This is a short presentation of the learning theory of cognitivism. It mentions its major contributors, main ideas, and my own thoughts as a future educator.

1. By Daniel Noffke

2. •Merrill - Component Display Theory (CDT)
•Reigeluth - Elaboration Theory
•Gagne, Briggs, Wager, Bruner - Cognitive
Constructivism
•Schank - Scripts
•Scandura - Structural Learning
•Piaget - Theory of Cognitive Development
•Vygotsky – Social Learning

3. Cognitivism
Cognitivists view the
human mind much
like a computer.
Information is
inputted, analyzed,
made useful, and
used.

4. Two Important Terms
Associated With Cognitivism
 Schema is a term that is used to
identify acquired knowledge.
 Schemata are sets of physical
actions, mental operations, or
concepts that increase in
complexity as learning occurs.

5. Educational Implications in
Relation to Technology
 People control their own learning.
 Educational software can help students maintain their own
pace and learn in a way that is best for them.
 People organize what they learn.
 Graphical User Interfaces are helpful in modeling mental
organization techniques.
 New information is most easily acquired when people can
associate it with things they have already learned.
 Those who are extensively computer literate should be able to
learn foreign ideas easier through interaction with
educational software programs.

6. Usefulness of Cognitivism
 I believe the cognitive theory is incredibly useful and
logical in explaining and offering insight into the learning
process.
 I believe it can be used to highly promote the use of
technology in the classroom because it emphasizes
individuality in leaning processes.
 As a future teacher I understand that cognitivists believe
that learning difficulties often indicate ineffective or
inappropriate cognitive processes; this tells me that
students who are doing poorly either don’t have methods to
learn effectively or they are inappropriately using the
schemata they have acquired.

7. RESOURCES
 http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~Lynda_abbot/Cogniti
ve.html
 http://www.learning-theories.com/cognitivism.html
 http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/index.
htm