A Beautifully Complex Mind
I find it really amazing to reflect and contemplate on the thought that the human mind is like the ocean — you can see its surface but there is so much underneath! In one’s most relaxed mental condition, his mind still works but relatively calm. But for somebody like me who’s been trapped in the cycle of work and studies, it can be truly challenging to keep my thoughts clear. However, I still find it interesting that despite the influx of thoughts, things to do, and priorities, I still can remember what I need to do and try to catch up at a rather moderate pace. It is truly challenging to juggle many thoughts, but the brain is such a wonder such as that it can store, retrieve, and interpret a lot of things!
Could I just stop and say how I am in awe of God? If there’s no Supreme Being who created all these wonders especially the human mind, as some argue, then all these things we see and feel and learn are all in vain. It’s just impossible not to recognize this truth.
I have been writing journal reflections about my learnings from the past four modules. However, as I share my thoughts in this journal entry, my thoughts are halted by such appreciation for the Supreme Being who designed the human mind so wonderfully that it can even create a tool or device that would shape industries and technologies for a period in human history for its ability to store data — the hard drive! Yet the device itself is just a microcosm or petty representation of the human mind. The latter is able to store, register, transfer, retrieve, and interpret memories.
Photo source -- Science Direct
The human mind has been studied for thousands of years, yet educational psychology has somehow contributed some interesting theory that can explain cognitive development. According to information processing theory, a model for mental development, “the mind's machinery includes attention mechanisms for bringing information in, working memory for actively manipulating information, and long-term memory for passively holding information so that it can be used in the future.” ( Psychology, Sixth Edition, Worth Publishers, 2010) The IPT delves into the development of the child’s mind and its ability to process and respond to the information they have received through senses. Meanwhile, Atkinson-Shiffrin’s multi-store model describes memory to consist of three stores: the sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). What’s really interesting here is that, as McLeod, 2017, analyzed, “each of the memory stores differs in the way information is processed (encoding), how much information can be stored (capacity), and for how long (duration).” This is such an amazing fact — the information passes from one to another in a linear way, an information processing model, with an input, process, and output!
Now, while I don’t have any reservation about what the human brain can attain, I adhere to the idea that it certainly has limitations. The thought of mental shutdown is quite known even in casual non-academic discussions or conversations. When you are exhausted mentally, your mind doesn’t seem to work well, right?
I recall the tag “information overload” which is quite rampant not just in schools but in many spheres of society. We are bombarded with a lot of information, options, choices, decisions to make every single day that our generation seems to feel more exhausted than our predecessors. This is quite a paradox because there are a lot of technological advances that could have made it easier for us to store information, encode, analyze, and interpret all these information. Think AI or chatbot. That itself may either be a boon or bane in educational circles.
Although I can go on and integrate my thoughts on other cognitive theories of learning, I choose to focus on the most essential, otherwise I myself would be a victim of information overload. As an educator, I keep in mind that as much knowledge I wish to impart to students, the best way to support them is to facilitate learning. I believe that educational strategies can also take significant points from the simplest feature of the multi-store model — it works in a linear manner. We input the information in the form of lessons, students process it with the support and guidance of teachers, and expect students to come up with outputs. Surely, some educators would disagree citing the notion that children are able to accomplish multi-faceted aspects of learning. True, it may be possible, but it compromises the learning experience! Instead of learning, students just study for the sake of churning out papers and satisfy all the requirements. This defeats the purpose of education — to nurture!
Many teachers may have the best intentions in mind when they present a long outline of topics and activities to cover in a course or curriculum. However, it would also be to the best interest of the teacher and students to stick to the most essential and keep the format as simple as possible. Just stick to the most essential.
Finally, ATTENTION! In this module too, I learned 4 types of attention and how they are evident in various learning situations.
We apply selective attention when we focus on our priorities and ignore distractions. In actual learning situations, this is apparent when students are still able to focus despite noises around them. Here, learning is enhanced.
We practiced sustained attention when we are able to focus on time-consuming tasks without being distracted. This is evident when students prepare for an examination or listen to a teacher's lecture. Here, learning is enhanced.
We give divided attention when we focus on two or more things at the same time. This is also called multitasking. This is practiced when students watch a Youtube video for their English homework while working on a quantitative problem for their Maths homework. In this case, situation is impaired. As a possible remedy, learner will have to prioritize what is important and manage their time accordingly.
We have alternating attention when we switch between multiple tasks or activities but NOT EXACTLY simultaneously. Even when you switch your attention among various tasks, you keep yourself focused on the task at hand. This is reflected when students listen to a teacher's instructions while following them at the same time, making sense of what they hear from the teacher. This is not necessarily disadvantageous. In fact, to me, it's a sign of dexterity and ability to manage tasks in an organized manner.
References
Mastin, L. 2019. The human memory. [accessed Jun 10 2019]. http://www.human-memory.net/index.html
McLeod, S. (2017). Multi-store model of memory. https://www.simplypsychology.org/multi-store.html
McLeod, S. (2013). Stages of Memory: Encoding, Storage and Retrieval https://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html
McLeod, S. (2015). Cognitive psychology.
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