FAKULTI PENGURUSAN & TEKNOLOGI MAKLUMAT

UNIVERSITI SULTAN AZLAN SHAH

MED7013 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

OCTOBER 2019 SEMESTER

ASSIGNMENT I

Information-Processing Theory

Student Name : MUHAMMAD KHAIRUL HAFIZA ABU

HANAFFI B. MD ZAINAL ABIDIN

Matrix ID : S18100525

Program : MASTER OF EDUCATION

Instructor : ASSOC. PROF. DR. AZHAR B. MD ADNAN

CONTENT

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Learning 2
1.2 Psychology 3
1.3 Educational psychology 3

2.0 Information-Processing Model 4

2.1 Sensory Memory 7
2.2 Working Memory/Short Term Memory 8
2.3 Long Term Memory 8

3.0 Classroom Applications

3.1 Sensory Memory 9
3.2 Working Memory 10
3.3 Rehearsal 11
3.4 Long-Term Memory 11
3.5 Principles and Example 12

4.0 Conclusion 14

References 15

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Learning

Learning is the process of acquiring new, or modifying existing, knowledge, behaviors, skills,
values, or preferences. Some learning is immediate, induced by a single event, but much skill and
knowledge accumulates from repeated experiences. Foremost, learning depends on thinking. The
more we can understand what happens when we think, the more we can help other people to think
“better”, differently or in new ways and the more chance we have of being able to help people to
learn more efficiently.

Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850 -1909) examined learning, by studying rote memory and forgetting.
With himself as his own experimental subject, he used meaningless syllables form lists that read
several times until he could restated them with high accuracy. Additionally, he attempted to recall
the same lists with certain delay and then recorded his discoveries as learning curves and the
forgetting curves.

Benjamin Bloom (1956) attempt to categories the different sorts of intellectual knowledge that
teachers wanted their students to learn. Bloom’s “taxonomy” as it became known, is still the most
useful framework for teachers to use in deciding what it is they are trying to teach their students.
Bloom classified knowledge into six categories, ranging from the type of task which demanded
the lowest level of thinking (memorization), to the highest level of intellectual ability (evaluation).

According to Gage & Berliner (1984), memorizing information and remembering how to apply
skills is one of the major tasks of learning. Learning something one night according to Gage &
Berliner is of little use if it cannot be remembered at some later time. Gage & Berliner opined that
metacognitive learners are able to devise cognitive tactics or techniques to help them to remember
something and to recall it easily at a later date. This process according to Gage & Berliner is known
as encoding. Teachers can help their students encode information for easy retrieval in two ways.
Firstly by providing the learner with the information already coded in the form of mnemonics,
graphs, tables, propositions and so forth.. Secondly teachers can provide learners with cues to
trigger the coded information. This helps the learner to recall information stored in his/her long-
term memory in a coded form.

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1.2 Psychology

Psychology is defined as the study of science that studies the psychology and behavior of humans
(Slater, 2005). Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts
directly out of themselves. An intermediate inventive mind must make that application, by using
its originality (James, W. 1983).

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior, according to the American
Psychological Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields
of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive
processes (McLeod, S. A. 2019).

1.3 Educational psychology

Educational psychology is define as a systematic study of the processes and factors related to
education. While education is a process of growth that takes place through actions of learning.
According to Arthur S. Reber (1998) states educational psychology is a sub-discipline of
psychology that deals with theories and educational problems that are useful in matters such as the
application of learning principles in the classroom, curriculum development and renewal,
examinations and evaluations of talent and abilities, the socialization and interaction of these
processes with the use of the cognitive domain and the implementation of teacher training.

Educational psychology is intended to exert influence in learning education activities and teaching
and learning processes more effectively by paying attention to the psychiatric responses and
behavior of students. According to Barlow (1985), educational psychology is a knowledge based
on psychological research that provides a series of resources to assist a teacher in the teaching-
learning process more effectively.

Educational psychology is the application of psychological theories to study development,

learning, motivation, teaching and problems that arise in the world of education (Elliot et al. 1999).
The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows
researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect,
motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning.

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2.0 INFORMATION-PROCESSING MODEL

The “Information-processing Model” represents what happens when information flows through
various internal structures which are supposed to exist inside the learner. Presumably these
structures represent the functioning of the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord).
It is important to note that these structures are, at the moment, hypothetical. That is, they have not
yet been related to particular locations in the brain. Gagne et al. (1984) have concluded that some
of the processes used by the system may be performed better or faster by some people than by
others, but the nature of the system is the same.”

