Creative tips and tricks

Information Processing Theory and Approach

Oct 28, 2023

Do you understand the complicated neural-psychological mechanism that determines how your students (or the majority of people) come up with new ideas and information? This is what the information processing theory seeks to clarify. It examines the intricate process of perceiving, recording and processing data within our brains, and then taking it back when needed.

Discover more information about the concept and how you can apply it to the development of online classes which will help your students. The first step is to give a short overview of where the idea came from.

Skip ahead:

     A brief history of Information Processing Theory    

In the 1950s, scientists realized that computers were an important clue to understand the how human brains function. George Armitage Miller and Edward C. Tolman established the basics of how humans use short-term memory and learn new things. In the light of this basic theory, two renowned models of theory on information processing came into existence The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model and the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory.

The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model discusses the three stages of sensory memory and short-term memory (working memory) in addition to long-term memory. The focus is on the importance of paying attention to and complicated rehearsal behaviors that lead to information being stored in the long-term memory. The model is referred to as the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory is based on these concepts and explains how we deal with words and spatial patterns.

Too much psychological jargon? Don't worry! We've combined aspects from each of these theories to provide you with a complete understanding of how we humans process information. Let's begin understanding that through examining the way that humans handle information in daily circumstances, and then examining every one of these functions in depth.

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     Concepts that are fundamental to Information Processing Theory    

Being an educator for creators I find it extremely helpful to be aware of the various aspects of information processing.

Let's try it by using the following examples

If you're in an area that is crowded and are exposed to an array of noises, sights and smells. There are people who might rub your shoulders, if you're cautious enough and you happen to be in the middle of the crowd that is agitated. To stay clear of the chaos and noise, you choose to stroll to a place that you're certain is quiet and tranquil. You also keep in mind that they have excellent coffee and delicious croissants in this particular area of town.

This is the theory of information processing applied in the real world. We'll see:

  1. There is a possibility to feel various stimulations (people who are moving around, a person rubbing your shoulder, or vehicles speeding down the streets, etc. - sensation. The term "stimulus" refers to any input from outside (or external)
  2. The image appears crowded (perception is how we take in the information we perceive).
  3. Through your experiences in the past (long memory of a long time) and are aware of the circumstance as potentially hazardous and uncomfortable (being being pushed around by a an old association)
  4. Thus, you remember an area that previously offered you comfort (another chain of memory could result in you retrieving details regarding the serene cafe and its pastries (semantic memory).
  5. The memory is activated when you enter the cafe (judging/analyzing and deciding. Walking towards the cafe may be a the procedural memory).

First, you sense your environment

Human beings acquire information often referred to as "stimulus" via five senses: sight, smell, touch, auditory (hearing) as well as tasting. Sixth sense, which is connected to body's posture in motion, balance, and position also known as vestibular sense is there.

senses and their related organs

  • Vision Eyes
  • Audio - Ears
  • Touch Skin
  • Taste - Tongue
  • Smell - Nose
  • The sense of Vestibular, the ear as well as various other components of the nervous system.

The sense organs in your body convert real information into electrical signals, your brain processes them and transforms them into information that you can recognize on the conscious level. Your perception is influenced by your past connections (similar to the data that is kept in your mind that you can remember and draw connections to).

Note for creators that unless you integrate augmented or virtual reality within your content for lessons then you'll be primarily using inputs (stimuli) that are related to visual (reading texts and watching videos) and sound (voice in the background sound).

     Perception comes from sensing.

Each of the sense organs react to different stimuli from the environment around them and transforms the signals that they receive into electrical signals that are sensed by different areas of the brain. Sensory processing takes place within the organs that detect, and perception is carried out inside the brain. Persons who have a diverse perception or disordered learning might have difficulty processing the information quickly.

For authors: If you are planning to make the content of your class accessible to people who are disabled, it's advisable to consider accessibility-friendly design principles. Some examples of accessible design are the need to prevent the uneven spacing between words breaking long paragraphs into shorter paragraphs and making sure there is sufficient white space.

If the information being perceived is processed (encoded) and stored in memory.

Memory is an umbrella term that encompasses various aspects of cognition. The process begins by storing details for a specific period of time (sensory or working memory) before transferring the information to long-term storage through condensing (encoding).

