UNIT 3 COGNITIVISM LEARNING THEORY
C. Learning Theory by David Ausubel (1918-2008)
influence on children's cognitive development. Bruner's thinking (Collin, 2012) which is described as follows:
Figure: Bruner’s thinking
is a function of the cognitive structure that students already have.
The earliest to put forward this conception was Ausubel.
It is said that knowledge is organized in one's memory in a hierarchical structure. This means that knowledge that is more general, inclusive, and abstract leads to knowledge that is more specific and concrete. Likewise, knowledge that is more general and abstract, which is obtained first by someone, will be able to facilitate the acquisition of new, more detailed knowledge. His idea of how to sort subject matter from general to specific, from whole to detail which is often referred to as subsumptive sequence makes learning more meaningful for students.
Advance organizers which were also developed by Ausubel are the application of the conception of cognitive structure in designing learning. The use of advance organizers as a content framework will be able to improve students' ability to learn new information, because it is a framework in the form of abstractions or summaries of the basic concepts of what is learned, and its relationship to the material that already exists in the student's cognitive structure. If arranged properly, advance organizers will make it easier for students to learn new subject matter, as well as its relationship with the material they have learned.
Based on the conception of cognitive organization as proposed by Ausubel, cognitive theorists developed a more explicit model called schemata. As an organizational structure, schemata serve to integrate separate elements of knowledge, or as a place to link new knowledge. Or it can be said that the schemata has a dual function, namely:
1. As a schema that describes or represents an organization
knowledge. Someone who is an expert in a particular field will be described in his schemata.
2. As a framework or place to link or attach new knowledge.
Schemata have assimilative functions. This means that schemata function to assimilate new knowledge into the knowledge hierarchy, which is progressively more detailed and specific in one's cognitive
structure. This is the most basic learning process, namely assimilating new knowledge into schemata that are arranged hierarchically. The cognitive structure of the individual is the main factor that affects the meaningfulness of the acquisition of new knowledge. In other words, the schemata that a person already has become the main determinant of what knowledge that person will learn. Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts to organize the content or subject matter as well as structuring learning conditions in order to facilitate the process of assimilation of new knowledge into the cognitive structure of the learner.
Based on the above conception, Mayer (in Degeng, 1993) uses assimilative ordering to organize learning, starting by presenting very general and inclusive information to specific and specific information. Presentation of information at a general level can serve as a content framework for more detailed information.
Reigeluth and Stein (1983) say that schemata can be modified by new knowledge in such a way as to produce new meanings. Anderson (1980) and Tennyson (1989) say that the knowledge that has been owned by the individual then serves as the knowledge base for each individual. The greater the amount of knowledge base a person has, the greater the chance he has to choose. Likewise, the better the way in which knowledge is organized within the knowledge base, the easier it is for that knowledge to be traced and retrieved when needed.
This basic conception of cognitive structure is the theoretical basis for developing learning theories. A few thoughts to the direction of structuring the content of the field of study or subject matter as a strategy for organizing learning content based on cognitive theory, is briefly stated as follows (Degeng, 1989).
1. Learning hierarchy.
Gagne emphasizes his study on the aspect of structuring the order of subject matter by bringing up the idea of learning prerequisites, which are outlined in a content structure called the learning
hierarchy. The linkages between the parts of the field of study as outlined in the form of learning prerequisites mean that certain knowledge must be mastered before other knowledge can be learned.
2. Task analysis.
Another method used to show the relevance of the content of the field of study is the information-processing approach to task analysis. This type of procedural relationship describes the order in which learning tasks are performed. The procedural relationship shows that a person can learn the last step of a procedure the first time, but in performance he cannot start from the last step.
3. Subsumptive sequences.
Ausubel put forward his ideas on how to make a sequence of teaching content that can make teaching more meaningful for those who learn. It uses general to detailed sequences or subsumptive sequences as the main strategy for organizing teaching. Learning gains and retention can be increased when new knowledge is assimilated with existing knowledge.
4. Spiral curriculum.
The idea of a spiral curriculum proposed by Bruner is carried out by sequencing teaching. The teaching sequence begins with teaching the content of the teaching in general, then periodically returns to teach the same content with a more detailed scope.
5. Schematic Theory.
Schema theory also uses a general to detailed order. This theory views
that the learning process is the acquisition of new knowledge in a person by linking it with existing cognitive structures. Learning outcomes as a result of organizing a new cognitive structure, is an integration between the old knowledge with the new. This new cognitive structure will later become an assimilative schema in the next learning process.
6. Webteaching.
Webteaching proposed by Norman, is a procedure for arranging the order of the contents of the field of study developed by showing the importance of the role of the knowledge structure that a person has, and the structure of the content of the field of study to be studied. New knowledge that will be learned gradually must be integrated with the existing knowledge structure.
7. Elaboration Theory.
Elaboration theory integrates a number of existing knowledge of lesson content structuring strategies, to create a comprehensive model of how to organize teaching at the macro level. This theory describes how to organize the content of the field of study by following a general to detailed sequence, starting with presenting the epitome (the structure of the content of the field of study being studied), then elaborating the parts contained in the epitome in more detail.
D. Application of Cognitive Theory in Learning Activities