Prof.

Rubí Torres

COGNITIVE VARIABLES OF LEARNING

Just as there are different ways to learn, there are also different ways to teach, which
they are nothing more than a reflection of the ways in which the teacher conceives learning. On the topic
literature has developed various learning theories of which this work
It will focus solely on the behaviorist theory of John B. Watson and Burrhus Frederick Skinner.
the psychogenetic theory of Jean Piaget, the sociocultural theory of Lev Semionovich Vygotsky and the
the theory of meaningful learning by David Ausubel, analyzing how each of them conceives it
learning, the role of the teacher, the role of the student and what its essential element is.

In that sense, I will say that for behaviorism, learning is a change in behavior or
behavior (seeing, thinking, acting, etc.). Where the teacher is the director of learning of
student, is the protagonist of the process. The student is a passive receptive entity, allow me to
Expressive slide, it is an empty container to fill, as the teacher knows everything goes
dispatching knowledge. The essence of learning lies in the external environment that
it fosters the stimulus-response relationship, because all behavior (of the student), no matter how complex
which can vary with new forms of stimulation so that when they bring the
expected responses, due to the positive consequences they generate in the learner, a stimulus
reinforcement increases the likelihood that a similar stimulus will trigger the behavior that
was reinforced.

For psychogenetic theory, learning is an internal cognitive process (processing of

the information). Where the teacher is a spectator and supporter (facilitator) of learning,
and the student actively works in the construction of knowledge. The essence of learning
is based on the stimulation and development of the student (intelligence).

For sociocultural theory, learning is a process of social construction (the relationship

among the subjects allows us to learn to eat, speak, dress, etc.). In which the teacher is
mediator in the student-student relationship and between them and other groups to rescue conceptions.
The student has different roles, one historical in that their performance is delimited by a
a specific time and place, one social that roots him to a group, school, society, and country, and
a cultural one that makes it appropriate to customs and traditions of its surroundings and is changing
those places as it develops. The essence of learning consists of the
social interaction student-student, student-teacher, where the other or others contribute to the
development of one and vice versa, so that the others play an important role in the
the enhancement of our human capabilities with which we learn to be people and to
human being.

Finally, for the theory of meaningful learning, learning is a process of

construction of meanings. Where the teacher is a designer of strategies and in their development
consider the student's way of being. And the learner is a subject who seeks meaning (significance)
to what we learn (Why do we learn? What do we learn for? What is the meaning of what
 Prof. Rubí Torres

we learn?), is always interested in going beyond mere acquisition of knowledge

In metacognition. Learning for life is the essence of learning.

It should be noted that the primary objective of educational psychology is learning.

It is appropriate to refer to the circumstances (variables) that, to a greater or lesser extent, condition
the learning process, either favoring or hindering it, and that this discipline calls
factors of learning.

Neurophysiological factors depend on the proper functionality of the brain and its structures.
(temporal lobe, striatum, neocortex, amygdalae, cerebellum and reflex pathways), that
they intervene in memory systems (declarative or explicit and non-declarative or implicit).
For a learning process to occur, the functioning of a system is required.
memory that allows storing information that will be recalled in future situations.

Memory is the capacity to retain experiences and information. It allows for repetition,
to remember and retain what has been learned, in relation to interest, attention, and adequacy
brain operation. The process consists of three phases: Encoding: It is to perceive,
classify and select the information. Storage: It is to store the information for
use it later. Retrieval: It is bringing to consciousness the stored information for
use it.

One of the main factors that condition learning is the motivation with which it is done.
is faced. Motivation is what drives the learner to tackle their work with more or less
interest and effort. Interest in learning can be acquired or increased depending on the
meaning that it has for the student to learn what is proposed to him and depends on the types of
the most important goals and objectives for him, or external factors such as cost, in terms
of time and effort, which will be required to achieve the pursued learning, the encouragement of the
teachers or peer support. Knowing such factors and their effects, the teacher can
work on how and where to motivate according to the learner, emphasizing what is important to them
it sparks and motivates him to learn.

Emotions are sudden, intense affective reactions (of a biological and cognitive nature).
transitory accompanied by evident physical changes and that occur in response to a
emergency or surprise situation of great intensity, response that can reach
to control oneself as a result of emotional education, that is, to control behavior that
It manifests in the student (as a result of their decision) not the emotion because it is involuntary.
It is positive when associated with pleasurable feelings (beneficial situation) like the
love and happiness; negative when accompanied by unpleasant feelings
(threatening situation) such as fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, disgust, etc., and the neutral ones.
when they are not accompanied by any feelings such as hope, surprise, etc. The
Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to monitor their emotions and
 Profra. Rubí Torres

own feelings, like those of others, discriminating or using the information to

guide their actions and thoughts. The teacher must have clear and positive emotions to
motivate the student, because emotional life has an impact on them, it infects them. Being
attentive to what the student feels and thinks, understanding that emotion and cognition are a whole
dialectical.

The multiple intelligences theory holds that intelligence presents itself in more than one aspect.
recognizing that students learn in different ways and have different
cognitive potentials developing their talents in very diverse ways (Logical-
Mathematics used to solve logic and math problems. It is the intelligence that
they have the scientists. It corresponds to the mode of thinking of the logical hemisphere and with
what culture has always considered as the only intelligence. Linguistic Intelligence that
writers, poets, good writers have. They use both hemispheres. Intelligence
Spatial consists of forming a mental model of the world in three dimensions. It is intelligence
what do sailors, engineers, surgeons, sculptors, architects, or the
decorators. Musical intelligence is naturally that of singers, composers, musicians
dancers. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence or the ability to use one's own body to
perform activities or solve problems. It is the intelligence of athletes, artisans,
surgeons and dancers. Intrapersonal intelligence is what allows us to understand ourselves.
ourselves. It is not associated with any specific activity. Interpersonal Intelligence that
allows us to understand others, and we often find it in good salespeople, politicians,
teachers or therapists. Intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence make up the
emotional intelligence and meetings determine our ability to lead our own life
satisfactory way and, Naturalistic Intelligence that we use when we observe and
we study nature. It is what biologists or herbalists demonstrate, which provides
relevant information for the teacher about students' learning styles to prepare
diverse strategies for the same content, using their cognitive abilities in the
learning. It is knowing what type of intelligence the student has (musical, leader, writer,
athlete, etc.) to promote learning.

