaningful learning theory. In today’s literature, the meaningful learning theory first put forth by psychologist David Ausubel is no longer considered to be current. The impact of his work, however, continues to hold influence in educational practice. According to Ausubel’s theory, the most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. This concept of readiness as it relates to the construction of meaning is also a major influence on schema theory. Conceived as a more precision enumeration of the main tenants of Ausubel’s meaningful learning theory, schema theory also places emphasis on the activation of prior knowledge for meaningful learning to occur through the activation of schema signals appropriate to the task. Learning occurs when schemas are modified or newly created in response to a stimulus through the process of accretion, tuning, or restructuring. Both theories have implications for educators, such as the role of prior knowledge in learning, the importance of developing well-organized instructional materials, and making instructional materials meaningful for learners.
Reading #2:
Driscoll, M. (2005). Situated Cognition. Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.) (pp. 153-184). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
This chapter discusses the role of situated cognition theory as it relates to learning. Situated cognition theory combines declarative and situational knowledge into a single framework with an emphasis placed on understanding the role of social and situational influences on human cognition. Although perhaps rooted in many of the constructs of the cognitive perspective of learning discussed earlier in this text, proponents of situated cognition theory view it as as revolutionary shift in thought compared to earlier models. Critics disagree to the extent to which this statement is true.
Situated cognition theory supposes that human thoughts are influenced by the environment and culture to which the person is a member. In turn, this means that knowledge is a construct of the situation in which a person finds themselves. The theory also supports the belief that learning is a result of participation in communities of practice whereby new knowledge is gained through actions with others. The degree to which a person participates in a community of practice (from peripheral participation as novices to experts on an outbound trajectory to a new field) can vary, but the result of increased participation in the community is increased knowledge. Cognition occurs as a reaction to signs. Full realization of situated cognitive theory in educational settings requires a change in assessment practices and a complete change in classroom culture to transform the traditional classroom into a learning community with the student and teacher working together to achieve goals.
Reading #3
Mayer, R.E. & Pilegard C. (2014) Principles for managing essential processing in multimedia learning: segmenting, pre-training, and modality principles. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 316-344). New York: Cambridge.
In this article, the segmentation, pre-training, and modality principles of multimedia learning are examined. A major theme throughout the article relates to the concept of essential overload, which occurs when the cognitive processing requiring in a multimedia lesson exceeds the cognitive capacity the learner has available. This can occur for a variety of reasons, but pacing that is too fast appears to be a major contributor. To ensure learning occurs, educators and instructional designers must find ways to reduce this cognitive load.
The segmenting principle says that presenting information in learner-paced segments is more effective. This can include allowing the learner to control the pace of the information in order to allow cognitive processing to occur. The pre-training principle informs us that prior instruction on key terms and characteristics of a concept before beginning the main instruction allows for deeper learning to occur. This is thought to be effective because prior knowledge can reduce the amount of processing needed to understand the animation. The modality principle says that people learn better from multimedia instruction when the words are spoken rather than presented as printed text, as the presentation of both of these elements concurrently can overload the visual channel and reduce the ability to process the information. Research studies on each of these principles suggest a high degree of confidence in these thoughts, with effect sizes approach the high range for all three. While obvious limitations exist for each principle based on the differences among people, the body of research presented in this chapter has implications for educators, researchers in the field of cognitive psychology, and instructional designers.
Reading #4
Spanjers, I. A. E., von Gog, T., Wouters, P., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G (2012). Explaining the segmentation effect in learning from animations: The role of pausing and temporal cueing. Computers & Education, 59(2), 274-280.
In this study, the authors investigate the effect of segmentation of animations on cognitive load and learning. The concept of segmentation can be defined as breaking an animated sequence into smaller pieces as opposed to presenting the information continuously. Previous studies have shown positive results when animations have been presented in a segmented fashion. The purpose of this study was to investigate why this segmentation principle appears to hold such promise in educational research. Two theories have been proposed. First, pauses between segments may provide learners additional time in which to perform cognitive processes on the material before moving on to new information. Second, the segmentation of animation may provide temporal cuing to the learner and encourage learning by making the organization structure of the information more apparent. The purpose of this study is to investigate which of these two explanations of segmentation are most likely. The results did not seem to suggest one theory was superior to the other, but rather that circumstances may dictate what approach a teacher may wish to use as both pausing and temporal curing were shown to contribute to the segmentation effect, just in different ways. I chose this article to review because I find the segmentation principle a fascinating topic in educational psychology. As a learner, I have always found myself to be more successful in learning new material when it was broken into easy-to-process segments in which I had some control over my learning. This article would suggest that my anecdotal observations could be backed up by actual empirical research.
