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Cognitivism

Basic Assumptions of Cognitivism Include:

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  1. Some learning processes are unique to human beings, complex language is an example. 

  2. Learning involves the formation of mental representations or associations that are not necessarily reflected in overt behavior changes. Learning involves an internal, mental change rather than the external behavior change.

  3. People are actively involved in the learning process rather than being passive victims of environmental conditions.

  4. Knowledge is organized and stored in schema.

  5. The focus of scientific inquiry must be on objective, systematic observations of people's behaviors, but behaviors often allow reasonable inferences about unobservable mental processes.

  6. Learning is a process of relating new information to previously learned information. 

  7. Cognitive processes are the focus of study

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"Principles and Assumptions of Cognitivism". Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/2012ide621disun/cognitivism/1-3-principles-and-assumptions-of-cognitivism

More about my

personal learning experiences

Argentine Tango and Cognitive Load

June 30, 2018

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This video is part of a Howcast channel series called “How to Do the Argentine Tango.”  It is a collection of 47 videos that demonstrate how to do many of the popular figures in Argentine Tango. The instructors are Diego Blanco and Ana Padron, two very accomplished tango dancers.  I enjoy their videos and have learned much watching them through my 4-years-so-far tango journey (as a follower.  I'm still too chicken to try leading.  I suppose that could be a personal Zone of Proximal Development project... maybe if I worked on my sense of self-efficacy I'll get there sooner rather than later ;-)). 

 

I wanted to use this video for this week’s discussion because it does many things well in terms of reducing cognitive load.  I also think I might be able to make a couple of recommendations that could reduce the cognitive load even more, helping the viewer to grasp the concepts faster.

 

To make my comments easier to track as they relate to cognitive load principles, I decided to use Table 3 (Load-Reduction Methods for Five Overload Scenarios in Multimedia Instruction) from Mayer and Moreno’s paper Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning as a jumping off point and then add my comments about the video as the last column.

<gasps> The Argentinean Tango?!  That's the most complicated dance 
in the world.  People have gone mad trying to learn it."

 

-Hector Elizondo as Ed Alzate.  Boyd will be Boyd [Television series episode]. (2016, October 14).  In Last Man Standing.

You can also view the document as a PDF.  

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Diego and Ana's videos are fun to watch, and they break down the steps in Argentine Tango figures well.  The Argentine Tango is an amazing social dance, and I look forward to learning from these videos not just as a follower, but also as a leader in the future. 

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About Howcast: Howcast empowers people with engaging, useful how-to information wherever, whenever they need to know how. Howcast uses innovative technologies and rapid production techniques to create very high volumes of low-cost, high-quality, “how-to” videos for multi-platform distribution. From Cake Decorating, to Hip Hop Dance Moves to Guitar Lessons, Howcast streams tens of millions of videos every month across its distribution network. Launched in 2008, Howcast is led by a senior management team with backgrounds in traditional and new media, including alumni of Google, YouTube, and Yahoo!.  www.howcast.com

 

About the Dancers:  Diego Blanco and Ana Padron

Award-winning Argentine Tango dancers Diego Blanco and Ana Padron are one of the top performing couples in the world today. Diego and Ana command a wide range of dance disciplines from which they tap inspiration for their improvisation and choreography. They founded their dance company, Tango for All, to bring this electrifying dance to audiences in America and throughout the world. Diego and Ana have toured throughout the United States, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia. They have performed in numerous off-Broadway shows and have danced and done choreography for an independent film. In Kuala Lumpur they were honored with an award for their “dedication to Argentine Tango as a form of expression through dance and for expanding knowledge of the dance through teaching.” They are now based in New York City, where they teach experienced dancers and newcomers alike.

 

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References:

How do my experiences relate to the learning theories discussed in the course?

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