Cognitivism

About cognitivism

One of the first critics of behaviorist learning theories approach came from gestalt psychologists and was related to behaviorist dependencies exclusively on overt behavior. It was the gestalt views of learning that offered a new approach to learning that extended beyond behaviorism and set the basic principles of what is today known as cognitive theories. In the 1960s behaviorism as a dominant learning paradigm was replaced by cognitivism.

Cognitive approach to learning, unlike behavioral, sets the learner as the locus of control and not just as a passive participant. It attempts to open the “black box” of his mind and explain complex processes in it. Cognitivist theories emphasize the importance of the learner, especially his prior knowledge and experiences as well as his role of an organized information processor.

Learning theories:

Gestalt Psychology(Max Wertheimer)

Social Cognitive Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)

Assimilation Theory (David Ausubel)

Cognitive Load Theory (John Sweller)

Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Richard Mayer)

Schema Theory (Sir Frederic Bartlett)

Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)

Instructional design theories and learning models:

Cone of Experience (Edgar Dale)

Concept Mapping (Joseph Novak)

Component Display Theory (Dave Merrill)

Elaboration Theory (Charles Reigeluth)

Mental Model Theory Of Thinking And Reasoning (Philip Johnson-Laird)

Scripts Theory (Roger Schank)

Structural Learning Theory (Joseph Scandura)

Criticism

Since its development during the 1960s various critics of cognitivism have emerged, challenging its assumption that mental functions can be compared to a information processing model. Some authors like John Searle or Roger Penrose claim that computation, due to its inherent limitations, can never achieve the complexity and possibilities of mental functions and therefore cannot be successfully used to describe them. Gödel's incompleteness theorem or Turing's halting problem are often held as proves for this point of view.

During the 1970s humanism evolved as an opposing view to both behaviorism and cognitivism beginning with the holistic approach, belief in the power of an individual and view learning as a way of fulfilling his potentials.

Bibliography

Cognitivism at Learning Theories.

Learning Theory Cognitivism Ppt Presentation.

Read more

Leidlmair, Karl. After Cognitivism: A Reassessment of Cognitive Science and Philosophy. Springer, 2009.

Crane, T. Book review of “The Mind’s Provisions” by Vincent Descombes. European Journal of Philosophy 12, no. 3: p399–406. 2004.