Author Archives: John F Casiello

Under Pressure!

During the class evaluations, one of my suggestions was lengthening the time given on the quizzes. At the time, I simply felt that the added element of time created a pressure that was intercepting my ability to focus. Having read the past few lessons, I understand much more what the effect is of time and pressure on my ability to work out answers to certain types of questions.

I find that the nature of the quizzes is highly suitable for this course. Rarely taken verbatim from the lessons, the questions require a higher learning level by testing true understanding of the information covered rather than simply knowing facts. Also, putting a time limit on the quizzes ensures that students can’t simply look up information in their lesson notes for each question. However, I found that in early examples, having one minute per question seemed to cause me to answer incorrectly and then discover that I actually understood the material afterward and simply rushed.

Although sometimes a victim of poor encoding or retrieval, this week’s lesson provided another answer to the confounding issue. Given the analytical nature of the questions, a certain amount of problem Screen Shot 2014-04-20 at 11.04.34 AMsolving is necessary when taking the quizzes. Studies have shown when pressure is added, high working memory groups perform worse than they would have performed without pressure. This felt more in line with what I was experiencing (rather than an issue with memory) because I would have brief moments where I struggled with restructuring the problem in my mind.

According to the lesson, which relates this issue to a study involving pressure added to subjects completing math problems, “the pressure and the anxiety it creates cause the HWM participants to use more of the WM to deal with the anxiety…According to this idea, anxiety caused by stress competes for WM capacity that under less stressful conditions could be focused solely on the math problem” (Goldstein 352). Having experienced this during the first two quizzes, my goal for the third and fourth quizzes was to fix it.

By being aware of the effect, I was able to push more of my focus to the questions and ignore the time element. Obviously, time still played a factor, as there was still a limit on the quiz. However, by acknowledging that time was created an unnecessary obstacle to my problem solving abilities, I was able to analyze the situation more realistically. Time was not my enemy (as evidenced by the fact that I generally finished all quizzes with time to spare) but rather the idea of time that was affecting my skills. This resulted in an increase in grades over the last two quizzes, and a realization that will carry over into other aspects of life.

It also doesn’t hurt that the time limit increased by 5 minutes, perhaps in recognition of this affect.

Source:

Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)

Levels of Learning at PSU

In an astronomy class that I’m taking this semester, they took time out of our lesson on the solar system to teach us about Levels of Learning. They provided us with a chart (see picture)LoL and explained to us how we understand more based on how high up on the pyramid we go with our learning process. I thought it was fascinating and shared it with many of my friends and coworkers, having conversations about the “flaws” in our lower education system because they focus so much on teaching at the lowest level of the pyramid. I was immediately impressed by how much my classes at Penn State have utilized some of the higher levels of learning. From a film class last semester to my psychology classes this semester, the teachers seem to really understand how to gear the lessons towards helping us reach the highest level of understanding.

When we learned about ways to study more effectively (see list) in order to encode and retrieve LoPfrom our Long Term Memory better, I was immediately reminded of the pyramid and started to notice similarities. Step 6, Avoiding “illusions of learning” reminded me of the lowest level of learning: Remember. We sometimes mistake remembering for understanding. While flashcards and highlighting can be useful tools for remembering and learning, they are only the beginning and need to be a springboard for reaching higher levels.

Step 2 (Generate and test) falls along most of the levels of learning and is one of the most successful methods for encoding information. By teaching the subject to someone else, you are generating your own material and reinforcing your understanding of it. Similarly, if you can use the information in another class or context (as I’m doing here), it fortifies that information in your brain.

The peak of the pyramid is labeled Create, and it falls into both the Elaborate and the Generate and Test steps. By using the knowledge that you have gained to create something, you are cementing it into your LTM in the same ways discussed previously. However, you are also making it yours, which will make it more relatable to you and will help with the encoding and retrieval. For example, when I first saw the pyramid and wanted to explain it to people, I had to search for the lesson. In the process of writing this blog entry, I have found myself able to reference it in my mind without having to look at the picture every time.

What I have been most impressed by is how universally these processes have been used by all of the professors at Penn State. The layout of the lessons, the repetition of the readings, the periodic questions and quizzes, the nature of the assignments, and the interaction with our classmates have all been set up to nurture these psychological processes. After a long break from school and returning last semester, I found myself excited by how much I was learning, and how much I was retaining and then able to share with people afterwards. At the time, I thought perhaps I was simply at a point in my life where I was more willing to learn. Although that is probably part of the equation, I now understand that PSU also creates an environment that fosters both memory and learning in tune with how our brain works.

And for that, I say THANK YOU!

Sources:

Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)

Kregenow, Julia. “Lesson 4: Our Solar System.” Elementary Astronomy. Pennsylvania State University. 04 Feb. 2014. Reading.

What’s in a Name?

Perception is such a subconscious part of our lives that we sometimes forget that it isn’t always reality. While this can contribute to great mistakes in our lives in terms of reading other people or making clear decisions, it can also benefit us in seemingly insignificant ways. One aspect of Gestault heuristics is the law of familiarity.  I have experienced this at my job, while cataloging books at the library.

One of my tasks is to create the spine labels for books that are added to the collection.  To do this for novels, I have to type an author’s full last name correctly into a Word document for later printing.  Although it is mere moments between seeing the name in the catalog and typing it in the file, my mind finds ways to memorize the word.  Sometimes this happens with some effort on my part, but sometimes it just clicks and the name sticks with me.  One curious case reminds me of just how my mind works, as well as the positives and negatives of this process.

Michael Robotham is a fiction writer from Australia, so our spine label for his books is “FIC ROBOTHAM”.  From the first moment that I saw the name and had to remember it long enough to type it correctly, the law of familiarity took over.  The law of familiarity states “things that form patterns that are familiar or meaningful are likely to be grouped together” (Goldstein 60).  The effect of this process is that my mind separates this author’s name into two more familiar words: robot and ham.

One of the interest aspects of the mind is that once this process has occurred, it’s very difficult to reverse.  Similar to the forest picture from the textbook, “…once it has entered our mind, it is hard to see things in other ways” (Goldstein 60). This is exactly what has happened to me.  I can no longer see the author as Michael Robotham.  He is now permanently Michael Robot Ham.  And it translates into my speech patterns as well.  I pronounce it as “Robot Ham” rather than “Robotham”.  Hopefully I never meet the man.

As exemplified by this situation, the mind will try to simplify the environment as a way to help us perceive it.  Sometimes, it is to our benefit – I will always be able to spell this author’s name without really having to think very hard.  Alternatively, it can serve as a hindrance – I can’t seem to see it any other way than as a compound word.  And all of this happens subconsciously without any awareness on my part.  So if you ever read this Mr. Robotham, I apologize.

Source:

Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)