Information Processing Theory and Approach

Do you understand the complicated brain-based process that is the basis of how students (or almost anyone) acquires new concepts and knowledge? That's what Information Processing Theory aims to explain. It delve into the complex process of registering, observing, and processing information in our brains and retrieving it when necessary.

Find out more about the concept as well as ways to implement it into online classes that will benefit your students. Let's start with a brief look at where it all began.

Skip ahead:

•    A brief history of Information Processing Theory
•    Concepts at the heart of Information Processing Theory
•    What happens to it? occur in the brain?
•    Your students should be aware of the content of your online courses
•    Fundamental information processing techniques that will help students to remember better.
•    Lesser-than-average limitations of Information Processing Theory in online learning
•    Strategies for making more efficient the use of theory about information processing for online learning
•    Humanize information processing theory in order to develop online courses with a human touch

Brief history of Information Processing Theory

Back in the 1950s, psychologists realized that computers held the most important clue to understanding how the human mind works. George Armitage Miller and Edward C. Tolman set out the fundamentals of how we use short-term memory and learn things. Basing their work on this foundational structure, two popular models of information processing theory eventually came into existence - that of the Atkinson and Shiffrin Model and the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory.

The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model discusses the three stages of processing information, which include sensorimotor memory, short term memory (working memory) as well as long-term memory. It emphasizes the significance of paying attention to and intricate rehearsal patterns that contribute to the storage of information in the long term memory. It is based on the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory is based upon these ideas and describes the way we deal with language and spatial patterns.

Do you have a lot of psychological terminology? Don't worry! We've combined the best of all these theories in order to help you understand exactly what we humans do to process information. Let's begin understanding that by exploring how humans are able to process information in daily situations as well as analyzing each of these functions in depth.

Concepts at the heart in Information Processing Theory

Being a creator educator it's extremely helpful to know the basics of information processing.

Let's try it with one example

Suppose, you're walking on a crowded street and you are exposed to a variety of sights, sounds, and odors. Some people may rub your shoulders when you're not careful enough and happen to be in the middle of unruly crowds. In order to avoid the rush and chaos, you decide to walk into a cafe that you are sure is peaceful and quiet. Also, you keep in mind that they have top quality coffee and croissants available in this area of town.

It's information processing theory working actually in the real world. Let's look at how:

1. You sense various stimuli (people strolling about, someone rubbing your shoulder, a car moving at a high speed or a car speeding by, etc. - sensation. A stimulus is an external input or information)
2. You perceive this place to be crowded (perception is the way we interpret what was sensed).
3. Based on your previous experiences (long long term episodic memories) and you are able to identify this situation to be uncomfortable and potentially dangerous (being being pushed around, the past associations)
4. So, you remember a place that had previously offered you comfort (another chain of association leads to retrieving information about the cafe's quiet atmosphere and croissants, which is a form of semantic memory).
5. You act on this memory then walk towards the cafe (judging/analyzing and making a choice. Walking towards the cafe is the procedural memory).

    First, you sense your environment    

Human beings acquire information also known as "stimulus" via five senses: smell, sight, touch, (hearing) as well as the sense of taste. A sixth sense, which is related to body's posture, movement, and balancing known as vestibular sensing is present.

senses and the related sense organs:

• Vision Eyes
• Audio - Ears
• Touch - Skin
• Taste - Tongue
• Smell - nose
• Vestibular sense, ear and other components of the nervous system.

The sense organs in your body convert the real world information into electrical signals the brain processes these and interprets them as information that you can recognize on an unconscious level. The interpretation of what you see occurs due to previous associations (similar data stored within your brain, that can be recalled and make connections).

For creators, unless you are using augmented reality or virtual reality in your content for lessons, you will primarily use inputs (stimuli) connected to sight (reading texts and watching videos) and the audio (voice or background music).

    The process of perception is the result of sensing.

Every one of the sense organs responds to various stimulus from the outside and converts these signals to electrical signals which are then detected by different parts within the brain. Sensory processing takes place within the organs of sense, and perception takes place inside the brain. For those with different perception and learning disorders may find it difficult to absorb information efficiently.

Note for authors: If you are planning to make your lesson content accessible to people with disabilities, it is advisable to look into accessible design methods. Examples of accessible design are avoiding uneven spacing of words, breaking long paragraphs into shorter ones and making sure there is enough white space.

    When perceived information is processed (encoded), it enters memory.    