Sensory memory can last between one to three minutes. If you do not pay at the moment, it doesn't make it into short-term memory. Research has found that the short-term memory stores around seven items of data over a period between 15 and 30 minutes. Through practice, your brain is able to store the details, and then the information is lost or deteriorates.

When you practice, your brain executes a process known as encode. It triggers the data to be transferred into long-term memory. Once it's transferred to long-term memory, it's possible to access the information at any point provided you don't permit it to fade or subject it to interruption. "Long-term memory" or "long-term memory" could refer to an incident that you witnessed in the past several minutes or even something that occurred long and dated all the way back to childhood.

Note for creators: Rehearsal usually is utilized to aid in the process of learning through repetition in educational settings. Most students have difficulty mastering things by rote, and it is it is not the best way to learn complex ideas and abstract information.

The many kinds of memories that are long-term comprise:

  1. Explicate memory is the one which you can access consciously. If someone asks you which capital city of Great Britain is, you are able to say it's London. So explicit memories are also known as declarative memories. Declarative memory can further be subdivided into
  • Memory that is episodic The memory of events that took place during your lifetime for example, like going to the home of a close childhood friend
  • Memory that is semantic - The ability to remember what you've learnt about the world for example, the date of the declaring of World War 2 (September 1 September 1939).
  1. Implicit memory is stored within your memory in the long term, however it can also be related to performance and movement. Examples include being able to swim, or remembering how to drive a vehicle following a long gap, and on.

Attention helps memory remain longer, and also improves the way you learn

Our sense organs are able to are able to receive a variety of different information but these aren't stored in our brains, unless we take note of it. They are stored in "sensory memory," after perception, and last only a few seconds (between between one and three seconds).

Focusing your attention exclusively on one particular object in the presence of an additional stimulus. For instance, you go to the café that you love and pick the kind of bread that you'd like eat, despite the presence of many other items available.

When you imagine a busy street, your mind may have noticed that there were a lot of people. However, you might not have been paying enough concentration to see the faces of each. In the end, the particulars of the faces of the individuals have deteriorated and is gone forever.

     How does this all take place in the brain?    

As an educator who creates, it is possible to be curious as to the way that the material that you provide to your students is being processed by their brains. Baddeley along with the Hitch Model of Working Memory offers a simple answer.

The frontal region (a component of brain) acts as the central processing area where information is saved and later retrieved. There are a variety of memories that are stored in different parts in the brain. Based on Hitch:

  • Audio information (information which is presented in the form of sounds typically referred to as languages, music, or other types of sound) is stored in the sound loop, which is also referred to as the sound loop known as the phonological.
  • Phonological Loop Phonological Loop is the phonological storage system, where information is held for a brief period of time, and the articulatory practice process is where the brain practices auditory data to store over a longer period of time.
  • Visuospatial sketchpad can be described as a component of the brain that stores spatial and visual information, like shapes, patterns and images.
  • Episodic buffers are believed to increase the capacity that the brain has to store, encode and retrieve information by connecting various parts of the brain in order to facilitate the processing of data.

It is now time to apply the knowledge we've gained in the field of information processing for virtual learning spaces.

     Focus your students on the online course content of your class    

If you're developing or designing modules take a look at the procedure this way. If you don't make your video or slides appealing enough, pupils aren't going to be interested, before moving on to the next. The students take a glance at the slideshow (sensation takes place) but they don't take in it long enough to store it into their short-term memory. It is left to practice it till they reach the long-term memory storage phase - when it just disappears from sensorsimotor memory. So, ensuring that they are attentive is the most important thing.

It is important to consider the fact that your student could be absorbed in a daydream, or perhaps bored with your material. Each of these things can influence the student's ability to pay attention to the information that needs to be learned and stored in long-term memory. Therefore, making sure you write materials that keep your students' attention is essential.

Here's what you can do:

  • Urge them to have a break each 10 to 15 minutes. Research shows that attention spans decrease within the first 15 minutes.
  • Therefore, you should plan your classes in chunks that are 15 minutes or less. There is no need to have video lectures or lecture sessions that last only 10 minutes. Instead, you should offer your students small tasks, games or the chance to relax.
  • Develop more stimulating educational online spaces for students. The reasons will be discussed later on.

     Fundamental information processing techniques for helping your students improve their learning.    

