Course Content

The video below is summarized in the notes below, but I wanted to make/emphasize a couple of points:

The text below is the notes from the video but with some more detail and some links so you can dig a little deeper:

Why do we care about Cognitive Modeling?

• If the goal of interaction design is to increase opportunities for cognition and learning then a study of cognitive modeling is important to our understanding of “what works”.

To wit:

Cognitive Modeling has become the basis for a series of theories found under the umbrella of brain based learning.

Perception not withstanding, there are two categories of memory: Short term and Long term. (recall our discussions abut this in the Media Equation lesson).

Factors that influence which one is reached:

• Attention = how to gain your student’s attention (the A in the ARCS motivation model is to gain attention)
• Perception/Comprehension = perceiving is a necessary but insufficient condition to learning.. there must be additional steps involved for long term memory to kick in.

Where Cognitive Modeling Fits into Interaction Design

1. Limitations on human capabilities, capacities, and preferences have historically been a decisive factor in the building effective interfaces. (This a principal element of HCI… Note that this is a recurring theme).

• This has been especially true when considering computerized tasks.
• The design of an interactive system must also be built with the user in mind because they are unwilling (and often unable) to adapt. (The ‘A’ in the ASSURE model is to analyze the learner.. the ‘A’ in ADDIE is to analyze.. this is also a recurring theme).

2. Our key focus in designing interactive learning environments, then, must be cognition: the manner in which the user acquires and utilizes information. Cognition now becomes a key focus for this course and is an important element in the study of educational technologies.

Relationship of Memory to Cognition

When viewed against the context of cognition and learning, we generally model memory in three ways:

1. Sensory Memory – Stores sensory information/perceptions… has a VERY short life span…
2. Short-term Memory –  holds & processes data from sensory memory. It too is limited. .. think Miller (seven plus or minus two) …. , 12-30 seconds
3. Long-term Memory – potentially unlimited & Indefinite.  But remember the Pollyanna effect… also think of Brainerd & Reyna (fuzzy-trace memory… Information stored must be retrieved into short term memory to be useful.. this can be  problematic… what can interactive design do to help this along????

Attention & (Sensory) Memory

• Sensory Memory is unlimited, but not always correctly perceived.
• Sensory Memory equates to Short Term Memory. The process by which things are selected in perception is typically called Attention.

During instruction, attention is often consciously directed (again, think Keller and ARCS), using:

• Expectancy – breaking with one’s expectations as to what naturally follows (i.e., surprise)
• Relevance – Making something very personal can add an emotional attachment to the content
• Demand – Changing one’s voice, changing intonation.. examples: in the military, when an office enters the room, someone yells “Ten Hut!”, everyone stands to attention until the officer says ‘at ease!”.. or in a classroom, the instructor slams hit hand on the table.. changes his or her pitch etc…

Implications for (Instructional) Design

• Attention and Cognitive Load There are lots of “tricks” instructional designers use to manipulate attention, and they are all based on how much information people can take in at the same time. Two examples:
1. Color – High contrast colors direct attention.. be careful… even good ideas can be overused .. when that happens (over stimulation.. causes opposite effect)
2. Picture and text size can also direct attention… Layouts can also be an effective way of managing attention

It appears that users alter their scan patterns in response to Templates.. note how they are used in computing… there is a correlation to this in human memory… we tend to ‘templatize’ memory through pattern recognition… the converse is that, once a pattern is established it is hard to break that preconceived notion that the user develops.. for example, once you’ve gotten used to iTunes interface/metaphor.. try using another design model (Android).. it just does not seem to be as ‘intuitive’. Another example is Adobe Digital Editions… try it.. you will make plenty of erroneous decisions as to how it works based on your previous experiences with iTunes…

Short-term memory revisited

• “Where the action is”
• Biggest problem is capacity & time limitations

7 plus or minus 2

~3 sec. rule

• Implications for design:

Increase capacity w/ multiple modalities; such as chunking

The need to reduce the recall demands on the learner

Long-term Memory revisited

The goal is to have users/learners translate information from short term to long term

• Long term memory is often overlooked in instructional design, with video games, etc. (Recall the idea of transfer and automaticity from the RETAIN Model)
• Types of Information in Long Term memory:
  

  Declarative Knowledge – Static, fact-based knowledge

  Semantic Memory – Information possessed, but not associated with a specific event

  Episodic Memory – Information that IS associated with a particular episode from our past

  Procedural Memory

• Strategic Memory

Perception & Comprehension

Even if attention is directed to an object, it will not be used efficiently in information processing unless it is 1-perceived and 2-comprehended

1. Perceived = stimulus elements are integrated into a meaningful whole
2. Comprehended = the intended concept of the object is correctly understood by the user

Information Processing Model

• Describes human cognition as sort of a “flow chart” from attention through execution
• Lots of different variants, which emphasize or one another theoretical element
• There is a tendency to emphasize prior conditions as necessary for future ones (e.g., no perception without attention)

An Example

“Hmm, there is a fat man making noise”(attention)
“He seems to be saying words” (perception)
“Hey!  I know some of those words!” (comprehension)
Is this going to be on the test?” (decision making)
“Probably.  I’ll take notes.” (Short term memory is now passed into long term)

Mental Models

• Rather than emphasizing individual elements, mental model theory suggests that users are likely to conform their behavior to existing, similar models.
• Users (i.e., learners) pick the closest model they find quickly (referred to as ‘Satisficing’)
• Only use more effortful processing if no reasonable model exists.

An example

There’s a fat man talking in the front of my classroom.  I’ve seen this before.  I should sit down and take notes”

External Cognition

• Sort of a new quasi-theory
• Emphasizes role of elements outside the user’s cortex
• Has the potential to integrate the compelling data from social cognition.

An Example

“Hmmm, there is a fat man talking in front of my classroom, what should I do?”
“What is everyone else doing?”
What does Wikipedia say?”
“I’ll Text Message my mom.  She says sit down and take notes”

This last one you should recognize from the Web…. what do you remember from making purchases on Amazon?… “those who bought X also bought Y” or what is the selling point behind sites like “Angie’s List” etc?

Modeling Cognition

• Armed with a theory of cognition and some fancy math, you, too, can make your own working cognitive models
• These are useful for predicting completion time, identifying sources of errors, testing hypotheses, or even running a system.

Modeling approaches

There are lots of cognitive modeling approaches, but they can be lumped into 2 primary clusters:

• Prescriptive- The model creates the process and seeds it with data.  The working model is then compared to actual performance
• Descriptive- Performance is measured first, then the model is mathematically derived.

Augmented Cognition

• Seeks to improve human information processing performance through the intelligent application of technology
• Lots of research opportunities in this arena… especially related to teaching and learning…

Do This

“
For this set of readings, you need to post on Canvas at least three ah-ha! moments you encountered after reading and digesting this information:

• what does all of this have to do with instructional design (interactive design in particular)?
• Do some cognitive modeling of your own and ‘connect the dots’ between this lesson content and a hypothetical mediated learning experience. that you might be asked to create as a future instructional designer. (In this case the “mediator” is media!)

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