Memory is a broad concept that encompasses a range of different aspects of cognitive functioning. It begins with retaining the information for a period of time (sensory as well as working memory) before transferring it to long-term storage through consolidation (encoding).

Sensory memory lasts between one and three seconds. If you do not pay attention to the feeling and do not feel it, you will never make it into short-term memory. The research has shown that short-term memory can hold approximately seven information items for a period between 15 and 30 minutes. Through practice, your brain will be able to retain the information until it is degraded or gets lost.

In rehearsal, the brain performs a process called encode, which causes the information to be transferred to long-term memory. When it is transferred to long-term memory it is possible to retrieve your information anytime provided you don't allow it to fade or expose it to interruption. Long-term memory ranges from remembering something you perceived in the past few minutes to what happened many years ago. It can go back to your childhood.

Note for creators: Rehearsal is usually performed to facilitate rote learning in educational circumstances. However, we are aware that the majority of students are not able to grasp the concept of rote-learning in nature, which is why it's not the best way to learn complex ideas and abstract knowledge.

The various kinds of long-term memory include:

1. The term "explicit memory" refers to that which is available to you consciously. If you are asked by someone what the capital city of Great Britain is, you will easily be able to say it's London. Therefore, explicit memories are also described as declarative memories. Declarative memory can further be subdivided into:

• Memory that is episodic - Memories of events or specific occasions that occurred during your life. Examples include visiting a friend's house in your childhood
• Memory that is semantic - The ability to keep in mind things that you've learned about world. For instance, the day of the official declaration of World War 2 (September 1, 1939).

1. Implicit memory - It is kept in your long-term memory but relates to performance and movement. Examples of this include the ability to swim or remembering to drive a car even after a lengthy gap etc.

    Attention can help memory to last longer and learn better    

Though our sense organs absorb lots of data however, they do not register within our brains unless we take note of the information. They are stored in "sensory memory" after perception, and are only used for a short period of time (between two and three seconds).

Attention here implies focussing your attention to a certain stimulus in the presence of other stimuli. An example is when you walk into the cafe that you like and decide to order the croissant you want in spite of the fact that there are numerous other items that are on the menu.

Reinvoking the example of the crowded street, your brain may have perceived the presence of different individuals. Yet, you may not have been paying enough attention to recall their faces. As a result, the details associated with their individual faces decayed, and is lost forever.

Where does it all happen within the brain?

As a creator educator, you might be wondering how your learning materials you teach to your students will be stored in their brains. Baddeley as well as the Hitch Model of Working Memory offers a simple answer to this.

They've suggested that the frontal region (a component that is located in the brain) acts as the processor where information is encoded and retrieved. The various kinds of memories are stored in different areas within the brain. According to Hitch:

• Auditory information (information that is in the form of sound, mostly recognised as music, language or other kinds of sound) is stored in the Phonological Loop.
• The Phonological Loop is an phonological database, where data is kept for a limited time and the articulatory practice process in which the brain practice auditory data to store for a longer period of time.
• Visuospatial sketchpad is a part of the brain which stores spatial and visual information, including shapes, designs, images, etc.
• The episodic buffer may increase the capacity of the mind to store, encode, and retrieve data by linking diverse brain areas to aid in the processing of information.

Now let's take what we've learned in the area of information processing in learning online environments.

Make your students pay attention to the content of your online courses

If you're designing or making modules, think about it in this manner. If you don't create your videos or slides appealing enough, students are likely to ignore them and proceed to the next one. They look at the slide or video (sensation takes place) but do not perceive the content for long enough time to keep it in the short-term memory of their brains. It is left to practice it until they be stored in long-term memory - the information is erased from their memories of sensory. Therefore, keeping their attention is crucial.

Consider the fact that your child may be daydreaming, distracted from the content you provide. All these factors interfere with the ability of students to pay attention to the information that needs to be learned and stored in long-term memory. Consequently, ensuring you create material that keeps the students' interest is very important.

  Here's what you can do:  

• Make them take a break every 10 to 15 minutes. Research shows that attention spans decrease in the first 15 minutes.
• Therefore, you should plan your classes in chunks with a minimum of 15 minutes. There is no need to create videos or lecture which last only 10 minutes. Instead, it is better to offer your students small activities, games, or chillouts.
• Develop more engaging online learning environments. We will explain why later on.

Fundamental information processing techniques that will help students to remember better.

