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APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS

Application of the Mental Representations

Amanda Sherman
Post University

APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS
Mental Representation
Logic: Logic is the product
of inductive reasoning.
Taking what one has already
learned to be fact, and
deducing a second principle
based on the proposed
fact/facts.
Mental Representation
Rules: Mental rules add
structure and order to the
information in our brain.
They enable us to distinguish
moral societal obligations
such as right from wrong and
allow us to make
determinations about what
should and should not happen
in our world based on prior
information.
Example
An example of allowing
students to use their
deductive reasoning skills and
exercise their logical brain
would be, in a college history
course (when & where)
giving the students specific
examples of the principle of
freedom eg. The Civil War,
the French Revolution and
the Irish Freedom Movement,
using these examples ask the
student to make connections
and find fundamental
similarities (or the concept)
(how). Then ask them to
formulate their own personal
concept of freedom (why).
Instead of providing them
with a definition of freedom,
this allows the student to
deduce for themselves the
definition
Example
College students are given a
variety of rules, particularly
in a campus setting (where)
during a traditional college
experience (when). There are
rules about drinking on
campus, tardiness to class,
academic regulations and so
on. These rules help maintain
a safe environment for those
living on the campus (why).
And students will practice
them by becoming good
stewards to the campus,
following the regulations and
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Instructional Event/Strategies
Strategy 1: Inductive
Instruction: Providing the
class with a generalized
concept and basic rules, then
the students practice the
concept in a variety of
different ways of their
choosing.
Strategy 2: Inductive
Instruction: Providing the
students with specific
examples or activities and
allowing the student to
notice or infer the concept.
(Bilash, 2009, p1)
Instructional Event/Strategies
Strategy 1: Coach students
around the
importance/meaning behind
the rule, not just imposing by
fear or strict regulation. Eg.
Support awareness days
around the consequences of
drinking and driving or
unplanned parenting around
campus.
Strategy 2: Create a lead by
example spirit by engaging
groups of leaders within the
college campus to challenge
their peers to rise to the
occasion of following the

APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS
Mental Representation
Concepts: Concepts are
abstract ideas, they help us to
take more complex issues and
summate them for quick,
easier to use portions of
information. In the mind
concepts are the
categorization of objects
events, or people that share
common properties (New
World Encyclopedia, 2013,
p1).
Mental Representation
Analogies/Cases: Analogies
compare two things
(concepts, processes,
associations) (Ash, n.d.)
Analogies help associate or
disassociate two existing
concepts allowing the
individual to enhance their
deductive reasoning based on
how similar/different the two
things are.
Mental Representation
adhering to the guidelines
(how).
Example
For example, in a college
course on the history of
slavery (when & where). The
subject of the course may be
slavery, but the overall
concept is oppression.
Students and teachers must
look not only at the details of
a subject but an overall
concept as well, determine
what is the real issue (how).
This helps connect similar
concepts and be able to view
the topic in a larger, more
global sense as opposed to
memorization of facts (why).
Example
In a course (where) teaching a
lesson about atoms (when),
one might use the solar
system as an analogy, to
assist students in
understanding the physical
properties (why). They both
have orbiting bodies and they
both have a center or nuclei.
This connection because it is
a physical similarity would
most likely be most effective
with visual elements as well
(how).
Example
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guidelines of the campus and
taking the lead themselves.
This way the student body
feels empowered and not
controlled.
Instructional/Event Strategies
Strategy 1: Teach one
overarching concept for a
long term class. A class can
be broken down into
segments, but during each the
overall theme or concept for
the course should be
addressed (Worldview,
2013). Eg. During the
course on slavery, it can be
broken down into social
context, historical
significance geographical
differences etc., but
reintroducing the concept of
oppression in each segment
reinforces the main principle
and gives the student a sense
of a larger picture.
Instructional/Event Strategies
Strategy 1: When depicting a
complex concept, use a
familiar or simple concept as
an analogy. The goal is to
transfer ideas from a familiar
concept (the analogue) to an
unfamiliar one (the target) by
mapping their relationship
(Herr, 2007 p.1).
Instructional/Event Strategies
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APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS

Images: Mental images are
pictures within ones mind
that are associated with a
word, concept or theory.
Visual learners are
particularly inclined to rely
on the images associated with
their learning.
(When) a student learns what Strategy 1: Using visuals
the Taj Mahal looks like, along with concepts in the
even though they have never classroom to enhance lectures
visited in person, they will Strategy 2: Tying in the
have a mental image visuals from the in-class
associated with those words. lecture series in out-of-class
When referenced in the materials, reinforcing the
future, that mental image they imagery and strengthening
have stored will be triggered the connection with the
in their brain. If a tutor were concept.
to assist a struggling student
outside of class (where) they
may wish to include the use
of visuals to strengthen the
mental images and memory
retention (why). They may
choose to place images on
flashcards for example (how).

Connections and Reflections

Before studying the mental representations depicted in Units One, Two and Three, I had a

general definition for each, some of which were fairly accurate and some needed much more

development. The term logic I thought in terms of logical or making sense. It was loosely

associated with having proof of an outcome, but not with drawing conclusions. After

researching logic I have come to realize that the mind is logically drawing conclusions based on

facts that it has already been presented. My definition of rules has not changed much from the

start of this course. Rules are the structure to which our society operates within, they provide

moral direction regarding issues of right and wrong and also mental rules help us to determine

what fits within our world. An example of a moral/societal rule is that: part of a police officers

job is to protect and serve. My definition of a concept needed to be expanded upon significantly.

