7. Schema Theory.pptx psychology in education

7. Schema Theory.pptx

1. SCHEMA THEORY Schema theory is a branch of cognitive science concerned with how the brain structures knowledge. Schema theory states that all knowledge is organized into units and within these units of knowledge or schemata, is stored information.

2. In Piaget's theory, a schema is both the category of knowledge as well as the process of acquiring that knowledge. He believed that people are constantly adapting to the environment as they take in new information and learn new things. As experiences happen and new information is presented, new schemas are developed and old schemas are changed or modified. Schemas are something that all people possess and continue to form and change throughout life

3. Scheme This is an organized pattern of thought or action that one constructs to interpret some aspect of one’s experience. In Piaget’s theory, schemes are actions or mental representations that organize knowledge. It is based on past experience and is accessed to guide current understanding or action Schemes are unobservable mental systems that underlie intelligence. They are representations of reality.

4. As the infant or child seeks to construct an understanding of the world, the developing brain creates schemes. For Piaget, cognitive development is the development of schemes, or structures For example , a baby’s schemes are structured by simple actions that can be performed on objects such as sucking, looking, and grasping. Older children have schemes that include strategies and plans for solving problems.

5. Schemas are dynamic – they develop and change based on new information and experiences and thereby support the notion of plasticity in development. Schemas guide how we interpret new information and may be quite powerful in their influence Schemas store both declarative (“what”) and procedural (“how”) information. declarative knowledge is knowing facts, knowing that something is the case procedural knowledge is knowing how to do something – perhaps with no conscious ability to describe how it is done

6. Types of schemas Object schemas These focus on what an inanimate object is and how it works. For example, a schema for what a car is. Your overall schema for a car might include subcategories for different types of automobiles such as a compact car, sedan, or sports car.

7. Person schemas Are focused on specific individuals. For example, your schema for your friend might include information about her appearance, her behaviors, her personality, and her preferences.

8. Social schemas Include general knowledge about how people behave in certain social situations E.g. the schema of the life at The University of Malawi might be different from other social settings

9. Self-schemas These are focused on your knowledge about yourself. This can include both what you know about your current self as well as ideas about your idealized or future self.

10. Event schemas These are focused on patterns of behavior that should be followed for certain events. This acts much like a script informing you of what you should do, how you should act, and what you should say in a particular situation

11. How do schemas change? The processes through which schemas are adjusted or changed are known as assimilation and accommodation Schemas tend to be easier to change during childhood but can become increasingly rigid and difficult to modify as people grow older. Schemas will often persist even when people are presented with evidence that contradicts their beliefs

12. Organization This is a Piaget’s concept of grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order, more smoothly functioning cognitive system. To make sense out of their world, children cognitively organize their experiences. Example, A boy who has only a vague idea about how to use a hammer may also have a vague idea about how to use other tools. After learning how to use each one, he relates these uses, organizing his knowledge. The goal of organization is to promote adaptation.

13. Adaptation This an inborn tendency to adjust to the demands of the environment. Adaptation occurs through two complementary activities: assimilation and accommodation.

14. Assimilation This is the process by which children try to interpret new experiences in terms of their existing models of the world, the schemes they already possess. This is a Piagetian concept of using existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences.

15. Example 1: A young child who sees a horse for the first time may try to assimilate it into one of her existing schemes for four-legged animals and thus may think of this creature as a “doggie.” In other words, the child is trying to adapt to this novel stimulus by interpreting it as some-thing familiar. Example 2: A child knows that everything that moves is alive, and says that the sun is alive since it moves from east to west

16. Accommodation This is a Piagetian concept of adjusting schemes to fit new information and experiences into account. Example: If the child who recognizes that a horse is not a dog may invent a name for this new creature or perhaps say “What dat ?” and adopt the label that her companions use. In so doing, she has modified (accommodated) her scheme for four-legged animals to include a new category of experience— horses

17. Disequilibrium This is the imbalance or contradiction between one’s thought processes and environmental events . In trying to understand the world, the child experiences cognitive conflict , or disequilibrium. i.e , the child is constantly faced with counter examples to his or her existing schemes and with inconsistencies.

18. Examples; a child had a scheme that all moving objects are alive , and later comes into senses that some moving objects cannot be alive like the sun. if a child believes that pouring water from a short and wide container into a tall and narrow container changes the amount of water, then the child might be puzzled by where the “extra” water came from.

19. Equilibration Is a Piaget’s concept of grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order, more smoothly functioning cognitive system. This is when there is a balanced and harmonious relationship between one’s cognitive structures and the environment It is a mechanism that explains how children shift from one stage of thought to the next.

20. Application 1. Schema theory reinforces the importance of prior knowledge to learning and the use of tools such as advance organizers and memory aids to bridge new knowledge to older knowledge stored in schema 2. Schemas influence what we pay attention to . People are more likely to pay attention to things that fit in with their current schemas 3. Schemas also impact how quickly people learn . People learn information more readily when it fits in with the existing schemas.

21. 4. Schemas help simplify the world . Schemas can often make it easier for people to learn about the world around them. New information could be classified and categorized by comparing new experiences to existing schemas 5. Schemas allow us to think quickly . Even under conditions when things are rapidly changing our new information is coming in quickly, people do not usually have to spend a great deal of time interpreting it. Because of the existing schemas, people are able to assimilate this new information quickly and automatically.

22. Note: Schemas can change how we interpret incoming information . When learning new information that does not fit with existing schemas, people sometimes distort or alter the new information to make it fit with what they already know. Schemas can also be remarkably difficult to change. People often cling to their existing schemas even in the face of contradictory information.

23. Challenges presented by schemas While we use of schemas to learn, sometimes an existing schema can hinder the learning of new information. a. Can cause prejudice Some schemas prevents people from seeing the world as it is and inhibits them from taking in new information.

24. For example; by holding to certain beliefs about a particular group of people, this existing schema may cause people to interpret situations incorrectly. When an event happens that challenges these existing beliefs, people may come up with alternative explanations that uphold and support their existing schema instead of adapting or changing their beliefs.

25. b. Resistance to Change E.g. everyone has a schema for what is considered masculine and feminine in their culture. Such schemas can also lead to stereotypes about how we expect men and women to behave and the roles we expect them to fill. If a child grew with a scheme that men fix cars and women wash dishes, then, when the child sees a woman fixing a car, she might represent her as a man. If asked later in the day (what did you see?) she will respond by saying “I saw a man fixing a car”

26. Thank you!! Matthews Kamzgezge Nyirenda