Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing Case Study

Case 1:

1. After participating in this activity, what do you think the students will remember? How might those memories differ from those students would have if they only read the Civil War in their textbook?

When I was in 8th grade my history class did something like what Mr. West did. I loved it and it has been something that I have always remembered. I definitely think that that experience had something to do with me becoming so interested in history. I think the students will remember what they experienced. They will remember marching, setting up camp, cooking. They will probably remember that it wasn't very easy. They will also remember what they felt during this reenactment. If the students just read about it in the textbook the will forget so much of it. They won't connect to the material or become engaged. The students involved in the reenactment will have a broader understanding of the Civil War.

2. How does Mr. West’s use of a Civil War re-enactment engage students’ emotions? What is the relationship between emotions and learning.

Mr. West's use of a Civil-War reenactment engages students' emotions. Students are going through the process that soldiers of the war actually went through. They are experiencing how it would be if they were a soldier first hand. Students will definitely experience some emotions during the process. They will connect more with the actual soldiers who fought during the Civil War. Experiencing emotions and knowing how to regulate those emotions are a form of intelligence and learning. Mr. West's students were feeling emotions and learning at the same time. Emotions help us to remember what we are learning. Events with strong emotions are much easier to remember. This event that Mr. West has given his students will be something they remember because of the emotions they felt.

3. Based on the principles of dual-coding theory, what activities would be effective for Mr. West to use as a follow-up to the re-enactment?

A good idea for Mr. West to have his students do as a follow-up to the reenactment would be to have them do reflection. The students have experienced things first hand in their reenactment. This has got a lot of senses involved in the learning. In having the students write a reflection about what they experienced they would be able to tune into their emotions. This would be a great way to tie everything together. The students would be able to see everything they learned by writing a reflection. This would make the experience even richer.

Case 2:

4. Who do you think provides better instruction for his students? Support your answer from an information processing perspective.

Mr. Richards provides better instruction for his students. Mr. Richards does different things everyday which I believe would make his students be more engaged. Mr. Dunkin's students probably get bored listening to him lecture everyday. Mr. Richards students are learning in many different ways. This is allow them to learn the information better. He uses many different types of encoding, while Mr. Dunkin does not.

5. How would you expect the students’ learning outcomes to differ depending on which teacher they had?

I believe Mr. Richards' students would have more fun in class. They would be more engaged because he does different things and differentiates the instruction. By using multiple ways to encode information his students would retain the information better. Mr. Dunkin's students are just learning the information long enough until they have their test on Friday. Mr. Dunkin's students are engaging in rote learning.