Learning as Informational Processors: Legacies and Limitations of Educational Psychology’s Second Metaphor

The article “Learning as Informational Processors: Legacies and Limitations of Educational Psychology’s Second Metaphor,” evolved from the concept of humans ability to make meaning of information.  The roots of this concept is in the constructivist believe that humans are knowledge constructors. Teachers are cognitive guides for academic tasks and learner are sense makers (Mayer, 1996).  Information processing psychology believes that humans are information processors or that man is a machine. The field view that the mind can be analyze into mental processes and mental representation and that any cognitive task can be analyze into a series of information-processing stages.  Third learning involves the acquisition of knowledge.  There are three themes discussed here by Mayer; the mind as an information-processing system, cognition as applying cognitive processes, learning as the acquisition of mental representations.  (Mayer, 1996).  It is interesting that Mayer points out that the description of man as a human-computer took twenty years to make the connection of cognitive learning.  Man is a biological, emotional and social being, all of which affect how we learn or process information.  I wonder if this literal definition of man as computer, dose more to reduce the credibility of the field of cognitive learning. 

The article however does point out that by combining constructivism with learning processing it provide the field of psychology with the means to take a scientific path.  There is empirical data that supports the field.  The problem however as the article points out is the political ramification.  The article argues that the politics reject the science behind the learning.(Mayer, 1996)  The field of learning is heading more toward the position of popular belief. Hey maybe learning styles may want to look at joining this field.

Mayer, R. (1996). Learning as Informational Processors: Legacies and Limitations of Educational Psychology’s Second Metaphor Educational Psychology, 31, 151-161.