Cognitive Learning

Question: 1. How could software applications and/or other technologies help you provide opportunities for your students to access their prior knowledge and better organize new information? That is, describe a lesson for which you might use technology to help with organization and describe the technology(ies) you might use?

Response:
While reading about the cognitive approach to learning and memory, I found myself thinking about how I personally remember things and how I best learn. I know that I am more of a hands on and visual learner. I found it very interesting taking those memory experiments. I noticed that I did much better when the information was organized. In order to teach my students to access their prior knowledge and better organize new information I would use a graphic organizer program (Kidspiration). This program allows students to create concept maps using pictures, words, or sentences.
I would use this program from the beginning of the lesson or unit if we are starting a new unit. I would give the students a word or picture that has to do with the lessons to follow and just have them create a map of what they already know about this word or picture. They could write down things that go along with the word, where they would find or use it, when they heard or saw the word, etc. That would have the students access their prior knowledge. Then as the lessons and unit continued the students would go into and add to their map.
While adding they might reorganize the map into different categories but the information that they have learned has now been already connected to something they already knew. According to the cognitive approach getting information into your long term memory is tough to do however it is easier if you attach it to something you already know. By having the students create these maps and place words and pictures into the map before they started the lessons on a certain topic will have the students creating the links to their prior knowledge when then learn something new.