When information is saved in short-term memory the information can be transferred to long-term memory or deleted. Practice and repetition are essential to keep data for long periods in long-term memory. This is why it's crucial to design plan of instruction so that students have plenty of time to practice and repeat the information that is kept within their working memory. It should happen in a matter of minutes. Therefore, at the end of every lesson, which is only two minutes in length Encourage your pupils to practice, repeat the lessons, or practice. This ensures that they learn the lesson saved in long-term memory.

After something has been stored in long-term memory, it can be retrieved in the future, when asked. But, the likelihood in retrieving memory depends upon the amount of attention that a person has shown in learning the subject (were they attentive enough, was your course material relevant enough and so on. ).

It is evident from the previous explanation that learning generally is a result of how we view data and the way we compare it to the things we are already familiar with and the things we have to be attentive to it.

This isn't easy?

     the Limits of Information Processing Theory in online learning    

Humans aren't computers. Though drawing comparisons between the brain of a person and the computer is tempting however the two are very distinct. Information Processing Theory doesn't discuss the significance of motivational factors and emotions in the way we perceive information and remember things. Both are crucial to recalling and learning the knowledge we've learned.

Brains operate in a linear fashion -- that information is interpreted, analyzed and then transformed (encoded) then stored and finally, later, retrieved. This is often referred to as sequential processing. This is exactly the same thing computers can do.

However, our brains are capable of processing information in parallel meaning that it can simultaneously handle various kinds of information. Multitasking ability of our brains does not compare with what computers are able to do. So, while the theory of information processing accurately describes how we think about, process and organize data, it fails to consider emotions and the non-linear way of how our minds work.

They have feelings along with desires and motives which you could or may not be aware of when making the contents of your class. So, it's crucial to recognize that you're training human learners, not machines. One of the most effective ways to tackle this issue is to develop online learning spaces that can be engaging.

Let's take a look at the ways you could bring motivation, emotional involvement and social interaction into the mix. You can also leverage the theory of information processing so that you can create the ideal online class.

     Strategies for making the concept of information processing better to facilitate online learning    

 Inspire your students focus on the task at hand.

What's the purpose in learning a skill if you aren't interested in it? You must be able to sense their determination or desire to attend your class and be motivated to finish.

Motivation drives them to focus on the course content and can lead to more efficient processing of information (encoding) and superior capabilities for retrieving information. If your student is not driven to learn so that even the top class may not be able to register on their minds.

Motivation is an important factor in the processing of information too. You must be stimulated by external stimulation.

  • Your role as a teacher is to maintain this program.
  • Keep in mind that motivation is a continuous supply of energy that doesn't depend on. You must feel valued and receive feedback that is positive and be accepted by others for motivation to keep working to improve things. Do you remember your peers encouraging you in times whenever you felt down or needed to do better in something? The same is true for studying as well.

Motivational and interpersonal factors are interconnected. Let's examine how this is played out in the social theory of information processing.

Encourage social interaction during learning

Although one-to-one instruction is highly effective, we benefit from learning while working in groups. This is the reason why traditional learning usually takes place in classes or with groups since studying with others can be more enjoyable (and productive).

Social Information Processing theorem partly explains how individuals interact by using computers, for instance, through an online platform for learning.

Humans also learn by modeling and observation. That is being imitators of how other people behave. If you are as the teacher who created the system, you take on the role of teacher, and students imitate the way you conduct yourself. Albert Bandura, a famous psychologist, claimed that learning occurs within social contexts and that there is no way to completely eliminate "social" elements that influence learning.

With this thought in mind it's essential to

  • Create online group activities
  • Inspire students to engage with each other on forums and communicate their expertise.
  • Make collaboration and social media engagement essential parts of your curriculum plan.
  • Make use of social networks to share ideas as well as acting in a way of practicing
  • Provide positive feedback to your classmates (other students) to provide positive reinforcement. To do this, you can have your students review their work in a positive way.

Make use of specific cognitive strategies for achieving goals.

Strategies for cognitive learning are typically focused on a specific job. This means you must make sure that your students are working on the subject specifically. The cognitive techniques that you can employ for online learning include the absence of notes, repetition as well as contextual understanding. Mnemonics. (A Mnemonic is a technique that helps you remember or recall data from your memory)

For instance, VIBGYOR stands for the seven colors of the rainbow including violet, indigo blue, green, yellow, red, and orange. In addition to acronyms, there are different types of mnemonics, including flashcards that categorize objects into categories, categories, etc. These can assist students retain their knowledge quickly.

