Our ability to process information is a multi-step process that involves the
perception, attention, selection, organization and integration of information
(Sweller, 2003). At the center of this process is long term memory. As the
name implies, our long term memory stores our accumulated knowledge. Our
accumulated knowledge is organized into ―chunks‖ of information in what are
known as schema. Schemas allow us to organize information in meaningful
ways and help us integrate and organize new information (Chi, Glaser, and Rees,
1982). In short, our long term memory is where what we know is stored and
where we integrate new information. If information does not find its way into
long term memory, it is lost. Learning can be thought of as change in our long
term memory.