Cognitive Learning Theory and Technology....in Special Education

In this week’s resources regarding cognitive learning theory, Dr. Robert Orey presented evidence for how we learn most effectively.  The first thing he presented was the theory that we learn better when we have an image to connect to whatever we are trying to learn.  He goes on to present the theory of elaboration, by which information is stored to our long term memory and follows that up with a model of how this can be effectively presented in the classroom.  This is the basis for some very powerful connections between how students learn and some pieces of technology that we can use in our classroom to make learning more relevant to our students. 

In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, the authors identify the skills of summarizing and note-taking as two of the most important skills that students can use to increase learning.  Unfortunately for many students, there really isn’t a set age or grade that teachers present note taking, so most students end up learning on the fly or never really grasping the skill.  By utilizing technology, we as teachers can develop our students note-taking and summarizing skills in a way that is simple and straight forward for any student.  Additionally, many of the tips and techniques described by the authors can be utilized through programs like Word or PowerPoint, which most school systems have access to already. 

Another strategy put forth by the offers is the practice of using cues, questions, and advanced organizers.  In my special education bubble at school, I so often see students who come to me with a folder full of notes, a test review sheet, and a list of page numbers to read.  Now I don’t know what happens in their classrooms, and I’m not trying to place blame on the general education teachers, but it seems as though these students have no idea what they are supposed to be learning, let alone whatever they had been presented for the last 2 weeks.  The best strategy I have found for helping them understand the material is to turn it into questions and have them try and find the answers to those questions, using guided notes and adjusted reading amounts in their books.  Teaching this way plays into the cognitive learning theory in the sense that a person who is simply given information will have a hard time remembering that information in the future.  A person who at the very least connects what they are hearing or reading with the attempt to answer a question that they find at least somewhat relevant increases the chances of long term memory storage significantly.

So now the big question that has haunted me since I started taking tech courses.  What does this mean for special education students? The good news is that this understanding of a link between technology and learning is exactly what the special education community is always looking for.  While there are some old standbys that work most of the time for most of the students, these technological “weapons” add a little more firepower to the special education teacher’s arsenal.  How much would these students benefit from learning how to take notes combined with pictures and important information?   I’d like to believe that in many of these student’s cases, it is not so much a case of whether or not they can learn, but more a case of they don’t know how THEY learn as an individual.  This could help close that mysterious gap once and for all.  

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theories. [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.