MANAGING

AND CARING
FOR THE SELF

LEARNING
TO BE A SETTING TAKING
BETTER GOALS FOR CHARGE OF
STUDENT SUCCESS ONE’S
HEALTH

Understanding the Self UNIT 3: Managing and Caring for the Self
 LEARNING TO BE A
BETTER STUDENT
Establishing effecGve study habits

Understanding the Self UNIT 3: Managing and Caring for the Self
What is learning?
§ PerspecGves:

•  AssociaGonism •  ConstrucGvism •  Neuroscience

•  Behaviorist •  CogniGvist •  Biological
–  SGmulus-response: –  The role of schema/ cogniGve –  NeuroplasGcity
learner is passive to map
environmental –  Neurogenesis
sGmulaGon –  Meaning-making: learner is –  e.g. Duffau, Livingston, etc.
–  Reward and acGve in creaGng and
punishment construcGng ideas
–  e.g. Pavlov –  e.g. Piaget, and Vygotsky
The Behaviorist view on
Learning
 Learning and Performance
§ Learning is a relaGvely permanent change
in behavior that occurs as a result of
experience
§ Learning refers to change in behavior
potenGality

§ Performance refers to the

translaGon of this potenGality into
behavior.

Understanding the Self UNIT 3: Managing and Caring for the Self
Classical CondiGoning

§ Ivan Pavlov (Russian Physiologist)

§ An organism learns that one event follows another.
§ Learning occurs when a neutral sGmulus is repeatedly paired
with a sGmulus that naturally elicits a response. With the
repeated pairings, the neutral sGmulus begins to elicit a
similar or even idenGcal response.
 Operant CondiGoning

§ B.F. Skinner (American Psychologist)

§ a.k.a Instrumental learning
§ Refers to describe the procedure in which a behavior
strengthened through reinforcement.
§ Based on Thorndike’s law of effect: behavior that have
desirable consequences tends to be repeated; behaviors that
lead undesirable consequences tends to be stopped or
diminished.
The Skinner box
Kinds of reinforcement
§ Reinforcement – a sGmulus that strengthens the response that it
follows.
§  PosiGve Reinforcement (reward giving)
§  Increases the likelihood that the response will recur.

§  NegaGve Reinforcement (avoidance)

§  An event whose terminaGon of behavior increases the likelihood of desired behavior to
recur.
Kinds of reinforcement
§ Punishment – an aversive (causing avoidance) sGmulus/event is
presented a]er a response with the end view of suppressing that
response .
§ The goal of punishment is to decrease response.
§  Punishment by removal
§  Removing something pleasant/important to decrease the undesirable behavior/response.
§  Punishment by applicaGon
§  ApplicaGon of punishment to decrease the likelihood of the behavior.
The Neuro-CogniGve
view on Learning
CogniGve view on Learning

§ Insight learning (Kohler, 1925)

§  Learning not due to condiGoning rather through grasping the relaGonships
inherent in the problem and achieving the soluGon through insight.
§  The “eureka!” experience.
§ Latent learning (Tolman, E., 1930)
§  Learning occurs even without reward.
§  What has been learned (latent) is suddenly demonstrated (manifest).
CogniGve view on Learning
§ Meaningful learning (Ausubel, D., 1970)
§  The acquisiGon of new things.
§  Meaningful learning occurs when the material to be learned is related to
what learners have already know.
§ Discovery learning (Bruner, J.)
§  Learning can be meaningful when we tend to remember and comprehend
things we have discovered for ourselves beher.
 Neuroscience and Learning
Brain
Changes
during
Learning:
NeuroplasGcity
and
Neurogenesis
(vs. Neuronal
cell death)

Understanding the Self UNIT 3: Managing and Caring for the Self
 Stress and Performance
§ A low degree of stress is
associated with low
performance
§ High stress can set the
system into fight-or-flight
mode which leads to less
brain acGvity in the corGcal
areas where higher-level
learning happens
§ Moderate levels of corGsol
tend to correlate with the
highest performance on
tasks of any type.

