Cognitive learning theory has always focused on how students process information and the best educational strategies educators can use to promote student understanding of material. I incorporate various technologies to highlight the diverse cognitive needs of individual students and promote knowledge that is easily accessible and promoted to long-term memory to be continually referenced as new knowledge which is scaffolded with already learned material. As educators we should stay continually abreast of current and new technological innovations as they can assist in greater acquisition of knowledge by the student and create more unique and creative learning experiences. It is up to us to vary our teaching strategies with the understanding that individual students process information in unique ways.

My students are no longer satisfied with learning through pencil, paper, and a book. They are surrounded by a world of increasing technology. Since that is the case, the job of an educator is to bring those same experiences into the classroom. Technology is the key to the cognitive learning theory of helping students create long term memory in retaining subject content. Our goal as educators is to change short term memory into long term memory. We want students to be able to easily remember what they have learned.

Using cues, questions and advanced organizers will help this connection to take place. Graphic organizers are something that we use daily in the classroom. There is not a better way to organize our thoughts or ideas during a lesson. These organizers lend themselves to technology use. Often times we create a graphic organizer through the use of Microsoft Word or Excel Spreadsheets. This goes hand in hand with summarizing and note taking as well. Students are summarizing information as they use a graphic organizer. This is note taking, without just copying something off of the board. These organizers “focus on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic”

Students can process limited amounts of information at any given point in a class, but that information is far more likely to be retained in long-term memory if the information begin presented is paired with a unique experience or relies upon multiple sensory inputs during presentation Organizing and brainstorming software, such as Kidspiration, allow learners to add and organize information as it is being introduced.  This supports the idea that declarative facts are stored in long-term memory, and that long-term memory is improved by the connections made between ideas.  If data is not organized going in, retrieval will be more difficult or impossible.  Using organizing software also can give that visual picture. Virtual field trips takes this one step further and gives the episodic experience that helps with long-term memory.  If students are able to view important historical places online or take a live tour of a museum, that long-term memory will be strengthened and that concept will have a much more chance of being recalled at a later date. 

As a multiple core teacher, I was interested in how I could apply cognitive learning theory to my different classes, specifically math.  In reflecting on my own teaching, I realized that thinking through a problem out loud, which I do frequently with my students, supports the creation of an episodic memory for my students, especially if I am lucky enough to give my out-loud thought process the right amount of humor and able to make it interesting.  This is an important realization as I think it is important to realize some of these techniques are already being practiced in class, and now I have reason and theory behind them.