Information Processing Models are teaching strategies based on information processing theory that
are designed to help students learn content at the same time as they practice thinking skills under
the guidance and direction of an active teacher. (Eggen & Kauchak, 1988).

There were several of the widely known Information Processing Models. The Inductive Thinking
Model by Hilda Taba is a straight forward but powerful strategy designed to develop the thinking
skills of observations, thinking, finding patterns and generalizing while at the same time teaching
specific concepts or generalizations. The Concept Attainment Model by Jerome Brunner is an
inductive thinking strategy designed to help students of all ages learn concepts and practice
analytical thinking skills. Advance Organizer Model on the other hand is designed to help students
to structure knowledge. Model Inquiry Training by Richard Suchman designed to educate students
in facing decision-making, and to be more knowledgeable and accurate in asking questions,
formulating concepts and hypotheses. Scientific Inquiry model by Joseph J. Schwab designed for
learning the research system of a discipline, but also intended to have an impact in other fields.
Intellectual Development Model by Jean Piaget, Irving Sigel, Edmund Sulivand, et al designed to
enhance intellectual development, especially logic, but can be applied to social development.

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By having a good understanding of the how information is processed, stored and retrieved through
the information model, students would be able to learn much more efficiently and systematically
as compared to the time when they were at one time ignorant of it.

According to Gagne et.al (1993), when we attempt to comprehend memories and retrieve
information, simulation from the environment activates the receptors. All the information from the
environment is transferred to the short-term sensory store for two functions. First of all, it filters
out unimportant background information and attends to important information by the process of
selective perception. In this respect although what one person regards as “important” may be
different to another person’s interpretation, so different people may remember different things after
reading the same book, seeing the same movie or listening to the same lecture. Secondly, it “makes
sense of” the various patterns of stimulation impinging on it. For example, a series of sounds of
fluctuating frequencies and amplitudes is: heard” as speech; different colours and intensities of
light entering the eye are decoded by the short-term sensory store and we “see” objects.

According to George Miller (1956), the information which is attended to is transferred to the short-
term or working memory, where it can remain active for up to about 15-20 seconds without
rehearsal. Information in the short-term memory is what we are conscious of at any particular time.
To memories this information for longer than 20 seconds requires that the information be rehearsed

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in a number of forms, for instance, as a visual image or in an articulatory form. George Milller
(1956) also mentions that the Short-Term Memory has a limit of 7 +/-2 items. This capacity can
be increased by chunking. This is because chunking places input into subsets that are remembered
as single units. When this technique is applied to learning, the learner will need to break parts into
subparts and process one at a time. They will also need to practice these skills until they are
automatic.

Gage and Berliner (1984), maintain that if the simulation in the environment requires an immediate
response, the information is passed to the response generator. If the information is to be stored for
later use, for example, information given in a lecture, or when someone decides which groceries
are to be bought at a shop, the information is encoded and passed into the Long-Term Memory.
The Long- Term Memory is thought to have unlimited capacity and duration. From the learning
point of view, this encoding is the most critical step. It is thought that an individual’s cognitive
tactics which are highly idiosyncratic determine the form of storage. Some possibilities are in the
form of pictures, tables, diagrams or graphs, as meaningful propositions, as mnemonics or in
hierarchical arrangement of concepts.

When information which has been encoded and stored is needed by the learner, the long-term
memory can be searched and information in it retrieved and transferred to the short-term memory,
which can be thought of as our consciousness. In certain cases, automatized skills are transferred
directly from the long-term memory to the response generator, such as the skills used in driving
which are performed automatically by experienced drivers without consciously thinking about
them.

The response generator determines how a person will respond to a particular situation, for example,
by speech, action, inaction. It also determines the sequence and timing of the response behaviours.
The effectors (muscles and glands) put the responses into effect. The environment provides
feedback on the correctness or the appropriateness of the response. Positive feedback serves to “fix
the learning.”

