Cognitivism rejects behaviorism and instead focuses on internal mental processes like thinking, memory, and problem solving. It views learning as involving the formation of mental representations and associations rather than just stimulus-response behaviors. Cognitivism sees humans as actively generating knowledge through cognitive processes like recognizing, analyzing, and evaluating information, rather than just passively responding to environmental conditions. Cognitive theories emphasize understanding over rote memorization and see the teacher's role as facilitating meaningful learning by helping students relate new concepts to their prior knowledge.