Introduction
Additional insight on the topics of memory, knowledge, and language has to be attained to ensure that learners get a better look at how they should memorize different information and engage in repetition activities. Moreover, the majority of events related to memory, knowledge, and language acquisition are not intuitive (Reagh & Ranganath, 2018). This means that learners and educators are responsible for finding ways to deploy repetition strategies and enhance the digestion of information. All three concepts are essential for learning because they create the basis for links between different areas of knowledge while requiring the learner to remember and communicate ideas. Learning designs play a crucial role in establishing a powerful environment for students because memory, knowledge, and language always go hand in hand.
Memory Models and Processes
Three essential theories can explain memory as a cognitive ability in learners. The first is the theory of the general memory process where certain information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when necessary. All the information is coded uniquely to have learners recognize specific patterns and remember certain information (Patihis et al., 2021). The information-processing theory recognizes the steps that have to be taken to emphasize findings and make learners remember consequent bits of information. Ultimately, the theory of levels of processing suggests that the depth of one’s information processing ability reflects their remembering capability. In a sense, deeper processing of information would lead to remembering that data cluster for a longer period.
Theory and Application
One of the best models that have to be discussed concerning memory processes is media multitasking. It benefits the application of relevant interventions in psychology due to improved performance and a significant amount of effort required from human working memory (Patihis et al., 2021). Even though this approach should not be expected to make all students more productive on a long-term scale, it could provide learners with an opportunity to look at their activities from a different angle. For example, the use of smartphones and other technologies became a crucial contributor to the complexity of modern classrooms. Nowadays, students engage in multitasking to communicate with a variety of sources of distraction that help them learn new information despite being focused on more than one simultaneous task. Teachers have to exploit this cognitive ability to communicate with learners while their attention span is aimed at studies in the first place. In line with the code of ethics provided by the American Psychological Association (n.d.), education and training programs will have to be designed in line with models that appeal to learners.
Knowledge Representation, Organization, and Manipulation
Cognitive psychology heavily depends on knowledge representation, organization, and manipulation because one’s intelligence requires a definite approach to behaviors within the given human system. In other words, applicable knowledge is directly related to intelligent behavior and vice versa (Behrens et al., 2018). Learners have to distinguish between different stages of interacting with knowledge because it would have them develop a much more predictable learning style. This is an advantage that can be exploited by both learners and teachers since there is also a gap between knowing “how” and knowing “that.” On a long-term scale, factual and procedural knowledge both have to be considered when developing a learning strategy and ensuring that all activities will be finalized in time, with knowledge being acquired as well.
When it comes to logical systems, their application can be linked to knowledge representation through the interface of predicates and propositions. This means that there will be certain statements intended to help learners distinguish between true and false (Behrens et al., 2018). Complex learning structures are going to require students to engage with compound statements that cannot be reflected without equivalents, implications, or connectives (e.g., NOT, AND, OR). With the production rule system, knowledge representation, organization, and manipulation are completely different because there is going to be a set of rules for the interpreter (learner) to check new knowledge against and memorize it. In this case, the rule of “If…then…” is applied to set up inference chains and explain the connections between certain elements of one’s knowledge. American Psychological Association (n.d.) suggests that assessing student knowledge should remain unbiased and comprehensive at all times.
Language Acquisition and Competency
Language acquisition and competency represent a specific learning curve that has to be respected if the given educator expects learners to acquire knowledge with no complex obstacles in the way. This means that comprehension and perception go hand in hand with language acquisition since words and sentences have to be recognized and utilized by learners to convey information (Mercer & Kostoulas, 2018). Even though the concept of language acquisition is mostly associated with the first language, developmental milestones can be achieved for any other language as well. Even so, the importance of fundamental language skills cannot be ignored since grammar and syntax are just as significant as thought expression and phonemic groups. Therefore, language acquisition and competency stand for a complex learning process where mental pathways and associations are established to aid learners in terms of speaking and understanding certain languages.
Three particular strategies can underline the importance of language acquisition and competency within the field of psychology. The first is the eclectic approach, where an educator would be responsible for helping students focus on certain objectives and follow the dynamics of the given classroom. On a long-term scale, this would help learners benefit from audio-visual and play-way teaching methods (Pawlak, 2021). Suggestopedia represents another way of coping with the complexity of language acquisition. It was primarily designed to drive unconscious responses in learners to external stimuli (Pawlak, 2021). Thus, the principle is that every learner contains a hidden potential that can be realized in the case where the student is happy and relaxed during learning sessions. The ultimate method of applying a language acquisition strategy is to resort to the total physical response. The existing evidence suggests that learners will be able to connect their memory to different activities and prioritize them depending on their educational needs (Pawlak, 2021). According to American Psychological Association (n.d.), the principle of accuracy in teaching could be applied here to ensure that pedagogical necessities are not altered unless learners require it. The meaning of the target language is conveyed through actions.
Conclusion
The primary conclusion that has to be made when discussing the roles of memory, knowledge, and language within the framework of cognitive psychology is that possessing these capabilities should never be equal to applying them to real-life situations. Because of this, many potentially successful learners tend to slow down halfway to proper knowledge acquisition because they do not receive enough guidance from educators. Accordingly, teachers’ instructions have to be declarative and flexible to allow for changes applied to learning plans throughout deploying a learning program. On a long-term scale, memory, knowledge, and language have to be processed in batches due to the inherent interconnectedness between these fundamental concepts reflecting the cognitive psychology of human development.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Web.
Behrens, T. E., Muller, T. H., Whittington, J. C., Mark, S., Baram, A. B., Stachenfeld, K. L., & Kurth-Nelson, Z. (2018). What is a cognitive map? Organizing knowledge for flexible behavior. Neuron, 100(2), 490-509. Web.
Mercer, S., & Kostoulas, A. (2018). Language teacher psychology. Bristol.
Patihis, L., Ho, L. Y., Loftus, E. F., & Herrera, M. E. (2021). Memory experts’ beliefs about repressed memory. Memory, 29(6), 823-828. Web.
Pawlak, M. (2021). Psychology of learning versus acquisition. In The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 406-418). Routledge.
Reagh, Z. M., & Ranganath, C. (2018). What does the functional organization of cortico-hippocampal networks tell us about the functional organization of memory? Neuroscience Letters, 680, 69-76. Web.