INFORMATION

PROCESSING

Information processing is a cognitive theoretical framework that focuses on how

knowledge enters and is stored in and is 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.

Information Processing Theory

Relating how the mind and the computer work is a powerful analogy. The terms used in the
information processing theory (IPT) extend this analogy. In fact, those who program and
design computers aim to make computers solve problems through processes similar to that of
the human mind.

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 shape 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. Certain factors would also determine whether the information will be retrieved or
"remembered when the learner needs it. Let us go into the details. We first consider the types of
knowledge that the learner may receive.

"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. Examples are your name, address, a
nursery rhyme, the definition of IPT, or even the face of your crush.
• Procedural- This includes knowledge on how to do things. Examples include making a
lesson plan, baking a cake, or getting the least common denominator.
• 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.).

These three primary stages in IPT are…

1. Encoding - Information is sensed, perceived and attended to.

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

What made IPT plausible is the notion that cognitive processes could be described in a
stage-like model. The stages to processing follow a trail along which information is taken into
the memory system, and brought back (recalled) when needed. Most theories of information
processing revolve around the three main stages in the memory process:
Sensory Register
 The first step in the IP model holds all sensory information for a very brief 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 period- in
the order of 1 to 3 seconds.
• There is a difference in duration based on modality: auditory memory is more persistent than
visual.

The Role of Attention

• To bring information into consciousness, it is necessary that we give attention to it. Such
that, we can only perceive and remember later those things that pass through our
attention "gate".
• Getting through this attentional filter is done when the learner is interested in the material;
when there is conscious control over attention, or when information involves novelty, surprise,
salience, and distinctiveness.
• Before information is perceived, it is known as "precategorical" information. This means that
until that point, the learner has not established a determination of the categorical
membership of the information. To this point, the information is coming in as uninterpreted
patterns of stimuli. Once it is perceived, we can categorize, judge, interpret and place meaning
to the stimuli. If we fail to perceive, we have no means by which to recognize that the
stimulus was ever encountered.
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 maintains 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 repetition to keep the information active in STM, like when you repeat a phone number
just given over and over.

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

The 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 now to categorize, organize or interpret information.
Examples of processes are attention, rehearsals and organization.

Forgetting
Forgetting is the inability to retrieve or access information when needed.

There are two main ways in which forgetting likely occurs:

• Decay - Information is not attended to, and eventually ‘fades” away. Very prevalent in
Working Memory.
• Interference - New or old information 'blocks' access to the information in question.

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. Info that is
organized efficiently should be recalled.
• Elaboration - This is adding additional ideas to new information based on what one
already knows. It is connecting new info with old to gain meaning.
• 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 and primacy) - You will remember the beginning
and end of a 'list more 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 retrieve information more effectively. This includes the loci technique, acronyms,
sentence construction, peg-word and association techniques, among others.

INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

• 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.