According to Berliner (1985), information processing involves student’s actively processing,

storing and retrieving information from the Long-Term Memory. Teaching involves helping
learners to develop information processing skills and to apply them systematically to mastering
the curriculum. Gagne (1977) maintains that different individuals attend to learn, store and retrieve

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information in different ways. This is thought to be a reflection of their cognitive strategies and
tactics. The arrows leading from the cognitive tactics are not connected to other structures in the
model. This indicates that they are capable of effecting any or all of the phases of information
processing.

Information processing theory has been developed and broadened over the years. Most notable in
the inception of information processing models is Atkinson and Shriffin’s ‘stage theory,’
presenting a sequential method, as discussed above, of input-processing-output. Though
influential, the linearity of this theory reduced the complexity of the human brain, and thus various
theories were developed in order to further assess the inherent processes.

Following this line of thought, Craik and Lockhart issued the ‘level of processing’ model. They
emphasize that information s expanded upon (processed) in various ways (perception, attention,
labelling, and meaning) which affect the ability to access the information later on. Meaning, the
degree to which the information was elaborated will affect how well the information was learned.

Bransford broadened this idea by adding that information will be more easily retrieved if the way
it is accessed is similar to the way in which it was stored. The next major development in
information processing theory is Rumelhart and McClelland’s connectionist model, which is
supported by current neuroscience research. It states that information is stored simultaneously in
different areas of the brain, and connected as a network. The amount of connections a single piece
of information has will affect the ease of retrieval.

The general model of information processing theory includes three components:

2.1 Sensory Memory

In sensory memory, information is gathered via the senses through a process called transduction.
Through receptor cell activity, it is altered into a form of information that the brain could process.
These memories, usually unconscious, last for a very short amount of time, ranging up to three
seconds. Our senses are constantly bombarded with large amounts of information. Our sensory
memory acts as a filter, by focusing on what is important, and forgetting what is unnecessary.
Sensory information catches our attention, and thus progresses into working memory, only if it is
seen as relevant, or is familiar.

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2.2 Working Memory/Short Term Memory

Baddeley (2001) has issued a model of working memory as consisting of three components. The
executive controls system oversees all working memory activity, including selection of
information, method of processing, meaning, and finally deciding whether to transfer it to long
term memory or forget it. Two counterparts of this system are the auditory loop, where auditory
information is processed, and the visual-spatial checkpad, where visual information is processed.
Sensory memories transferred into working memory will last for 15-20 seconds, with a capacity
for 5-9 pieces or chunks of information. Information is maintained in working memory through
maintenance or elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance refers to repetition, while elaboration refers to
the organization of information (such as chunking or chronology).

The processing that occurs in working memory is affected by a number of factors. Firstly,
individuals have varying levels of cognitive load, or the amount of mental effort they can engage
in at a given moment, due to individual characteristics and intellectual capacities. Secondly,
information that has been repeated many times becomes automatic and thus does not require much
cognitive resources (e.g. riding a bike). Lastly, according to the task at hand, individuals use
selective processing to focus attention on information that is highly relevant and necessary.

2.3 Long Term Memory

Long term memory includes various types of information: declarative (semantic and episodic),
procedural (how to do something), and imagery (mental images).

As opposed to the previous memory constructs, long term memory has unlimited space. The
crucial factor of long term memory is how well organized the information is. This is affected by
proper encoding (elaboration processes in transferring to long term memory) and retrieval
processes (scanning memory for the information and transferring into working memory so that it
could e used). As emphasized in Bransford’s work, the degree of similarity between the way
information was encoded and the way it is being accessed will shape the quality of retrieval
processes. In general, we remember a lot less information than is actually stored there.

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3.0 CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS

One of the struggles of teaching is presenting often complex material to students in a manner that
they can comprehend. Through a basic understanding of how students learn, teachers can introduce
content to our students in a way that will maximize the likelihood that learning will take place.
The Information Processing Model provides us with a theory on how humans process information.

3.1 Sensory Memory

The first stage of the informational processing model is the Sensory Memory, which provides the
initial screening and processing of incoming stimuli. As the name suggests, Sensory Memory deals
with any information that can be perceived through the five senses. In the classroom, students’
senses are being bombarded by different stimuli. Too much stimuli, in fact, for their brains to
handle at once. This is where the Sensory Memory comes in. The Sensory Memory interacts with
all of the incoming stimuli and helps decide what is important enough to direct attention to. The
Sensory Memory has a very limited capacity and duration; it can only handle between 3-7 units,
or stimuli, at a time and only for about 1- 3 seconds at a time before information is forgotten. It
act similar to filter. It takes in the stimuli in the environment, gets rid of anything unimportant by
forgetting, and focuses attention on information that is important.