When information is saved in short-term memory, it can either be transferred to long-term memory or get erased. Repetition and practice is the key to keeping information for a long time in the long-term memory. Hence, it is crucial to create lesson plans in order that students have plenty of time to practise and then repeat the information that is stored in their working memory. The process should take place in a matter of the timeframe of a few minutes. So, at the conclusion of each short lesson that lasts a few minutes, encourage your students to repeat, practice in a rehearsal or practice. The process of rotation helps to ensure that the information they've processed gets stored in long-term memory.

When something is saved in the long-term memory of your brain, it can be retrieved at a later time, if you are prompted. The success of memory retrieval is dependent on how eagerly the student was taught something (were they attentive enough and did your material relevant enough, etc. ).

So it is clear from the previous description that learning occurs due to the way we view information and how we associate it with our previous knowledge, and that we must pay attention.

But is it really that simple?

Limitations of Information Processing Theory in online learning

Human beings aren't computer systems. Though drawing comparisons between our brains and the computer is tempting but they're different. Information Processing Theory doesn't discuss the importance of motivation or emotions in our perception of the world and recall information. Both are essential for learning and remembering what's been learned.

The theory assumes that the brain processes information in a linear manner -- information is sensed, perceived, transformed (encoded) then stored and finally, recovered. This is referred to as sequential processing. This is exactly what computers are able to do.

The brain, however, is capable of parallel processing this means that it is able to simultaneously process different kinds of information. Multitasking capabilities of our brains does do not correspond to what a computer can accomplish. Therefore, even though the information processing theory accurately describes how we sense and process and save information, it does not consider emotions and the non-linear way that our brain works.

Your students have feelings as well as desires and motives that you might or may not have considered when creating the content of your class. Hence, it is essential to recognize that you are teaching human students and not computer-generated students. One of the easiest ways to solve the issue is to create an online learning environment that is engaging.

Let's take a explore ways you can bring motivation, emotional engagement and social engagement into the mix. You can also leverage information processing theories even more for the perfect online class.

Strategies to make information processing theory work better for online learning

    Inspire your students be attentive    

Why would someone learn something when they do not want to? They must have an innate determination or desire to enroll to take your class, and remain motivated to complete.

Motivation drives them to pay attention to the course content, which can result in improved processing of information (encoding), and superior capabilities for retrieving information. In other words, if your student isn't motivated to study, an excellent course may not be recognized in their brains.

Motivation plays a vital role in processing information. You must be able to be attentive to the external environment.

• Your job as a creator educator is to sustain that drive.
• Be aware that motivation is not an empty space. You must feel valued and receive feedback that is positive and feel socially accepted to be motivated to continue doing something. Did you recall your buddies encouraging you in times whenever you felt down or wanted to become better at certain things? The same is true for studying as well.

Motivation and interpersonal relationships have a lot in common. We'll now look into how this is played out in the social information processing theory.

    Encourage social interaction during learning    

Despite the fact that one-to-one instruction is highly effective, we benefit from learning when they are working in groups. This is why traditional learning always takes place in classrooms or groups because learning with others is much more fun (and more effective).

Social Information Processing theorem is a part of the explanation for the way people interact with one other on computer mediated platforms for example, an online learning platform.

Humans also learn through models and observation, that is, by imitating how others behave. In this case, you, the creator educator, assume the role of teacher, and students imitate your behavior. Albert Bandura, a famous psychologist, emphasized that most learning happens in interpersonal contexts, and we can't take away "social" from the process of learning.

In this regard It is crucial that you

• Create online group activities
• Students should be encouraged to communicate with each other on websites, and also to share their expertise.
• Consider collaboration as well as engagement with social media a key part of your curriculum design.
• Make use of social tools for sharing ideas, which acts as a form of practice
• Encourage positive feedback from peers (other students) to provide reinforcement. To do this, you should have your students evaluate their work in a positive way.

    Utilize particular cognitive strategies that are geared towards achieving your goals.    

The cognitive strategies you employ are typically focused on a specific task. This means you must make sure that your students are working in the area directly. A few of the cognitive techniques that can be used when learning online include note-taking, repetition, contextual understanding, and Mnemonics. (A mnemonic is a tool that helps you recall or retrieve information from your memory)

For example: VIBGYOR can be an abbreviation that refers to the seven colors of the rainbow: violet, indigo, blue green, yellow red and orange. In addition to acronyms, there are many other kinds of mnemonics too like flashcards, classifying objects into different categories and so on. All of them can help your students to remember what they've learned quickly.

