5. Glossary: Cognitive Science & Learning Psychology
Adaptivity (The true "Learning Style")
The only factor that truly changes how people learn. Adaptivity describes the necessity to continuously adjust the level of support and structure (guidance) to the learner's degree of expertise and existing knowledge.
Working Memory (WM) / Workbench
The place where new knowledge is actively processed, connected, and compared. It is extremely limited and, in beginners, can only process about two to three new, unknown elements simultaneously. Long-term memory is the "residue" of what has been intensively thought through in working memory.
Attention (Spotlight)
The tool that controls which information lands in the limited working memory. The teacher's task is to precisely direct this mental spotlight onto the essentials and away from distractions.
Chunks (Information Blocks)
Meaningful structures or blocks of information that experts recognize. A chess master, for example, doesn't see individual pieces but "chunks" like "the Sicilian Defense."
Cognitive Load Theory
A theory that urges teachers to manage the learners' mental load (Cognitive Load) purposefully – neither too easy nor too hard – so that working memory can operate effectively.
Declarative Knowledge (What)
The knowledge of recognizing and naming things. For example, knowing: "That is the Sicilian Defense" or being able to identify concepts.
Dual Coding
A learning principle stating that we learn better when both processing channels of working memory – visual and auditory – are activated simultaneously. The most effective method is: simple visuals + spoken explanation.
Episodic Knowledge (Past Experiences)
A library of concrete examples and past experiences stored within a schema.
Expert Blindness
A phenomenon where experts forget what it was like to be a beginner. As a result, they massively underestimate the number of intermediate steps a novice needs and unknowingly overwhelm their students.
Expertise
Not innate genius, but the result of building a vast, highly organized network of knowledge (schemata) in long-term memory.
Expertise-Reversal Effect
The principle that teaching methods that help beginners (e.g., clear structure, worked examples) can harm or slow down advanced learners.
Fading
The process by which external guidance or structure (e.g., worked examples) is deliberately reduced or "faded out" as learners progress. This is necessary so they can begin to activate their own mental structures.
Worked Examples
A teaching method where it is shown step-by-step how a problem is solved. It radically reduces the cognitive load for beginners, as they can concentrate on understanding the structure instead of having to search for it at the same time.
Genius Myth
The false, "magical" explanation for high expertise, which assumes innate talent or "giftedness" instead of seeing the immense amount of work and knowledge-building behind it.
Generative Learning
The principle that knowledge is stored not through passive listening, but through active thinking. Learners must process, retrieve, or summarize information in their own words.
Spaced Retrieval Practice
A method for strengthening long-term memory where knowledge is not practiced all at once, but through temporally distributed retrieval (e.g., small quizzes). This effortful retrieval work strengthens neural connections.
Cognitive Load / Cognitive Overload
The mental effort that takes place in working memory. Beginners quickly experience overload when too much new information is presented at once, or when they have to simultaneously understand the structure, filter, and find a solution with disordered information.
Conditional Knowledge (When and Why)
The strategic knowledge within a schema that specifies when a strategy is appropriate and why it works in a specific context.
Long-Term Memory (LTM) / Library
The vast, nearly unlimited library where all our knowledge – facts, skills, beliefs, memories – is stored. All learning is the expansion of long-term memory.
Powerful Knowledge
The goal of good teaching: knowledge that is durable (it is retained), deep (well-organized), and accessible (applicable in practice).
Learning Styles (Theory of)
A disproven theory and myth which states that people have different learning types (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and that instruction must be adapted to them. Empirical studies showed no measurable difference in learning outcomes.
Mental Architecture
The fundamentally different mental structure with which experts from different disciplines work – e.g., the schemata of a classical musician vs. those of a jazz musician.
Mental Map
A metaphor for long-term memory – the internal map with which we interpret and navigate the world.
Procedural Knowledge (How)
Knowledge in action – the ability to perform actions and apply skills. For example, not just knowing what the Sicilian Defense is, but also how it is played.
Scaffolding
A supportive framework (e.g., prompts, partial steps) that teachers provide to manage cognitive load. This framework is gradually dismantled as learners become more confident.
Schemata / Mental Representations
Compressed information packets or mental structures in long-term memory that organize all our knowledge about a concept. They allow experts to act with lightning speed and precision. They connect declarative, procedural, conditional, and episodic knowledge.
Perceptual Categories
Structures that allow experts (unlike beginners) to immediately recognize patterns and automatically structure information into meaningful units.
Knowledge Architect
The role of the teacher, which goes beyond mere information delivery. A knowledge architect designs learning journeys and applies principles of cognitive science to help learners build powerful schemata.