Cognitive Psychology and Instruction: Thoughts on Chapter 1

I have currently read the first one and a half chapters of Burning, Schraw, Norby, and Ronning's book, but I find it absolutely fascinating! For a while, I've had this desire to learn about cognitive processes and how they affect learning because I know it will heavily influence the strategies I'll use when designing educational interactive encounters (I'm keeping this, "encounters," ambiguous as I need to work out which type of digital interaction/interactives I want to work with).

As someone who has only taken one basic psychology class in my life (the ever popular Dr. Sal Costa at Truman State U.), I found this introductory chapter accessible! I worried a bit about a possible struggle to understand the class' concepts, but the authors' methodical approach and use of accessible language helps ease my stress. Since I do have a history MA, I did find the history of cognitive theory to be brief (but actually, it would have bored me, I bet, so bully for the authors!) but informative. The Associationists, who dominated early thought on this subject, believed gathering data on limited stimulus-response studies on animals and humans: they could infer greater psychological meaning by using simple, non-contextual stimuli. However, this method/model became inadequate because bridging the gap between animal and human brain function proved difficult and hard to uphold under close scrutiny. The Behaviorists (apparently, they were Radical: in today's parlance, that means the authors didn't like them: like Republicans don't like Democrats...I don't know if the radical monicker is warranted or not...) believed strongly in environmental stimuli and reward/punishment: behavior, according to Skinner, could be predicted and controlled through controlling a subject's environment. However, this seemed to be inadequate when explaining cognitive function like a person's acquisition of language. Which leads us to...

The cognitive physchologists (they really need to work on a name for themselves...at least the other two are one word "ists"...I propose "Cognos") formulated their theories around a computer metaphor: information wasn't absorbed, but constructed by mental processes. In fact, the computer metaphor works well because these abstract cognitive processes should also have analogous physical structures in the brain. As a recap, here are the seven themes for "cognitive psychology's relevance for teaching and learning."

1) Learning is a constructive, not receptive, process.
2) Mental frameworks organize memory and guide thought.
3) Extended practice is needed to develop cognitive skills.
4) development of self-awareness and self-regulation is critical to cognitive growth. (Metacognition! I love that word.)
5) Motivation and beliefs are integral to cognition.
6) Social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development.
7) Knowledge, strategies, and expertise are contextual.