Driscoll, M. (2005). Meaningful learning and schema theory. Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.) (pp. 111-152). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
This chapter examines two theories of how people make learning meaningful; meaningful learning theory and schema theory. Both share many similarities in general terms with schema theory often considered a more detailed explanation of many of the tenants of the older meaningful learning theory. In today’s literature, the meaningful learning theory first put forth by psychologist David Ausubel is no longer considered to be current. The impact of his work, however, continues to hold influence in educational practice. According to Ausubel’s theory, the most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. This concept of readiness as it relates to the construction of meaning is also a major influence on schema theory. Conceived as a more precision enumeration of the main tenants of Ausubel’s meaningful learning theory, schema theory also places emphasis on the activation of prior knowledge for meaningful learning to occur through the activation of schema signals appropriate to the task. Learning occurs when schemas are modified or newly created in response to a stimulus through the process of accretion, tuning, or restructuring. Both theories have implications for educators, such as the role of prior knowledge in learning, the importance of developing well-organized instructional materials, and making instructional materials meaningful for learners.
Reading #2:
Driscoll, M. (2005). Situated Cognition. Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.) (pp. 153-184). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
This chapter discusses the role of situated cognition theory as it relates to learning. Situated cognition theory combines declarative and situational knowledge into a single framework with an emphasis placed on understanding the role of social and situational influences on human cognition. Although perhaps rooted in many of the constructs of the cognitive perspective of learning discussed earlier in this text, proponents of situated cognition theory view it as as revolutionary shift in thought compared to earlier models. Critics disagree to the extent to which this statement is true.
Situated cognition theory supposes that human thoughts are influenced by the environment and culture to which the person is a member. In turn, this means that knowledge is a construct of the situation in which a person finds themselves. The theory also supports the belief that learning is a result of participation in communities of practice whereby new knowledge is gained through actions with others. The degree to which a person participates in a community of practice (from peripheral participation as novices to experts on an outbound trajectory to a new field) can vary, but the result of increased participation in the community is increased knowledge. Cognition occurs as a reaction to signs. Full realization of situated cognitive theory in educational settings requires a change in assessment practices and a complete change in classroom culture to transform the traditional classroom into a learning community with the student and teacher working together to achieve goals.
Reading #3
Mayer, R.E. & Pilegard C. (2014) Principles for managing essential processing in multimedia learning: segmenting, pre-training, and modality principles. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 316-344). New York: Cambridge.
In this article, the segmentation, pre-training, and modality principles of multimedia learning are examined. A major theme throughout the article relates to the concept of essential overload, which occurs when the cognitive processing requiring in a multimedia lesson exceeds the cognitive capacity the learner has available. This can occur for a variety of reasons, but pacing that is too fast appears to be a major contributor. To ensure learning occurs, educators and instructional designers must find ways to reduce this cognitive load.
The segmenting principle says that presenting information in learner-paced segments is more effective. This can include allowing the learner to control the pace of the information in order to allow cognitive processing to occur. The pre-training principle informs us that prior instruction on key terms and characteristics of a concept before beginning the main instruction allows for deeper learning to occur. This is thought to be effective because prior knowledge can reduce the amount of processing needed to understand the animation. The modality principle says that people learn better from multimedia instruction when the words are spoken rather than presented as printed text, as the presentation of both of these elements concurrently can overload the visual channel and reduce the ability to process the information. Research studies on each of these principles suggest a high degree of confidence in these thoughts, with effect sizes approach the high range for all three. While obvious limitations exist for each principle based on the differences among people, the body of research presented in this chapter has implications for educators, researchers in the field of cognitive psychology, and instructional designers.
Reading #4
Spanjers, I. A. E., von Gog, T., Wouters, P., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G (2012). Explaining the segmentation effect in learning from animations: The role of pausing and temporal cueing. Computers & Education, 59(2), 274-280.
In this study, the authors investigate the effect of segmentation of animations on cognitive load and learning. The concept of segmentation can be defined as breaking an animated sequence into smaller pieces as opposed to presenting the information continuously. Previous studies have shown positive results when animations have been presented in a segmented fashion. The purpose of this study was to investigate why this segmentation principle appears to hold such promise in educational research. Two theories have been proposed. First, pauses between segments may provide learners additional time in which to perform cognitive processes on the material before moving on to new information. Second, the segmentation of animation may provide temporal cuing to the learner and encourage learning by making the organization structure of the information more apparent. The purpose of this study is to investigate which of these two explanations of segmentation are most likely. The results did not seem to suggest one theory was superior to the other, but rather that circumstances may dictate what approach a teacher may wish to use as both pausing and temporal curing were shown to contribute to the segmentation effect, just in different ways. I chose this article to review because I find the segmentation principle a fascinating topic in educational psychology. As a learner, I have always found myself to be more successful in learning new material when it was broken into easy-to-process segments in which I had some control over my learning. This article would suggest that my anecdotal observations could be backed up by actual empirical research.