 Support with high-level data processing using methods of metacognition

Researchers have proposed the existence of something known as "metacognition," which means "thinking about the world around you." You should practice as you learn and try to recollect what you have forgotten, or implement techniques to help others to learn or remember (such for educating others in order to accomplish a particular goal.) This is a metacognitive form.

Back in 1987, A.L. Brown initiated discussion around metacognition for learning. Over time, the concept has evolved somewhat.

In the context of online classes, here are some of the most efficient metacognitive strategies.

  • Advance organizers: Inspire the students to reflect on the lesson by sharing their dates of classes in advance. This helps them to anticipate what they can anticipate, as well as connect the information with what they already have.
  • Self-planning: Have your students to organize their work and the way they'll organize them. This allows them more time to "think about what they are studying" with metacognition.
  • Self-monitoring: Student self-rating scales provide a fantastic method of determining what areas the students need assistance in. Make online forms that allow students to monitor their progress at the end of each lesson/week, as per your preferred schedule.
  • Self-evaluation could happen periodically or at the conclusion of the class. Since online classes are mostly taken up by self-motivated individuals and therefore, it's essential that students notice the positive results.

In addition to self-evaluation, associations can also be used to aid students in learning and track what they've learned. To make this method more efficient it's essential to comprehend what students have already learned. So,

  • Before enrolling someone into the program, evaluate their expertise to determine if they're a suitable candidate.
  • If they're not and you are launching an introduction class, make sure to develop your material to ensure that your students can connect your course with something they are already familiar with. That means that you need aid them in learning to encode.

It is possible to implement techniques such as chunking, images, or elaborate.

  • Divide your lessons into smaller parts with engaging questions as well as online debates. It is also possible to use questions and answers and support for peers to keep students interested.
  • Instruct your students to make connections to their understanding by explaining information in a way which is easy to comprehend. This can help students use images for learning and retention.
  • The final step is that your online class requires learners to be engaged with the subject matter actively. The process of elaboration, also known as elaboration, is essential to keep students engaged and create connections with previous skills to acquire the latest knowledge.

Though they are all strategies for metacognition and cognition but they are not a substitute for the importance of motivational, emotional, and theory of social learning.

Add social interaction as well as emotional expression into the equation

A majority of students sign up to take the course because of the inability of them to be able to attend class for various reasons. Online learning environments provide alternatives to traditional learning as well as a better level of participation in many situations. But, it's crucial to ensure that the online learning environment lively and enjoyable. The key is to use techniques for social interaction, that involve emotional communications as well as interpersonal communications. Note that "affect" refers to feelings.

This is how you can do it:

  • You can be a good role model for pupils and guide them through the example of. Create feelings of excitement enthusiasm, delight satisfaction, delight, and so on. It's easy to create these emotions among your students.
  • Gamification can help your students feel happy and satisfied after they have achieved certain standards of accomplishment.
  • The giving of badges, certificates as well as other forms of positive reinforcements can be a great way to create joy.
  • If you provide an unexpected discount to a well-performing student, you combine joy with an element of surprise. This can make them more eager to study.
  • The polling tool can be utilized to develop games and tests each fifteen minutes to make sure that students are occupied and able to engage in discussion forums.
  • Because children are increasingly familiar with social media sites and apps, it is logical to incorporate social media into education as well.

     Humanize theory of information processing to make accessible online courses    

The theory of information processing helps to comprehend how we keep and acquire new knowledge within our brains, by through our sense organs and our brain. Although this theory is valid in terms of how perception and sensation work, it fails to describe social learning or the importance of motivation, as well as emotions.

Furthermore, the human brain is very complex, and it isn't able to be broken down to how computers work. Being creator educators, it is vital to keep the learners' needs and feelings at the forefront. When you create a memorable online learning environment and considering human limitations, you are able to design a successful online learning experience that leaves a lasting impression on the learners.

It gives you a variety of tools for creating course content that's interactive and social. It aids you in constructing educational materials that are based on data processing models however, it recognizes that your students are humans who want to interact with others while learning. It is equipped with powerful social interaction features that make it easy to design classes for groups and promote engaging discussions between your students.

By humanizing online education, allows you to engage your students in a fun and engaging way. For more information on ways we can help you design courses built on the basis of psychological research, contact us now.

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