Connectionist models (Ellis & Humphreys, 1999; McLelland & Rumelhart, 1986) of
memory and cognitive processing suggest multiple storage locations throughout the
brain. In these models, the brain is comprised of a complex network of interconnected
information units. Memories and information do not exist in isolated compartments but
are connected by increasingly complex networks.
Information Processing Models inform Habits of Mind in terms of information storage
and recall. Information storage begins at the point of Gathering Data Through all our
Senses, when we receive stimuli from the environment through our natural pathways,
before our brain processes the stimuli and stores the information in a meaningful way.
When we use the Habit of Mind, Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations, we need to
be able to retrieve information from our brainís memory compartments to use this
information in a different context (eg. recalling our multiplication tables when planning
the dimensions of a house extension). In this way information is recalled and processed
into meaningful knowledge. In turn, then, this meaningful knowledge can assist learners
to Think and Communicate with Clarity and Precision.
Information Processing Models are useful here in terms of a learnerís ability to retrieve
information, process information and use knowledge meaningfully. However these same
models ignore contextual and personal factors such as the role of emotions in learning
and the attitudinal influence of the learning environment.