INDIVIDUAL PORTFOLIO 1 Name: Ronny Anak Tanjong

Lecture 1 (Part 1): Introduction Matrix ID: 19752

In this lecture, we are introduced to an introduction of cognition and learning. One of

the learning objectives is explain what is learning. Many of us may define learning as our
effort to generate a memory that lasts. Learning how to drive a car, mastering dance skill or
remembering a guitar chord involve our brain to encode and store new information as long as
we need it. In the view of cognitivism, for example, Mayer (1982), learning is the relatively
permanent change in a person’s knowledge or behaviour due to experience. This definition
has three components. The first one is the duration of the change is long-term rather than
short-term; second, the locus of the change is the content and structure of knowledge in
memory or the behaviour of the learner; finally, the cause of the change is the learner’s
experience in the environment rather than fatigue, motivation, drugs, physical condition, or
physiological intervention (Mayer, 1982, p. 1040).

Defining a word theory is a little bit complicated. In casual manner of speaking, a

theory is basically an idea or thought. In science, a theory is a broad explanation of an event
or phenomena that is testable, falsifiable and has multiple lines of verification. There are lot
of different kind of theories that I’ve learned. One of it is Graph Theory, which is under the
field of Mathematics. Graph Theory is concerns about web in the network. Sometimes, we
asked a question, “How does it occur? Where it is come from?” Such questions may lead us
to conduct a systematic observation. A good explanation of the observation may produce a
working hypothesis. Such hypothesis must be test in order to compare it with the initial
theory. Finally, the theory is revised and we can conduct an additional research of the theory.

As a learner, it is important to know what the meaning of the theory is. Our
understanding is driven by theories and experience. For me, learning is the process that we do
for gain different kind of knowledge which everybody had going through since born and until
future to face different kind of problems. For example, we learn Mathematics to count how
much our money are and to predict what the 4D games results using probability, or we learn
Cognitive Sciences, to understand how people think and to know how environment effect on
human’s decision. Besides, this course related to Cognitive Sciences in the way of learning
and cognition. We learn by using lot of cognitive processes. For example, when we read, we
need attention and capability of memory store.