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Theory : Cognitive Learning Theory Essay

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Theory: Cognitive Learning Theory is a way of explaining how people process information and experiences in order to learn. This theory has at its foundation the Dual-Store Model of Memory, which was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968, and is the most prevalent model of human memory used today. This model states that people take in information to their Sensory Register where it is held for a very short time, maybe a few seconds. The input is either processed and moved to our Short-Term/Working Memory or lost. The information is retained at this point for less than a minute, unless it is further processed and moved into our Long-Term Memory. As teachers it is necessary to understand the cognitive processes used to ensure that input is moved from the Sensory Register to Working Memory and finally to Long-term Memory. These processes are attending, cognitive processing in the working memory and finally, encoding to Long-Term Memory. When a human brain receives stimuli it enters the Sensory Register which is unlimited in terms of capacity but retains things only briefly. Only the stimuli that are attended to will make it into working memory. Our attention acts as a filter of the vast amount of input we receive as the brain is only able to process a limited number of stimuli, and only what we focus on, either consciously or unconsciously. Therefore, the ability to grab, engage and direct attention is important for educators as students will only learn what they

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