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Published Sep 6, 2022

The Ultimate Guide to Cognition | Barbra Tversky

Renowned psychologist Barbara Tversky delves into the foundations of thought through spatial thinking and cognitive collages, while unpacking the nine laws of cognition to enhance learning and decision-making. By exploring the benefits of visual aids and perspective-taking, Tversky provides transformative insights into how our minds perceive and interact with the world, boosting creativity and educational outcomes.
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  • Visual Aids

    Visual aids significantly enhance understanding and retention of complex information. explains that creating visual explanations helps consolidate information better than verbal explanations, as they provide a platform for inference and a check for coherence and completeness 1. She also notes that well-crafted diagrams can convey conceptual information more succinctly than language, allowing for numerous inferences that would be cumbersome to describe verbally 2.

    Well-crafted diagrams are superior to language for explaining many kinds of information more directly and succinctly.

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    This makes diagrams particularly useful in educational settings, where they can help students grasp and retain material more effectively.

       

    Experiential Learning

    Learning through direct experiences is crucial for effective education. emphasizes that while much of our education is vicarious, creating concrete experiences through labs or field trips enhances learning 3. adds that reflection on these experiences is vital, as it helps distill information into salient points and relationships 4.

    We don't learn from experience; we learn through reflection.

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    This reflective process is essential for transferring knowledge to new situations, making experiential learning a powerful educational tool.

       

    Teaching on Zoom

    Teaching and learning through digital platforms like Zoom present unique challenges and advantages. notes that while Zoom lacks the nuances of in-person communication, it democratizes the classroom by giving all students equal visibility 5. She also highlights the importance of a shared visual space for effective collaboration and communication, which is often missing in virtual settings 6.

    The need for gestures and a shared workspace is something that designers of these media should address.

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    Despite these challenges, Zoom can facilitate more interaction among students and provide useful tools like transcription to aid understanding.

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