Educational Applications | infoprocessing

Using the IP Approach in the Traditional and Online Classroom

This chart provides some examples of how the Information Processing approach can be applied to both the traditional (face-to-face, synchronous) and online (asynchronous) classroom environments.

Further IP Strategies for Online Learning

To promote perception and attention (to transfer sensory information into working memory):

Match the difficulty level of the material to the learner’s cognitive level, so that the learner can both attend to and relate to it, e.g. linking to simpler and more complicated materials can accommodate learners at different knowledge levels.

Strategies to make sense of new information by linking it to existing information in long-term memory (LTM):

Use pre-instructional questions to set expectations and to activate the learners' existing knowledge structure, which will more easily enable them to recall existing knowledge and learn the materials as well as motivate them to find additional resources to achieve the lesson outcome.
Allow learners to apply information in real life, in order to contextualize the learning and facilitate deep processing.

Use strategies to provide deep processing in order to more effectively transfer information into LTM storage, e.g. use the higher-level end of Bloom’s taxonomy (strategies requiring learners to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate).

Adapted from:

Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from:

http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch1.html#three

Some Criticisms of the IP Theory

Humans are likened to computers. Some find it off-putting to compare human information processing (IP) to a computer’s IP. Humans process information the same way as computers at a very simplistic level. However, unlike computers, humans are not able to retrieve information automatically. Information cannot simply be tagged and stored in order to be later retrieved—it has to be anchored in many more contexts. (Chatham, 2007; Whitworth and Ryu, 2007)

IP assumes emotions and social context don’t play a role in learning.

IP seems to assume learning occurs in a vacuum, i.e. it doesn’t take into account emotions or social context. In today’s digital world, it is becoming more and more important for online course designers and instructors to take social context into account in order to enable online learners to communicate and interact with each other like they would in the traditional, face-to-face classroom (Slagter van Tryon and Bishop, 2009). Furthermore, emotions have been found to also have an influence upon our attention, our memory and how we interpret information (Holland and Kensinger, 2010).

Other factors can influence how we process and recall information. Attitudes and beliefs, about gender, race, sex roles, etc., greatly influence how humans process and recall information (Miller, 2011, p.290)

Sources:

Chatham, C. (2007). 10 Important differences between brains and computers. ScienceBlogs. Retrieved from: http://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2007/03/27/why-the-brain-is-not-like-a-co/

Holland, A. C. & Kensinger, E.A. (2010). Emotion and autobiographical memory. Physics of Life Reviews, 7 (1), 88-131.

Miller, P. H. (2011). Theories of developmental psychology. New York, NY; Worth.

Slagter van Tryon, P. J. & Bishop, M. J. (2009). Theoretical foundations for enhancing social connectedness in online learning environments. Distance Education, 30 (3), 291-315.

Whitworth, B. & Ryu, H. (2009). A comparison of human and computer information processing. Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking, 230-239.

Yiend, J. (2010). The effects of emotion on attention: A review of attentional processing of emotional information. Cognition and Emotion, 24 (1), 3-47.