    Help with high-level information processing with metacognitive strategies    

Researchers have suggested the existence of something called "metacognition," which means "thinking about being thinking." In practice, when you rehearse or try to recall what you have forgotten, or employ techniques to assist others in learning or recall (such as teaching using a goal), you are engaging in a form of metacognition.

Back in 1987, A.L. Brown started a discussion about metacognition within the context of learning. Over the years the topic has evolved quite a bit.

in Online courses These are the top metacognitive strategies

• Advance organizers: Encourage your students to think about your lesson plan by distributing course calendars ahead of time. This will help your students anticipate what they can expect, and connect it with information they have already learned.
• Self-planning: Encourage your students to think about their assignments, and how they will structure them. It gives them the opportunity to "think about what they're doing" - metacognition.
• Self-monitoring scales: Students self-rating their scores can be a great means of understanding the areas where students require assistance. Make online forms that allow students monitor their progress after each lesson/week, as per the schedule you prefer.
• Self-evaluation: This can happen regularly scheduled or even at the conclusion of the class. Since online courses are typically taken up by self-motivated individuals so it's important they get positive results.

Apart from self-evaluation you could also use associations for students to learn and remember what they learn. To make this process more efficient, it is essential to be aware of what your students know. So,

• Before enlisting someone in a course, assess their current level of understanding in order to judge if they're a good fit.
• If not, and you are launching the course to help beginners be sure to design your course to allow them to connect your course to something they are already familiar with. It means you have aid them through the process of encoding.

There may be a need to employ methods such as chunking, imagery, and the elaboration.

• Divide your lessons into smaller parts, and use engaging polls as well as online debates, Q&As and support for peers to keep your students engaged.
• Instruct your students to make connections with the previous information by presenting content in a way that is simple to comprehend. This will help students use images to learn and remember.
• In addition, your online class will require the students to engage with the material active. The process of elaboration, sometimes referred to as elaboration, is crucial to keep learners engaged and form associations with existing information to gain new knowledge.

While these are all metacognitive or cognitive techniques, they cannot be ignored the role of motivation, emotions, and social learning theories.

    Add social engagement and emotional expression to the mix    

A majority of your students register for the course due to their inability to physically attend your classes due to different reasons. Learning environments online offer an alternative to in-person learning as well as a better level of participation in many instances. It is important to ensure that your learning online environment vibrant and exciting. One of the most important factors is using techniques that are socially-affective, and involve emotional communication as well as interpersonal communications. Note that "affect" is a reference to emotions.

Here's how to do it:

• Be relatable for your students to gain knowledge through the example of. Inspire feelings of curiosity, excitement, satisfaction, contentment, joy, delight, and so on. It's pretty simple to trigger these feelings within your students.
• Gaming can make your students feel satisfied and content after they reach certain levels of completion.
• Offering them certificates, badges, or other forms positive reinforcement could help you install joy.
• If you provide a surprise discount for a well-performing student You combine excitement with a sense of surprise. This can make learners more enthusiastic to continue learning.
• Polling can be used to create tests and games at the end of every fifteen minutes in order to keep your students engaged and help them share their knowledge through forums.
• Because children are increasingly comfortable with using social media It makes sense to integrate social media into the classroom as well.

Humanize information processing theory in order to develop online courses with a human touch

Information processing theory helps us to understand how we store and learn new information through our sense organs as well as our brain. Though this theory is valid regarding how perception and perception operate, it fails to provide a complete explanation of social learning or the role of motivation as well as emotions.

Additionally, the human mind is very complex and cannot be boiled down to the way a computers function. Being teachers of creators, it's essential to maintain your students' innate thoughts and desires in their minds. Through creating a stimulating online learning environment and considering human limits, you are able to create a course online that is successful that leaves a lasting impression on your learners.

gives you various tools to design course content that is engaging and social. It assists you in creating educational content that is based on data processing models, but recognizes that your students are thinking and feeling human beings, who enjoy interacting with others while learning. It provides powerful social engagement capabilities that make it easier to develop classes for groups and promote active discussions with your students.

Through humanizing online learning, lets you engage with your students intellectually through a fun and engaging way. To learn more about how could help you develop course modules rooted in the field of psychology, please contact us right now.