Understanding the Self UNIT 3: Managing and Caring for the Self
THE ROLE OF MEMORY
IN LEARNING
Process and Systems
Stages of Memory Process

ENCODING STORAGE RETRIEVAL

The Memory Systems
§ Sensory Registers

§ Working Memory

§ Long-term Memory
Sensory Registers (Sensory Memory)

§ Iconic Memory

§ Echoic Memory
Working Memory

§ EideGc Coding (visual)

§ Phonological Coding (audio)

Capacity: 7 ± 2 bits of informaGon

 Long-term Memory
§ DeclaraGve Memory/ Explicit Memory

§ Episodic Memory
§ SemanGc Memory

§ Procedural Memory/ Implicit Memory

(Learning happens when working memory effecGvely process informaGon to long-
term memory)
Sweller, 1988; Sweller et. al. 1998
MoGvaGon, CogniGon, and Learning

What influences moGvaGon to learn?

Appraisals:
Expectancy-value-cost (Eccles, 1983)
§  Expectancy: probability of success (self-concept of ability vs. perceived task difficulty).
§  Subjec=ve task value: refers to the importance given to a task because of the anGcipated
reward from engaging in the task.
§  ABainment value: importance of doing well on the task
§  Intrinsic/interest value: inherent and immediate enjoyment one gets from engaging
in an acGvity
§  U=lity value: determined by the importance of the task for some future goal that
might itself appear to be not related to the task at hand
Cost: NegaGve appraisals of what is invested, required or given to
engage in a task (Flake, Barron, Hulleman, McCoach, and Welsh, 2015)

§ Task Effort Cost: EvaluaGon of the amount of effort we have to put into
an academic task. The effort required by the task is too much (Flake, Barron,
Hulleman, McCoach, and Welsh, 2015).

§ Emo=onal/Psychological Cost: “NegaGve psychological or emoGonal

consequences of parGcipaGng in an academic acGvity, such as
performance anxiety and fear of failure” (Wigfield, Rozenweig & Eccles, 2017).
§ Loss of Valued Alterna=ves: EvaluaGon of a task in terms of the
sacrifices we make or other valued things that we give up in order to do
the task. The sacrifices are too much (Barron & Hulleman, 2015).
§ Outside Effort Cost: EvaluaGon of the effort put into having to juggle
with demands of academic tasks and demands of other tasks and
responsibiliGes. Other tasks and acGviGes require too much of the
person’s effort (Barron & Hulleman, 2015).
§ Social Cost: EvaluaGon of how a task can impact one’s social standing
with others whom he considers as important (Wigfield, Rozenweig & Eccles, 2017).
§ Economic Cost: EvaluaGon of the money that has to be put into the task
in order to complete it (Wigfield, Rozenweig & Eccles, 2017). The money spent is too
much.
§ Sunk Cost: EvaluaGon of how much effort one already has put into an
acGvity, and given that, whether it makes sense to conGnue or quit
(Wigfield et al., 2017). The effort put into it has already been too much.
Achievement Goal Theory
§ Achievement goal theory was developed to understand students’ adapGve and
maladapGve responses to achievement challenges (Dweck, 1986; Nicholls,
1984).

§ Mastery goals: which focus on acquiring and developing competence

§ Performance goals: which focus instead on demonstraGng one’s
competence and outperforming others.

§ Approach versus Avoidance strategies

§ Social goals: perceived social purposes of trying to achieve academically
(Urdan & Maehr cited by King, et al, 2012).

§ Five social goals (Dowson and McInerney (2004):

§  Social affiliaGon: goal of achieving sense of belonging to a group
§  Social responsibility: goal of meeGng social role obligaGons
§  Social concern: goal of achieving in order to assist others in their academic or
personal development
§  Social approval: goal of ahaining the approval of peers, teachers and/or parents
§  Social status: the goal of ahaining wealth and/or posiGon in school and/or later in
life
Belief system:
Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck, 2006, 2010)
§ Growth mindset (incremental view)
§  Perceive academic growth and development as something that can be
ahained and thus will be likely to pursue goals that target growth.
§  Gives meaning and importance on effort, challenge, and difficulGes
§ Fixed mindset (enGty view)
§  Perceive one’s competence as relaGvely fixed and difficult to address,
leading to less inclinaGon to aim for and target growth
§  Dislikes challenges and easily gives up in challenges