Example:

A student is learning to read for the first time. The student begins his/her lesson in a noisy
environment. Motivated by the student’s desire to read, the Sensory Memory filters out information
unrelated to reading (e.g., people walking by, other talking) and focuses attention on information
relevant to reading (e.g., the lesson in front of him/her, the teacher’s voice).

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3.2 Working Memory

Once it is decided that information is important enough for attention, it finds its way into Working
Memory. The Working Memory provides temporary storage and manipulation of information
being processed. So, now that students have decided something is important, they can begin to
consciously interact with that information. With Working Memory, the capacity and duration are
slightly longer than Sensory Memory, but not by much. Capacity of the Working Memory is
considered to be, on average, 7 (plus or minus 2) chunks of information. Important to note here is
the word “chunks.” This means the Working Memory is not necessary limited to 7 individual
pieces of information. The human brain is very efficient at grouping information to make it easier
to handle. Consider, for example, how our brain interacts with phone numbers. We do not think of
it as individual digits, but groups, or “chunks,” of digits (area code – three digits – four digits).
This is an example of chunking, which allows, in this case, for the consolidation of ten units of
information into three “chunks” of information.

Example:

When learning to read the notes of the treble clef, a student must know that the notes are
(ascending from the bottom line) E–F–G –A–B –C–D–E–F. Rather than processing all of the notes
together, the student can be directed to split the notes into two chunks, those on the line (E–G–B–
D–F) and in the spaces (F–A–C– E). Now, instead of processing the information as 9 individual
units, the student can organize it as two chunks of information.

Working Memory can handle about 7 chunks of information at a time and remain on average of
5 - 15 seconds before it is forgotten. So, should information hold a student’s attention and
enter Working Memory but does not process that information in some way, it is forgotten within
5 - 15 seconds. This is where the Working Memory begins its job: it is the processing,
called Rehearsal.

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3.3 Rehearsal

Rehearsal refers to the manipulation of information currently stored in Working Memory. Students
are focused on this information, and need to interact with it in some way or it is
forgotten. Rehearsal is the method of doing so. There are two main types of rehearsal: maintenance
and elaborative. Maintenance Rehearsal is rehearsal in which a thought or an idea is repeated over
and over in order to keep it in the Working Memory. Maintenance Rehearsal is useful at keeping,
or maintaining, information in the Working Memory, but typically, information does not get much
further, and is soon forgotten once attention is directed elsewhere. The second type of rehearsal is
referred to as Elaborative Rehearsal. With Elaborative Rehearsal, rather than just repeating
information over and over, some sort of meaning is attached to a term or piece of information.
Through this process of attaching meaning in Elaborative Rehearsal, storage of the information is
much more efficient, requiring fewer repetitions than with Maintenance Rehearsal. Generally, the
goal of Rehearsal is Encoding, or the storage of information into Long-Term Memory.

Example:

Once the student has chunked the notes into two groups, notes on the line (E–G–B–D–F) and
notes in the spaces (F–A–C–E) the student can begin rehearsing this information. With
Maintenance Rehearsal, the student could repeat the notes several times. Or, using Elaborative
Rehearsal, the student could use the common mnemonic (Every Good Boy Does Fine) for notes
on the line, and recognize the notes in the spaces spell out the word FACE. Attaching meaning
through mnemonics makes the encoding process more efficient, requiring fewer repetitions than
Maintenance Rehearsal.

3.4 Long-Term Memory

Through encoding, information has arrived at the final stage of the Information Processing
Model: Long-Term Memory. Long-Term Memory provides permanent storage of information to
later be retrieved. Unlike the previous two components of the Information Processing
Model, Long-Term Memory is assumed to have (nearly) infinite capacity and permanent duration.
If information is encoded effectively into Long-Term Memory, we can say that learning has
occurred. However, simply encoding information in Long-Term Memory does a student no good
if he or she cannot access it later. Accessing information stored in Long-Term Memory is referred
to as Retrieval. Information encoded in Long-Term Memory cannot be interacted with directly. It

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must be retrieved from Long-Term Memory and brought back into Working Memory where the
information can once again be processed.