Hemispheric dominance (lateralization) is the supremacy of one cerebral hemisphere over the other.
another, causing us to preferably use one side of the body over the other.
Reflecting on the left-handed student (who uses the left hand with greater skill); ambidextrous
(who uses the left hand and right hand, or the left foot and right foot, with the same skill).
The brain is made up of two hemispheres that are further divided into five lobes.
(frontal, parietal, insular, temporal, and occipital) interconnected with each other and with the hemisphere
opposite. The frontal lobe is responsible for motor function, especially for movement of
the muscles of the mouth and larynx, therefore it is responsible for speech, in it is carried out the
thinking and decision making. The parietal lobe collects sensations (touch, temperature, pain
and pressure) from the opposite side of the body. The insular lobe is related to emotions and
the functions of the stomach and other organs, the heart, the blood vessels, the heart rate
and blood pressure. The temporal lobe performs the functions of hearing, memory, language,
sensory integration (gathers sensory information from the parietal and occipital lobes in the
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Wernicke's area where the meaning of words and phrases is taken and is also responsible for
to work them. The occipital gathers all visual information.
The left cerebral hemisphere controls the student's rational and abstract thinking and
dominates in logical-deductive activities, such as mathematical reasoning, the
numerical calculation, the expressive and comprehensive language. The right hemisphere acts as a
more intuitive, imaginative, and creative way is also responsible for feelings of
fear, mourning, and pessimism prevail in artistic, literary, and sporting activities.
Any alteration in the functioning of the hemispheres or in the function that corresponds to them.
will influence the student's learning. Dysfunctions of the left hemisphere alter the
language skills (difficulty speaking, slow reading, poor writing, difficulty
to solve arithmetic problems expressed verbally, difficulties in literature,
composition, history and social sciences, in the learning of English), needing a greater
amount of time for studying.
Alterations of the right hemisphere are not very noticeable and are characterized by the
inability to memorize instructions, poor reasoning, comprehension problems
global visual and auditory, inability to repeat words that they read, poor writing, in the
written composition repeats what has been heard or read, with little own expressive capacity, problems
for the spatial position of numbers and figures, difficulty in understanding the concept
everything/part, difficulty in learning English and the study of chemistry, geometry and
sciences and any activity that requires the use of spatial strategies.

Learning styles are a dialectical process of appropriation of content and forms of

to know, to do, to live together and to be constructed in the sociohistorical experience, in which
they are produced as a result of the individual's activity and interaction with others,
lasting and generalizable changes that allow the student to adapt to reality,
transform it and grow as a person. Learning styles are flexible and are based on
In the theory of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, it states that the human being receives a
a huge amount of information coming from the world around it through three channels:
the visual channel, predominant channel of diurnal beings that perceive through sight; the auditory channel
predominant among nocturnal beings that perceive through hearing, and the kinesthetic channel
predominant among beings that learn while they move.
Using one channel predominantly over the other two to receive information seems to be
directly related to the way we remember that information afterwards. It is clear
that our brain is not a filing cabinet where we store the photos or recordings we make
of what surrounds us and that when we remember something we do not retrieve a stored recording
in a file, but rather, starting from very diverse data we create a representation of what
we want to remember.
When we pay more attention to the information we receive visually, it becomes easier for us.
It's easy to reconstruct visual information in our minds. In other words, it's easier for us
visually represent what we know.
Cultural diversity lies in the recognition and appreciation of the cultural diversity of the
students, families, and communities, as a starting point for the development of new
 Prof. Rubí Torres

learning and affirmation of their identity. An intercultural education is relevant,

coexistence and inclusion. Relevance refers to the cultural importance and meaning of
the learnings addressed in school. Training for coexistence implies teaching not
not only about other cultures, but also that there are different points of view, ways of
communication and interpretations of reality, teaching to recognize one's own rights as
those of others and to resolve conflicts that arise from different positions; and to teach how to
have historically given and continue to this day the relationships between cultures in our continent. The
intercultural inclusion consists of the commitment of schools to do everything possible to
improve learning and ensure the participation of all students regardless of their
individual, social or cultural condition. Promote intercultural relations to enhance the
learning

The types of thinking help to promote learning in the classroom. Psychology

educational seeks deep learning interested not only in the acquisition of
knowledge and in its reproduction by the student but in the transformation and utilization of
knowledge acquired in the solution of everyday problems. To achieve learning
The student must develop critical, constructive, and metacognitive thinking.
so that I can carry out different mental operations with the content.
The learner develops critical thinking when they are able to process and rework the
information received by carrying out an intellectual activity to achieve its ends
academics as in their daily life through the exercise of thinking skills
how to reason, problem solving and decision making.
The student develops creative thinking when they are able to generate alternative ideas.
new and original solutions, is to establish new and personal connections between what is
knows and what is learned to build meaningful knowledge.
The student develops metacognitive thinking when they are able to reflect on themselves.
same, examine their own thought processes, know their own knowledge,
cognitive and affective states, and the ability to monitor and regulate them in awareness.
These types of thinking require explicit teaching of skills.
thought for the student to acquire the necessary skills to perform different
operations with the knowledge it acquires.