Cognitive Learning Theory, Teaching, and Special Olympics

This week I have been thinking of Cognitive Learning in many different ways/forms. I currently am the Local Program Coordinator for my area Special Olympics. We are at State Games this week! IT IS AWESOME! I could go on forever about how amazing Special Olympics is, but, that is off topic!

Relating back to Cognitive Learning Theory  (CLT , for short):

When I teach Special Education (SpEd) or coach Special Olympics (S.O.) I use many components of CLT. According to Dr. Orey (Laureate Education, 2010a) the CLT components are:

·         Limited short term memory/working memory

·         Elaborations

·         Dual coding hypothesis

·         Network model of memory

Each of these components play a part in teaching and coaching. Let me briefly explain how I use each.

Limited short term memory/working memory- I teach in short bursts of small instruction. I give no more than three instructions/directions at a time. For some of my students three is much too many. I give one direction, wait until it is completed, then give another one.  In SpEd and S.O. students struggle when processing information, it takes them longer to take in the information. Teaching only one instruction at a time is extremely helpful.

Elaborations – This is the trickiest part of my job. How do I make the short term turn into long term? I try to use an episodic approach. I want students to relate to the information and be able to recall it. If we are leaning about dogs  I want students to think of their own dog. This in turn will help them remember information from the lesson.  

In S.O. Athletes have a lot of fun! During practice they may not want to work as hard as they can. I am able to say, “Remember when you won the gold medal last year? Do you remember how you felt? That is why we practice hard. We want to get another gold medal.” I am drawing on other memories to help students and Athletes make a connection to the lesson.

Dual coding hypothesis – In teaching I do this all the time. I love having a SMARTboard in my classroom. During a lesson I try to find something else that relates to the lesson.  I will bring up pictures and videos every chance I get. Students will not only read or hear about the topic, they will be seeing a picture to help them remember the lesson.

I also like to use physical objects as much as possible. In the beginning of the year I taught a lesson about beaches. I brought in coconuts to help students understand the lesson more in-depth. It was a success! Nine months later my students are still talking about beaches, islands, and coconuts.

In S.O. I might be teaching a running event. I want the Athletes to use proper form. Most of them do not know what this is, I have to teach it. I use a jump rope around the waste, stand in front of the Athlete and have them “pull” on the jump rope as the walk. They are now practicing correct movement with their whole body while walking. This walk will turn into a run. Students are using more than one multiple intelligence to learn how to run. They are seeing, feeling, hearing, vocalizing, and internalizing what is happening. They are dual coding while learning how to run in correct form.

Network model of memory-  In teaching I try to use connections to other events in order to help students remember the topic. I listed some examples above. How things are connected helps students move ideas from short term memory to long term memory.  Like we have discussed in the past discussions and posts, everyone’s brain works differently, sometimes the wires are connected in a logical order, other times they are not. Each student learns differently and as teachers, we need to find ways to help students connect to the information.

When I am working with S.O. Athletes I also try to use memories to help Athletes be more successful. I have been the coach of this team for five years. I have records of each competition. I know how fast they ran, how far they threw and the score of the game. I keep them from year to year. Athletes and parents alike like to see the progression from year to year. Just today I had an Athlete who threw SEVEN meters farther this year than last year! That is amazing. Her health is better this year and she worked harder. She wanted to improve. As I stated above I talk to my Athletes about why they practice and what it means to them. This helps get the memories from short term to long term.

Thank you for taking time to read my blog. I appreciate you following my work.

How do you relate cognitive learning theory to your classroom? Your teaching? Your home life? Your coaching?

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). [Webcast]. Cognitive learning theories.

                Baltimore: Laureate Media.

http://www.specialolympics.org/coach_resources.aspx

Just something to check out this week, for Montana State Special Olympics – THIS WEEK!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/specialolympicsmontana

www.somt.org

http://cmrareaso.blogspot.com/

http://prudyjotechsped.blogspot.com/p/special-olympics-information.html