Information Processing Theory and Approach

Are you aware of the intricate neural-psychological mechanism that determines how your students (or anyone else) learns new ideas as well as information? That's the question that the information processing theory seeks to explain. It delve into the complex mechanism of perceiving, recording and processing information within our brains. It also retrieves the information when needed.

Find out more about the theory and ways you can use it in the creation of online courses to help your students. We'll start by taking a short look at where it all began.

Skip ahead:

•    Brief history of Information Processing Theory
•    The fundamental concepts in Information Processing Theory
•    Where does it all occur inside the brain?
•    Make your students focus on the online content for your course
•    Fundamental information processing techniques for helping your students learn better.
•    Lesser-than-average limitations of Information Processing Theory in online learning
•    Strategies to make information processing theory work better for online learning
•    Humanize information processing theory in order to develop online courses with a human touch

Brief history of Information Processing Theory

The 1950s were the time when psychologists recognized that computers could be the key to understanding how our minds work. George Armitage Miller and Edward C. Tolman laid down the fundamentals of how we use short-term memory, and how they learn. Building on this basic structure, two popular models of the theory of information processing emerged namely The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model and the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory.

The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model discusses the different stages of processing information, which include sensorimotor memory, short term memory (working memory) and long term memory. It focuses on the importance of attention and intricate rehearsal patterns that contribute to data being stored in the long term memory. It is based on the Baddeley and Hitch Model of Working Memory builds on these theories and explains how we process language and spatial patterns.

Are you overwhelmed by the jargon of psychology? Don't worry! We have combined aspects of these theories to help you understand exactly how we humans process information. We can begin to understand this through examining the way that humans process information in everyday situations, and examining each of these processes in detail.

Key concepts of Information Processing Theory

As a creator educator, it's great to be aware of the various aspects of data processing.

Let's do that with one example

If you're on a crowded street and you get exposed to an array of sights, sounds, and odors. Some people may rub your shoulders in case you're unfortunate enough to encounter the crowds that are agitated. To escape this rush and chaos You decide to go into a cafe that is quiet and peaceful. Also, you be aware that they offer the finest croissants and coffee in that part of the town.

This is information processing theory working in real life. Let's look at how:

1. There are various sensations that you feel (people walking around, someone brushing against your shoulder, or a vehicle moving at a high speed and so on. - sensation. A stimulus can be any external informational or input)
2. You perceive this place to be overcrowded (perception is how we perceive the information we sensed).
3. From your past experiences (long term episodic memory), you associate the situation as unpleasant and possibly dangerous (being forced around by a previous association)
4. Hence, you recall the place which had given you solace (another chain of associations will result in you retrieving the information regarding the quiet cafe and its croissants - the semantic memory).
5. The memory is activated, and walk into the cafe (judging/analyzing and making a decision. The walk to the cafe is procedural memory).

    First, you sense your environment    

Humans are able to receive information also known as "stimulus" through the five senses: smell visual, touch, auditory (hearing) and tasting. The sixth sense relates to the body's position in motion, balance, and position known as vestibular sensing is present.

The sense organs, and their sense organs

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

The sense organs in your body convert real-world information into electrical information the brain processes these and interprets them as data that you recognise at an unconscious level. Interpretation of what is perceived is influenced by past connections (similar information stored in your brain that can be recalled and draw a connection).

Note for creators: Unless you incorporate augmented or virtual reality within the content of your lessons I would suggest that you primarily employ inputs (stimuli) that are related to visual (reading texts and watching videos) and the audio (voice as background music).

    The process of perception is the result of sensing.

Each of the sense organs detects stimulus from the outside and transforms the signals they receive into electrical signals which are then detected by different parts of the brain. Sensing processes take place in the sense organs while perception occurs within the brain. For those with different perception and disordered learning might find it difficult to absorb information efficiently.

For writers: If you're planning to design your content in a way that is accessible to people with disabilities, it is advisable to consider accessible design practices. Examples of accessible design are making sure that words are spaced evenly or paragraphs, breaking lengthy ones into shorter ones as well as ensuring adequate white space.

    When perceived information is processed (encoded) the information is transferred to memory.    

