Using the metaphor of a puzzle, with cognitivism you have two boxes, one where the pieces are presented to you, the other where you are forming your puzzle.

Hundreds of pieces are presented to you in the puzzle box, but if you do not pick them up and move them to your puzzle box they will be burried under many new pieces.

You can only pick up two pieces from the "pieces box" at a time so you must store them in the puzzle box in order to pick up more

You cannot see inside of the puzzle box, so you must remember where the pieces are that you have placed in there. The pieces will never go away once they are in the puzzle box, but if you can't remember where they are you may not ever see them again.

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Cognitivism is like a refrigerator where the short term memory is like the food in the fridge part, and the long term memory is like the food in the freezer part.

Image from: http://pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-refrigerators/rv-refrigerator-norcold-n841.htm

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Cognitivism (ISP) = The Heart

Cognitivism or Information Systems Processing (ISP) is like the heart because the is a structured flow for the system. With the heart, the blood flows step by step through the valves and cavities. ISP explains learning in the same way, we process information in a step by step fashion.

Image from http://www.cnn.com/interactive/health/9912/bradley.heart.box/content.left.html

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Commander Data

Besides the obvious metaphor (Data is a computer), there are other reasons why Data represents cognitivism. One of his main attributes is his ability to store knowledge in memory and retrieve this information as needed (and even with exactness up to the gazillionth decimal point).

Data believes all actions and choices should be based on previous knowledge retrieved from memory. Experience is not useful to Mr. Data, neither is emotion or effect. All decisions are based on information, which is gathered, stored, and retrieved when needed.

Image from http://www.startrek.com/