Terms Associated with Theories

Page 1

Metacognition: higher-order thinking that involves active control over cognitive processes. It is crucial for successful learning. Metacognition has three variables:

-Person Variables (how we learn and process information as humans and individually)

-Task Variables (the nature of the task and the processing demands)

-Strategy Variables (Cognitive and Metacognitive strategies and when, where to use them)

Metacognition examples:

-planning how to approach a certain problem

-monitoring oneself

-evaluating ones progress

Transfer of Learning: The application of skills, attitudes, and knowledge from one situation in another. By bringing prior knowledge of one skill to a new situation, it speeds up the process of learning.

Self-Efficacy: Ones belief in their ability to accomplish a certain task.

Self-Regulation: the ability to monitor and control our own behavior, emotions, or thoughts, altering them in accordance with the demands of the situation.

Classical Conditioning: Associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.

Operant Conditioning: The frequency of a behavior can increase or decrease using reinforcers and punishments.

Anchored Instruction (constructivism): material is presented in the context of an authentic event.

Dialogical Process (sociocultural theory): where dialogue helps generate learning through various perspectives.