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Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
 * 1) There are two separate channels (auditory and visual) for processing information:

As an elementary math and science teacher, I’ve found that most students cannot process and retain information based solely on one channel. Math would be impossible to teach if I were to just verbalize how to solve a math problem. Rather, I explain the concept and give out exercises containing multiple problems revolving around that same concept. Therefore, if I find that one or more problems were exceptionally difficult for some students, then we can talk and work through those problems together and repeat the exercise until the concept is learned.

Another example would be to complete science projects with students so that they can visualize the information they’ve heard or read in the textbooks. Not only have I found that most students enjoy working on a science project (enjoyment always makes learning easier!), but during the project students are implementing the knowledge they also heard through auditory processes. For example, I can have students memorize that a chemical reaction is the process of a permanent transformation of one chemical to another. Students may now know what a chemical reaction is, but they still do not have to fully understand it. Now, if I also mix vinegar and baking soda, using the volcano model that students build, and show it as an example of a chemical reaction, then the students will better understand and appreciate the definition of a chemical reaction.

2. Learning is an active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information.

One reason students are given multiple math exercises is to reinforce the concept being taught in a variety of different scenarios or problems. This helps the student organize and integrate the concept into their schema. Since math is such a black and white topic with little where answers are either right or wrong, teachers have to provide varying examples of the same concept to help students grasp the context in which the concept is applied and to stave off boredom. This is why math exercises often employ different types of scenarios and situations using the same math concept like addition, subtraction, ratios, fractions, etc. so that a student properly selects, organizes, and integrates that concept into their schema.

We all have funny little sayings to help us remember the steps or order of things. Examples are the acronyms “King Henry died Monday drinking chocolate milk” that helps remember the order of the metric system measurements from largest to smallest, and “Oh! Ryan had eaten raw clams” to remember the steps of the scientific method. Using acronyms and other ways to filter and organize information helps students recall that information based on their remembrance of that silly saying. For example, “Oh, Ryan had eaten raw clams” would not make much sense if the words were in any other order than this. So, students who correlate that sentence to the scientific method can better remember the order of the scientific method is Observe, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Record Data, and Conclusion.

Cognitive Load Theory

1. The mind is a “black box” that should be opened and understood:

As an instructor, one of my primary challenges is discovering how each of my students learn. Everything from thinking, memory, and problem solving need to be understood so that lesson plans can be tailored that will help the students learn. Since I teach so many younger students in elementary education, the best method I found is to incorporate a variety of learning instruments to help cover different strengths of individual learners. Like in multi-media learning, math is best taught when students are given multiple examples of the same math concept so that students can identify and correlate that concept to their own experiences and future experiences they will have. For example, fractions can be used in counting money where 25 cents is ¼ of a dollar, or the first row of 5 kids in a 20-child classroom is ¼ of the class size. Using different types of examples to express the same concept helps students tailor the concept to a their own individual schema.

Another example, as with multi-media learning is the use of science projects that students conceive and demonstrate on their own. Students get an outline and objectives of the science projects and then build that project on their own using their own imagination. This helps students utilize their memory and learning instruments of their minds to come up with a project that demonstrates their strengths since students will tend to complete a project of their choice based on their own unique learning strengths and the science concepts they feel comfortable with. During the science fair, students explore and test their peers’ projects, which may all be different from their own, which also helps them reinforce or learn more concepts.

2. People are rational beings that require active participation in order to learn.

People learn best they are able to apply knowledge to their own schema. This is most true for elementary age students who have a shorter attention span and a smaller realm of experience and memory to serve them. This makes developing curriculum somewhat challenging, since I have to plan based on the mind an capacity of a 5th grader versus that of an adult. However, in all my experience, children learn best when there is active participation as well as problem solving strategies that incorporate their limited memory and experience. Participation can range from active participation, such students coming up with their own problem and solution as in a science fair project, or passive participation, where students are given the problems and must solve them within the scope of the concept being taught.

People’s actions are a consequence of what they’ve learned and how that knowledge was stored in memory. In many cases where I notice one of my students struggling with a concept, it is because they are attempting to apply that concept in the wrong memory context or schema. This is why it is difficult to try and change knowledge that is wrongly learned just as bad habits and behavior is hard to break. Ensuring that my students learn the concepts being taught and build those concepts into their correct schema the first time will help those students effectively learn them and apply them to future experiences. To reduce the potential for my students to learn a concept incorrectly, I attempt to reduce extraneous information that is not totally relevant to the concept and I provide multiple yet simple examples that refrain from using the same contexts more than once.



This game was found on a math website. [|(][|http://www.math-play.com/Decimals-Jeopardy/decimals-jeopardy.html)] It focuses on a fun way to complete drill and practice type problems.While the students may be engaged in this activity, this site does not provide relevant or real life scenarios for the learner to relate to. The information is presented to the learner in only one way- it does not have any visual clues to help the learner nor does it have integration with any other knowledge. It also does not provide any context that the learner can relate to in order to develop a framework and assign it to their experience. Therefore, this site violates the Cognitive Load Theory and Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. However, the positive attributes of this site is the color schematics and format is kid friendly and conveys a sense of “fun” when doing mathematical problem solving.

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