Example:

After encoding the notes of the treble clef in Long-Term Memory, the student is asked to read the
notes on the staff above. To do so, the encoded information must be retrieved from Long-Term
Memory and processed in the student’s Working Memory in order for the student to form a
response. By reviewing the information regularly, the student will, in time, become more efficient
at retrieving this information from Long-Term Memory.

3.5 PRINCIPLES AND EXAMPLE

First and foremost, in applying this information to improve student performance in the classroom
we must gain our students’ attention so the information is not quickly filtered out by their Sensory
Memory. In a lesson this can be achieved through a clear, concise Learning Objective. By
directly stating what students will do in a lesson, it becomes clear that the information we are about
to present is important enough to warrant students’ attention.

Once new content is presented to students, it is vital to have students engaged in the lesson.
Through a variety of cognitive and engagement strategies, it can be ensured that students are
processing the information, which is vital for encoding information in Long-Term Memory.
Consistently Checking for Understanding with Higher-Order Questions during a lesson makes
certain that all students are making use of Elaborative Rehearsal to attach meaning to ideas
presented in a lesson, making it easier for students to efficiently encode new information.

Finally, the learning process does not necessarily end after a lesson is finished, even if the majority
of information is encoded in Long-Term Memory. Just as students need repetitions
while rehearsing new information, they also need repetitions in retrieving previously learned
information. This allows students to become more efficient in retrieving the information from
their Long-Term Memory in the future. Reviewing learned content periodically provides students
with the opportunity to access encoded information, increasing the likelihood they will be able
to retrieve it come assessment time.

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Applying this Information Processing model in teaching and learning process in a classroom
setting with an examples.
Principle
1. Gain the students' attention.
2. Bring to mind relevant prior
learning.
3. Point out important
information.
4. Present information in an
organized manner.
5. Show students how to
categorize (chunk) related
information.
6. Provide opportunities for
students to elaborate on new
information.
7. Show students how to use
coding when memorizing lists.
8. Provide for repetition of
learning.
9. Provide opportunities for
overlearning of fundamental
concepts and skills.
Example
- Use cues to signal when you are ready to begin.
- Move around the room and use voice inflections.
- Review previous day's lesson.
- Have a discussion about previously covered content.
- Provide handouts.
- Write on the board or use transparencies.
- Show a logical sequence to concepts and skills.
- Go from simple to complex when presenting new
material.
- Present information in categories.
- Teach inductive reasoning.
- Connect new information to something already known.
- Look for similarities and differences among concepts.
- Make up silly sentence with first letter of each word in
the list.
- Use mental imagery techniques such as the keyword
method.
- State important principles several times in different
ways during presentation of information.
- Have items on each day's lesson from previous lesson.
- Schedule periodic reviews of previously learned
concepts and skills.
- Use daily drills for arithmetic facts.
- Play form of trivial pursuit with content related to class.
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4.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, an ability to understand information processing model plays a pivotal roles in
learning because it represents what happens when information flows through various internal
structures which are supposed to exist inside the learner. The more students know about effective
learning strategies, the greater their cognitive awareness, the higher their classroom awareness is
likely to be (Baker, 1989; Perkins, 1995).

Therefore, information processing models in teaching and learning strategies should be developed
and students should be encouraged to change according to the current situation and be independent
learners and thinkers. A good learner will be able to use the information gathered and will know
when and how to use it when they taught the effective approaches of information processing.

In information processing, the system involves the process of encoding, retrieval and storage
whereby it explains how our sensory registers and how the short-term and long-term operates. It
is impossible to teach students new information in a short period of time but we can teach them in
“chunks” to improve their overall memory.

This will help students to be more focused in their attention on learning by making it more
meaningful to them. It is also important to use recognition in which teacher will show their students
how to use their imagination or the process of association in order to remember new things.
Encoding enables students to learn and remember and relate new information to old information.
Use of images, concrete words and visual aids in the classroom will enhance this further.

Organization is a strategy used to improve students’ memory and learning. This can be done by
teaching students an amount of information over certain period of time. Rehearsing what has been
taught is also an effective way to increase memory. One could remember new material through
practicing, repeating and relating new information to prior knowledge.

Finally, teachers should incorporate various techniques into their teachings in order to improve
students’ motivation, selective perception, understanding, encoding, retrievals and problem
solving.

(4200 Words)

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