Information Processing Theory

The mind is a beautiful mechanism and it is one of the most amazing gifts that nature has given you. It is use for many things, from remembering many things and it is full of cherished memories. There are all kinds of thoughts provoked by the brain that goes on and on ("Think Exsist.com", 1999-2012).

The mind is truly a remarkable thing, and the information that it processes is immense. The mind is so intriguing that it is a cause for many people to want to understand how it operates, which has led to many studies of the brain. I believe that in order to be the best teacher for each child you must have a clear understanding of how a child's mind work. As a teacher you must be able to do your best to understand the amount of information the brain processes, be of assistant in helping a child develop information that will be long lasting. In order to do this you should have a vast knowledge in process information. Information processing theory is definitely something that a teacher should place merit in to because this allows a look into how a child learns and retain information given to them at each stage in their lives. Understanding if hereditary and environment play a role in how a child understands and process information will be of great value to a teacher.

From the moment a child is born they have the ability to learn and process information. As they approach toddler age they are even more eager to stimulate their learning process. The information processing theory is a "group of theoretical frameworks that address how human beings receive, think about, mentally modify, and remember information and on how such cognitive processes change over the course of development" (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 186).There are several components that are involved in the process information. The three areas of the memory that hold information are called the "sensory register", the "working memory", and the "long-term memory"; information is first received at the sensory register, it is then processed by the working memory, and after some other complex processes it may be transferred to the long-term memory (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 186).

There are several components that help to process the learned information that leads to the memory bank. These components are called "attention", "rehearsal, organization, and elaboration" (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 186). Many things influence how information is retained in the brain, which is a factor in how the child grows and develop mentally.

Without all of these factors a person would not be able to perceive, understand, use, and remember the information they are given every day. The information processing theory is a theory that explains how people perceive, remember, and store the massive amounts of information they are subjected to everyday. Information is received through a person's senses, it comes from the environment around you, and it is referred to as the sensory register (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004).

There are two other places where information is stored in the memory, and they are called working memory and long-term memory. Working memory is where information is processed and "cognitive processing occurs"; an example of this would be reading a book or solving a math problem. (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 187).

Attention is another key term to processing information. It is important because it the key to storing interpreted information in the memory. What this means is if the person is paying attention to the information, this information moves from the sensory register into the working memory. Although some theorists believe that if