Chapter 9 - Knowledge

*Procedural Knowledge*

*-* Involves knowing how to do things (know how) (i.e. addition, riding a bike, kicking a ball, playing board games) *-* Includes *conditional knowledge*

Theory Development

*-* Physical or technology-based models can help learners tie ideas together *-* Group interaction can enhance learners' theoretical understandings *-* Some theories and mental models can be useful even if they aren't entirely accurate

Why conceptual change is hard

existing beliefs (prior knowledge) affect learning new info; e.g., they are consistent with everyday experiences learners fill to see inconsistencies false ideas are supported by social environment confirmation bias (we tend to confirm what we already believe, ignore info that goes against -- good example of misconception)

*Conceptual Knowledge*

*-* Reflects our understanding of why certain events happened, why certain things are the way they are and why certain procedures are effective but others are not *-* Involves the integration of numerous concepts plus other declarative knowledge -- and sometimes procedural knowledge as well -- into general understandings of certain situations or phenomena

*Declarative Knowledge*

*-* concerns the nature of how things are, were, or will be (facts) (i.e. remembering where you were on a certain day/time) *Broke into 2 forms:* *1-* Episodic Memory (personal) - memories pertaining to personal life experiences (remembering events) *2-* Semantic Memory (general world) - memories pertaining to ones general knowledge thats relatively independent of specific experiences (known things)

*Conditional Knowledge*

*-* information about how to respond under different circumstances (know when to use)

Explain why some personal theories and beliefs persist despite a good deal of contradictory information and evidence, and identify instructional strategies that can help bring about conceptual change.

*-* some psychologists and educators have argued that we can never completely know what is "real" or "true" about the world because knowledge and reasoning processes are personally constructed and so are inherently human-made entities *Ex:* Children may describe rain as a cloud sweating or crying, but a scientist would have a different theory *-* These misconceptions sometimes arise from how things *appear* to be, and not how they *actually* are *-* Sometimes misconceptions are fostered by common expressions in language; for instance, we often talk about the sun "rising" and "setting". Sometimes people infer incorrect cause-and-effect relationships between two events simply because the events often occurs at the same time (mistaking correlation for causation) *-* When students have few (or no) misconceptions about a particular subject, helping them acquire more sophisticated knowledge is easy

The Challenge of Conceptual Change

*Conceptual Change* - The process of replacing one personal theory of belief system with another *Reasons* *a* Learners existing belies affect their interpretations of new information *b* Most learners have a confirmation bias *c* Learners' existing beliefs are often consistent with their everyday experiences *d* Some erroneous beliefs are integrated into a cohesive whole, with many interrelationships existing among various ideas *e* Learners may fail to notice an inconsistency between new information and their prior beliefs *f* Learners may have a personal or emotional investment in their existing beliefs *g* Sometimes learners' existing beliefs are supported by their social environment

Describe the various forms that people's knowledge can take, and recognize examples of each form in real-world situations.

*Declarative Knowledge* *Procedural Knowledge* *Conditional Knowledge* *Conceptual Knowledge* *Explicit Knowledge* *Implicit Knowledge*

Give examples of personal theories and world views, and describe environmental conditions that can give rise to them.

*Personal Theories* *-* the theories that people form based off of their real world experiences, can help us understand how people may organize their knowledge and beliefs on a much grander scale *Ex:* A coffee pot altered to act like a bird feeder is a bird feeder, however, a raccoon altered to look like a skunk is still a raccoon *-* 3-4 month olds begin to do this *-* These theories help guide people in what potentially important information about a topic is *-* They also help organize and make sense of personal experiences, subject matter, and other new information

Encoding Knowledge in LTM

*Physical Characteristics* - encoded as sensory input, usually visual *Imagery/Actions* - We can form and remember images based on most (possibly all) of our sensory modalities - Images stored in LTM are typically rough and imprecise representations of our world -Mental "sense" of movement *Gestures/Symbols* - Reflect attempts to communicate their visual images or knowledge of visuospatial relationships - Represent info without much resemblance to it (i.e. letters) *Meaning* - Gist of what was learned --------------------------------- - Reflect aspects of visual or spacial encoding that art always reflected in words - What we remember tends to be related to how we physically behave

Describe the general nature of concepts. schemas, and scripts, and explain both how they might be learned and how they can affect future learning and memory.

*Schema* - closely related set of ideas - Textbook - you can tell as soon as you open it that it is a textbook by the margins, bolded text, notes, definitions - Car - has four tires, a motor, etc. *Script* - schema about an event (similar to procedural knowledge) - tells you what to do in a certain situation - When you first greet someone, when you walk into a doctors office, when you go see a movie -------------------------------- *Concept* - General notion or idea - Mental grouping that is similar in some way - Can be something concrete (something easily identified by physical characteristics) , or abstract (not easily identified) - *step 1* *Provide a definition* - when teaching it is always best to begin with a definition or an activity that leads to a definition - Ex. A mom reads to her child's about a dog and then points a dog out on their walk Problem occurs with *undergeneralization* - can't recognize when something fits the concept *step 2* The teacher provides positive examples of the concepts to show what it is - ex. The mom points out dogs when she and her child's are out for a walk *step 3* The teacher provides negative examples of the concept to show what its not - ex. the mom points out other animals like cats and squirrels on their walk - Problem occurs with *overgeneralization* - can't recognize all negative instances of concept *step 4* The learner does personal experiments to figure out what fits the concept *step 5* The learner or teacher makes associations between ideas and experiences concerning the concept - ex. The child notices certain animals bark, wag, their tails, and have fur; this fits with the pictures and the story in the book his/her mom read

Promoting Conceptual Change

*a* Before beginning instruction, teachers should determine what belles and misconceptions students currently have about a topic *b* Students should learn correct information in a meaningful rather than rote fashion *c* Students can sometimes build on kernels of truth in their existing understandings *d* Students are more likely to revise their current ways of thinking when they believe relation is in order *e* Students must explicitly compare their existing beliefs with alternative explanations *f* Students must *want* to earn correct explanations *g* Throughout a lessons, students' understandings should be monitored for particularly tenacious misconceptions

*Implicit Knowledge*

- Knowledge that we can't consciously recall or explain but that nevertheless affects our behavior - Unwritten rules or information that affect thoughts or actions

*Explicit Knowledge*

- Knowledge we can easily recall and explain - Straightforward with an exact explaination

Features of Concepts

Definition Prototype (common example, most well known example) Correlational Feature (features that are common but not always there) Exemplars (examples that extend the definition)

Ways to enhance concept learning

Determine belges and misconceptions learners have before, during, and after teaching a concept Need to learn info through inquiry instead of just memorization Students have to want to change their beliefs and have an alternative explanation to compare them to