Memory and Schematisation: Learning in the University Context

Research into learning and the long-term retention of knowledge acquired through formal education has tended to centre around the issue of schematisation. However, suprisingly little is known about how knowledge gained in a specific episode (i.e. in a lecture) can, over the course of an extended period of learning, become a conceptual framework of knowledge relatively free of reference to the details of the specific learning episode. Recent research has linked the concepts of episodic/semantic memory and states of memory awareness, originally from cognitive psychology, to their study of the schematisation process in a 'real world' learning environment with interesting results. It proposes that when a new knowledge base is to be learned, memory is initially represented in a way that supports recollection of the specific learning episodes. As learning proceeds, the underlying memory representations may change so that they no longer primarily lead to recollective experiences but instead become so highly familiar that they are simply 'known'. Corresponding to this shift from knowledge that is episodic and literal to knowledge that is semantic and conceptual, should be a shift in memory awareness from 'remembering' to 'just knowing'. Therefore, as learning progresses, memory awareness should vary systematically with the degree of schematisation of knowledge. The purpose of the present research is to investiage the process of learning and schematisation in the university context in order to further examine the role of episodic and semantic memory and the changes in memory awareness. In conjunction with this, other variables which may impact on schematisation such as student motivation and learning style are examined.

Also, because of the importance placed on lectures in the univeristy learning environment, listening comprehension and its relationship to learning from lectures is investigated.