I had previously thought of a concept as an idea, or a theory. A concept is actually the

fundamental idea, in broad terms, encompassing more fleshed out theories. And theories of

concepts and concept formation are the principles and ways concepts are formed and how the
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APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS

thinking process as a whole develops (New World Encyclopedia, 2013, p1). Analogies have

remained the same prior to and post-study, however the meaning in terms of learning has

changed. Analogies compare two things, ideas, thoughts or concepts; they highlight similarities

and differences between the two. In learning, making these connections between pre-existing

concepts and a new concepts can be extremely helpful to develop stronger connections within the

brain and reinforce learning. The mental representation of mental images has always been

fascinating to me. Although I still cannot say that I have a full understanding of how the brain

stores, categorizes or retrieves these mental images. I can say that I have a little more

understanding than I did when I began. Mental images accompany many words, concepts or

subjects in your mind. As you are listening to a lecture or reading a book, as key words or

phrases come up, you may see a mental image in your mind of what you associate with that

word. This process develops a strong association and can help foster the learning process. My

understanding and definition of mental images as mental representations has not necessarily

changed, but the way that I envision using techniques in the learning environment has.

As an educator/instructor it is important to assess your own learning styles in relation to

mental representations. Once you have a full understanding of how you process information and

what strategies work best within your learning process, you can relate your strengths and your

weaknesses to the pupils you are teaching. Logic has a large impact on understanding the

learning styles of students. Finding out not just that the student was able to deduce the correct

answer, but how they got there, and the connections they made within their reasoning process

help instructors to coach that student in the future. And getting the student to recognize their

process can be even more important. They will hopefully be able to replicate successful

practices in the future. Rules are extremely important within a learning environment. They rely
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APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS

upon an IF-THEN structure. For example IF you complete your assignment on time THEN you

will receive credit for timeliness on that assignment. Transparency in the guidelines of a

program give the student a sense of structure and regulation. Analogies play an important role in

the introduction of new elements. It can be very beneficial to compare a new idea or concept to a

familiar or simpler version of an existing concept. Giving the student an idea of how things are

associated, or matching similarities, allows them to gain perspective on a topic as opposed to just

learning something because it may be on an exam. It helps a student to look at each topic in a

more worldly perspective. Images can have a very powerful effect on the way students process

information in a classroom. Personally I have always been a visual learner. Even when recalling

something as dry as flashcard, the style or font would be something that could trigger my

memory to recall what was on the card. It wasnt really the information I was remembering, but

the image of the word itself. In a classroom, connecting with these visual learners through the

use of mental images can be elementary for a professor who is also a visual learner, but for one

that is not there are a multitude of resources they may choose to access.

In the higher education field, understanding the implications of mental representations

may be extremely useful when connecting with the student population. Each student will have

advanced through elementary, middle and high school, forming different processes for learning

new information. Ideally an instructor would be able to connect with their students individually

to assess how each students leaning process develops and to guide them accordingly. However,

the time that would entail may be unreasonable, the most realistic response is to use a variety of

different techniques to connect with a class. A teacher must recognize that having a diverse

classroom may lead students to have very different sets of mental rules or expectations of their

environments. For example a student coming from an inner city population may have had
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APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS

classroom experiences that were more lively and full of debate, while a student coming from a

college preparatory high school may have had strict guidelines and regulation. Their mental

rules for classroom behavior may be vastly different. To connect with all students the teacher

must add elements of both dynamics to be successful. Students will also have dramatically

different concepts of the world. Guiding all students through the same curriculum, a teacher

must make concepts for the course broad enough that there is a connection point for each student

to make. For example if teaching a course on the civil war, emphasizing the concept of freedom

will be universal to all students. Although each one may have a more specific version of what

freedom means to them it will help them form a connection with the material that is bigger than

just facts about the war. It is easy to see how the way a student learns is very individual, and the

course their brain takes to process information is incredibly unique. Therefore strategizing how

to best present information so that it may be understood by all is an important process.

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APPLICATION OF THE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS

References
Ash, D. (n.d.). EDU 510 unit 2 presentation. Retrieved July 22, 2016, from

http://www.coursematerials.net/edu/edu510/unit2/index.htm
Concept formation. (2013, June 12). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved 22:52, July
24, 2016 from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Concept_formation&oldid=969988.
Bilash, O. (2009). Inductive and Deductive Instruction. Retrieved July 24, 2016 from:
http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.Bilash/best%20of%20bilash/inductivedeductive.html#1
Herr, N. PhD. (2007). Teaching With Analogies. Internet Resources to Accompany The
Sourcebook for Teaching Science. Retrieved on July 22, 2016 from:
http://www.csun.edu/science/books/sourcebook/chapters/10-analogies/teaching-analogies.html
Worldview. (2013). Getting the Big Idea: Concept-Based Teaching and Learning.
Retrieved on July 22, 2016 from: http://worldview.unc.edu/files/2013/07/Getting-the-Big-Idea-
Handout.pdf