Memory is a broad concept that encompasses a range of different aspects of cognitive functioning. It starts by storing data for a brief period (sensory or working memory) before transferring it to long-term storage by consolidating (encoding).

Sensory memory can last from two and three seconds. If you don't pay attention to the experience and do not feel it, you will never enter short-term memory. Research has found that the short-term memory holds about seven pieces of information over the duration of 15 to 30 minutes. With rehearsals, your mind is able to store this information after which it deteriorates or gets lost.

During rehearsal, your brain is performing a process known as encode, which causes the data to be transferred into long-term memory. Once transferred to long-term storage it is possible to retrieve the information at any time so long as you don't let it go through a process of decay or disturbance. Long-term memory ranges from remembering something you perceived a few minutes ago or something that happened a long time ago -- dating all the way back to childhood.

Note for creators: Rehearsal can be viewed to facilitate rote learning in educational situations. However, we are aware that the majority of learners find it difficult to master rote learning in nature, which is why it's not the best way to master complex concepts and abstract knowledge.

The different kinds of memory that are long-term include:

1. Explicate memory is the one that can be accessed consciously. If you are asked by someone what the capital city of Great Britain is, you can easily declare it is London. Therefore explicit memories are known as declarative memory. Declarative memory further is divided into:

• Memory that is episodic Memory of particular events which occurred in your life, such as going to a friend's home in your childhood
• Semantic memory - Being able to remember things that you've learned about world. For instance, the day of the declaration of World War 2 (September 1 September 1939).

1. Implicit memory is stored as part of the long-term memory of your brain, but it is linked to your performance, movement. Examples of this include the ability to swim, and recalling how to drive a car even after a lengthy gap etc.

    Attention helps memory last for longer, as well as help you to learn faster    

Though our sense organs absorb lots of data however, they do not register in our minds unless you are paying attention to them. They are stored in "sensory memory" following perception. They will last for only a couple of seconds (between half a second to 3 seconds).

Concentrating your attention on a specific event in the face of other stimulus. An example is when you walk into the cafe of your choice and order the kind of bread you'd like to eat in spite of the fact that there are numerous other items available.

Reinvoking the example of the busy street, your mind might have noticed that there were many individuals. But, you might not have paid enough attention to remember their faces. In the end, the data associated with their faces deteriorated and is lost forever.

What happens to it? take place in the brain?

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

The frontal lobe (a part of our brain) is the brain's processor where information is encoded and then retrieved. Different types of memories are stored in different parts of the brain. According to Hitch and Baddeley:

• Audio information (information that is in the form of sounds, usually referred to as language, music, or other kinds of sound) is stored within the phonological loop.
• Phonological loop consists of a phonological store, where data is kept for a limited time as well as the articulatory rehearsal, where the brain rehearses auditory information to be stored over a longer duration.
• Visuospatial sketchpad is a part of the brain that holds spatial and visual information, like shapes, patterns pictures, and so on.
• Episodic buffer is believed to enhance the ability of the brain to encode, store, and retrieve data by linking different brain regions to aid in the processing of information.

Now let's apply what we've learned about information processing to learning online environments.

Your students should be aware of your online course content

When you are designing or making modules, think about it this way. If you don't make your slides or videos appealing enough, students are likely to ignore them and proceed on to the next. The students glance at the slide or video (sensation occurs) but don't take in it long enough to store the information in their short-term memory. Let them practice the skill to become long-term storage the information is erased from their sensory memory. Thus, keeping their focus is crucial.

Consider the fact that your child may be daydreaming, distracted, or bored with your content. These factors can hinder the ability of students to pay attention to what needs to be absorbed and stored in long term memory. So, ensuring that you write content that sustains your students' attention is very important.

  Here's what you are able to do:  

• Encourage them to have a break each ten to fifteen minutes. Research shows that attention spans decrease in the first 15 minutes.
• Also, make your lesson plans to be broken down into segments of fifteen minutes or less. You do not have to create videos or lecture which last only 10 minutes. Instead, you need to give your students smaller activities, games or even chillout time.
• Develop more engaging online learning environments for learning. We will explain why in the future.

Fundamental information processing techniques to help your students remember better.

