LESSON 2: INFORMATION PROCESSING

Learning Outcomes:
describe the processes involved in acquiring, storing and retrieving knowledge;
and
cite educational implications of the theory on information processing.

Introduction

Information processing is a cognitive theoretical framework that focuses on how

knowledge enters and is stored in and its retrieved from our memory. It is one of the
most significant cognitive theories in the last century and it has strong implications on
the teaching-learning process.

Activate

1. How you can liken man’s cognitive processes, like acquiring information, putting them
to memory, remembering, etc., to that of the functioning of a computer

Acquire

FACILITATING LEARNING: A Metacognitive Process by Susie Hope R. Tomol, Ed. D.

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Is a cognitive theoretical framework that focuses on how knowledge enters and is

stored and retrieved from our memory.

It focuses on how people attend to environmental events, encode information to

be learned and relate it to knowledge in memory, store new knowledge in memory and
retrieved it as needed.

This theory uses the computer metaphor with its inputs and outputs.

Cognitive psychologists believe that cognitive processes influence the nature of

what is learned. They consider learning as largely an internal process, not an external
behavior change (as behaviorist theorists thought). They look into how we receive,
perceive, store and retrieve information. They believe that how a person thinks about
and interprets what s/he receives shapes what he/she will learn. All these notions
comprise what is called the information processing theory.

IPT describes how the learner receives information (stimuli) from the
environment through the senses and what takes place in between determines whether
the information will continue to pass through the sensory register, then the short term
memory and the long term memory.

Types of Knowledge

General vs. Specific: This involves whether the knowledge is useful in many
tasks, or only in one.

Declarative: This refers to factual knowledge. They relate to the nature of how
things are. They may be in the form of a word or an image.

Procedural: This includes knowledge on how to do things.

Episodic: this includes memories of life events, like your high school graduation.

Conditional: This is about “knowing when and why” to apply declarative or

procedural strategies.

Stages in the Information Processing Theory

The stages of IPT involve the functioning of the senses, sensory register, short
term memory and the long term memory. Basically, IPT asserts three primary stages in
the progression of external information becoming incorporated into the internal cognitive
structure of choice (schema, concept, script, frame, mental model, etc.

FACILITATING LEARNING: A Metacognitive Process by Susie Hope R. Tomol, Ed. D.

Three Primary Stages in IPT

1. Encoding

information is sensed, perceived, and attended to.when information comes into

our memory system (from a sensory input) it needs to be changed into a form that the
system can cope with so that it can be stored.

“Three Main Ways in which Information can be encoded”

Visual (picture)

Acoustic (sound)

Semantic (meaning)

2. Storage

The information is stored for either a brief or extended period of time, depending
upon the processes following encoding.

This concerns the nature of memory stores, i.e. where the information is stored,
how long the memory lost for, how much can be stored at any time and what kind of
information is held.

3. Retrieval

The information is brought back at the appropriate time, and reactivated for use
on a current task, the true measure of effective memory.

Refers to getting information out storage

THREE MAIN STAGES IN THE MEMORY PROCESS

1. Sensory Register

The main purpose of sensory register is to screen incoming stimuli and process
only those stimuli that are most relevant at the present time.

Capacity: Our mind receives a great amount of information but it is more than
what our minds can hold or perceive.

Duration: The sensory register only holds the information for an extremely brief
– in the order of 1 to 3 seconds.

There is a difference in duration based on modality: auditory memory is more

persistent than visual.

FACILITATING LEARNING: A Metacognitive Process by Susie Hope R. Tomol, Ed. D.

2. Short Term Memory (STM or Working Memory)

Capacity: The STM can only hold 5 to 9 “chunks” of information, sometimes

described as 7 + /- 2. it is called working memory because it is where new
information is temporarily placed while it is mentally processed. STM maintain
information for a limited time, until the learner has adequate resources to process
the information, or until the information is forgotten.

Duration: Around 18 seconds or less.

To reduce the loss of information in 18 seconds, you need to do maintenance

rehearsal. It is using the repetition to keep the information active in STM, like
when you repeat a phone number just given over and over.

3. Long Term Memory (LTM)

The LTM is the final or permanent storing house for memory information. It holds
the stored information until needed again.

Capacity: LTM has unlimited capacity.

Duration: Duration in the LTM is indefinite.

EXECUTIVE CONTROL PROCESSES

Involve the executive processor or what is referred to as metacognitive skills.

These processes guide the flow of information through the system, help the learner
make informed decisions about how to categorize, organize, or interpret information.

FORGETTING

Is the inability to retrieve or access information when needed.

Why do we forget? There are 2 simple answer to this question.

First, the memory has disappeared – it is no longer available.

Second, the memory is still stored in the memory system but, for some reason it
cannot be retrieved.

Two Main Ways in which Forgetting Likely Occurs

1. Decay – Information is not attended to and eventually “fades” away. Very prevalent in
Working Memory.

FACILITATING LEARNING: A Metacognitive Process by Susie Hope R. Tomol, Ed. D.

2. Interference – New or old information “blocks” access to the information in question.

Proactive (pro-forward) occurs when you cannot learn a new tasks because of an
old task that had been learn.

Retroactive (retro-backward) occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due
to the learning of a new task.

METHODS FOR INCREASING RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION

Rehearsal – this is repeating information verbatim, either mentally or aloud.

Meaningful Learning – this is making connections between new information and

prior knowledge.

Organization – it is making connections among various pieces of information.

Elaboration – this is adding additional ideas to new information based on what

one already knows.

Visual Imagery – this means forming a „picture” of the information.

Generation – things we “produce” are easier to remember than things we

“’hear”.

Context – remembering the situation helps recover information.

Personalization – it is making the information relevant to the individual.

OTHER MEMORY METHODS

Serial Position Effect (recency & primacy) – you will remember the beginning
and end of “list” most readily.

Part Learning – break up the “list” or “chunk” information to increase

memorization.

Distributed Practice – break up learning sessions, rather than cramming all the
info in at once (Massed Practice)

Mnemonic Aids – these are memory techniques that learners may employ to
help them retain and retrieved information more effectively.

FACILITATING LEARNING: A Metacognitive Process by Susie Hope R. Tomol, Ed. D.

 Information processing model postulates a three component model of I.P.
sensory and STM are limited with respect to capacity and duration, whereas LTM is
more or less unlimited.

Information is received through the senses and goes to the sensory memory for a
very brief amount of time. If not found relevant, information may decay. It goes to the
STM and if given attention and is perceived and found to be relevant, it is sent to the
LTM. If not properly encoded, forgetting occurs. Different cognitive processes applied to
the information will then determine if information can be retrieved when needed later.

FACILITATING LEARNING: A Metacognitive Process by Susie Hope R. Tomol, Ed. D.