FTCE Professional Education Practice Exam

What do information processing theories focus on?

1. The content of the response

2. The learner's background knowledge

3. The process of how the learner arrives at a response

4. The social context of learning

The correct answer is: The process of how the learner arrives at a response

Information processing theories concentrate on the cognitive processes that take place as learners acquire, store, and retrieve information. This framework emphasizes understanding how individuals process information in a manner akin to how a computer operates, breaking down the steps involved in thinking, learning, and problem-solving. By analyzing the series of mental operations—such as perception, attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval—these theories reveal how learners organize knowledge and construct understanding. In contrast to this, other options do not align as directly with the core principles of information processing theories. Focusing on the content of the response or the learner's background knowledge pertains more to the importance of external factors influencing learning rather than the internal processing mechanisms. Meanwhile, considering the social context of learning leans towards social learning theories, which investigate how interaction and environment affect learning outcomes rather than the individual cognitive process itself.