Once information is stored in short-term memory and is not accessed, it could be shifted to long-term memory or get removed. Repeating and practicing are essential to keep information for a long time in the long-term memory. Hence, it is crucial to plan your lessons so that your students get enough time to study and repeat what gets retained inside their brains. This needs to take place in a matter of minutes. So, at the conclusion of every lesson, which lasts a few minutes you should encourage students to practice, repeat the lesson and rehearse. Rote learning helps ensure that what they have processed is stored for long-term memory.

Once something is stored in the long-term memory of your brain, it can be retrieved at a later time, if you are prompted. However, the success of memory retrieval depends on the level of interest with which a pupil was able to absorb something (were they attentive enough and did your material relevant enough, etc. ).

As you can see from the above explanation that learning mostly occurs due to the way we perceive information, and how we relate it to our previous knowledge and to which we need to be attentive.

It's not that simple?

Limitations of Information Processing Theory in online learning

Human beings aren't computers. Though drawing comparisons between our brains and a computer can be tempting but they're different. Information Processing Theory doesn't discuss the importance of motivation or emotions in our perception of information or remember facts. Both are essential to learning and recalling the information we've learned.

The theory assumes that brains process information in a linear fashion -- information is sensed, perceived, processed (encoded) and stored and then recovered. This is known as serial processing. It is the same thing that computers do.

However, the brain is capable of parallel processing, which means you can simultaneously process various kinds of information. The multitasking ability of the brain is not compare to what computers can do. Therefore, even though the information processing theory accurately defines how we perceive, perceive, process, and store data, it fails to consider the emotional aspect as well as the way that our brain works.

The students you teach have thoughts that they are motivated by their desires, feelings, and needs which you could or might not be aware of when designing your curriculum. Hence, it is essential to understand that you're instructing human learners and not computer-generated students. One of the easiest ways to solve this problem is by creating educational environments online that are fun.

We'll now examine ways to add motivation, emotions and engagement with others to the mix and leverage information processing theory even better to create that perfect online class.

Strategies to make information processing theory work better for online learning

    Encourage your students to focus on the task at hand.    

Why would someone learn something when they do not want to? They must have an innate determination or desire to enroll for your course, and then remain committed to completing.

Motivation drives students to be attentive to the material in your class, which results improved information processing (encoding), and superior information retrieval abilities. In other words, if your student doesn't have the motivation to be a learner, then even an outstanding course will not register in their mind.

Motivation is a key factor in the processing of information as well. You must be able to be attentive to outside stimuli.

• Your role as an Creator educator's job is to keep the enthusiasm.
• Remember that motivation is a constant source of energy and is not an empty space. You must feel valued, receive positive feedback, and feel socially accepted to be motivated to continue working on something. Remember your friends motivating you when you were feeling low or needed to improve in certain things? The same is true for studying as well.

The interpersonal and motivational aspects have a lot in common. We'll now look into the ways this is reflected in the social information processing theory.

    Encourage social interaction during learning    

Although one-on-one training is efficient, people can learn more effectively when within a group. This is why traditional learning always takes place in groups or classrooms because the learning experience with other people is much more fun (and more effective).

Social information processing theorem is a part of the explanation for how individuals communicate with each other on computer mediated platforms like an online platform for learning.

Humans also learn by modeling and observation, that is, they mimic the actions of others. This is where you, the creator educator, take on the role of a model, and your students mimic your behaviour. Albert Bandura, a famous psychologist, emphasized that most learning happens in interpersonal contexts, and that it is impossible to remove "social" from the process of learning.

With this thought in mind it is vital to

• Create online group activities
• Students should be encouraged to communicate with one another on forums, and even discuss their experiences.
• Consider collaboration as well as engagement with social media a key part of your course design.
• Use social tools for exchanging ideas and acts as a kind of rehearsal
• Encourage positive feedback from peers (other students) which acts as a encouragement. In order to do this, you can request your students to assess their work in a positive way.

    Utilize goal-specific cognitive strategies    

Cognitive strategies are usually task-specific. Therefore, you need to 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 technique which allows you to remember or recall information from your memory)

For example: VIBGYOR stands that refers to the seven rainbow colors: violet, indigo, blue green, yellow orange, and red. In addition to acronyms, there are many other types of mnemonics like flashcards, dividing items in categories, etc., can all help your students to retain what they've learned in a short time.

    Facilitate high-level processing of information by using metacognitive strategies    

Certain researchers have also proposed that there may be something called "metacognition," which means "thinking about the thought process." Practice, when you rehearse and try to recollect the things you've forgotten or use techniques that assist others in learning or recall (such in teaching to achieve a specific goal), you are engaging with a metacognitive form.

The year 1987 was the year that A.L. Brown began to discuss metacognition within the context of learning. In the course of time the topic has evolved somewhat.

In an online courses Here are a few of the best metacognitive strategies:

• Advance organizers: Encourage your students to consider your lesson by distributing course calendars ahead of time. This helps your students to know what is expected and connect it with information they already know.
• Self-planning: Encourage your students to think about their work and the way they will structure them. This allows them more time to "think about what they are studying" - metacognition.
• Self-monitoring scales: Students self-rating their scores can be a great way to understand where your students need help. Make online forms that allow students monitor their progress at the conclusion of each lesson/week, as per the schedule you prefer.
• Self-evaluation: This could be at regular intervals or after the completion of the program. As online courses are mostly used by people who are self-motivated It is crucial that they see results.

Apart from self-evaluation you could also use associations to assist students in learning and remember what they learn. In order to make this method more efficient, it is essential to understand what your students already have learned. So,

• Before enlisting someone in a course, assess their level of knowledge to determine if they're a good candidate for the course.
• If they're not and you are launching an introduction course be sure to create your content so that they can relate your course to something they are already familiar with. That means that you need to help them in the encoding process.

It is possible to implement methods such as chunking, imagery, and the elaboration.

• Separate your courses into smaller pieces, and use engaging polls as well as online debates, Q&As as well as peer-support to keep your students entertained.
• Instruct your students to make relationships with their prior knowledge by providing information in a manner that's easily understood. This can help them use imagery for learning and retaining.
• Finally, your online course will require the students to engage with the material actively. This process, also known as elaboration, is crucial for keeping learners interested and to form connections with their existing skills to acquire new knowledge.

Even though they are all cognitive and metacognitive methods, it is impossible to ignore the role of emotions, motivation, and social learning theories.

    Include social interactions and feelings into the mix    

The majority of students sign up for the course due to their inability to physically attend your classes due to different reasons. Learning environments online can be a viable alternative to face-to-face learning, and can increase participation in many instances. It is important to ensure that your online learning environment lively and enjoyable. It is essential to employ social-affective methods, which require emotional communication as well as interpersonal communications. Please note "affect" refers to feelings.

Here's how you can do it:

• Be relatable for your students to gain knowledge through modelling. Generate feelings of curiosity joy, enthusiasm, contentment, joy, delight, and so on. It's pretty simple to trigger these feelings within your students.
• Gamification is a great way to help students be content and happy when they achieve some levels of achievement.
• Offering them certificates, badges and other types of reinforcement positive can assist in bringing joy into your life.
• If you offer a surprise discount for a well-performing student It is a way to combine happiness with surprise, which makes learners more enthusiastic to continue learning.
• Use polling to make games and tests at the end of every fifteen minutes in order to keep your students engaged and allow them to talk about their knowledge in forums.
• As youngsters are more familiar to social media It makes sense to incorporate social media in education as well.

Humanize the theory of information processing to make online courses that are relatable

Information processing theory helps us to comprehend how we keep and process information that we learn in our minds, using our sense organs as well as our brain. Although this model is accurate in terms of how sensation & perception, and memory operate, it fails to describe social learning, nor the roles of motivation and emotions.

Moreover, the human mind is incredibly complex and cannot be reduced to how the computer works. In your role as teachers of creators, it's essential to maintain the students' natural thoughts and desires in their minds. Through creating a stimulating online learning experience and taking into consideration human limitations, you can create a course online that is successful that will leave a lasting impression on the students.

gives you various tools to design course content that is engaging and social. It allows you to create courses that are based on information processing techniques, yet acknowledges that your students are thinking and emotional human beings who want to connect with one another while learning. It offers powerful social engagement tools that make it simple to develop classes for groups and promote lively discussions among your students.

By humanizing online learning, lets you engage with your students and in a way that is engaging. For more information on how we can help you create course modules rooted in psychology, get in touch with us now.