Reading Summary 1- The Nature of Learning Alicia Srinivasagam 

CMCL 507

The Nature of Learning discusses how students learn best and how to apply this knowledge to the
classroom and teaching techniques. The authors talk about the importance of gaining adaptive expertise,
which are knowledge and skills that can be applied creatively in a variety of experiences. Adaptive
expertise can be acquired through traditional teacher directed learning, self-teaching and learning and
through experiential learning, which is controlled by the learner motivation and discoveries rather than
the instructor. Emotion is essential to the student learning experience, since emotion and cognition are
closely related. Positive learning experiences encourage better learning and recall, while negative
emotions in the classroom can make learning much more difficult. Emotion is also closely related to the
student’s level of motivation. Student motivation is essential to experiential learning and the acquisition
of adaptive expertise; the student will only experience meaningful learning if they are motivated to do so.
Although student emotion and motivation are internal, the instructor still has a significant effect on
student through expectations. Realistic and achievable expectations allow students to succeed, making
learning a positive experience and increasing student motivation. At the same time, class expectations
should also push students beyond their existing level in order to cultivate personal growth and
achievement for all students. Of course, students will not always succeed and emotion regulation and
encouragement is needed in order to keep students positive and motivated. The instructor can provide this
emotional support and prevent negative effects by making sure that any setbacks are not taken personally,
and by providing useful feedback to students so they can improve their work and succeed next time.
When the student overcomes the challenge they are facing, they will experience positive emotion,
increase their motivation and experience better learning. In this sense, challenges and setbacks are very
important to the learning experience and the acquisition of adaptive expertise.
         I believe that the connections between emotion, motivation, and learning will be crucial to my
peer mentoring philosophy. I have experienced academic setbacks and low motivation firsthand and know
how detrimental these things can be to overall learning experience in a university course. As a peer
mentor, I will be able to use the strategies outlined in The Nature of Learning, such as providing
encouragement and facilitating social learning through group work during my practicum lab section.
Having taken this course before, I am in the unique position of being able to relate to students who may
be struggling with the course content. I will be able to put any setbacks into perspective for students in
order to help encourage them, as well as provide advice and strategies for success. This will make their
learning experience more positive, which will boost their motivation to succeed in the course and result in
a more meaningful learning experience. When I took this course, I found that having the peer mentor in
the lab as an approachable source of information and support made academic success much more
achievable for me. It made the lab portion of the course a positive experience since I was still able to
direct my own learning but did not feel totally alone if I was struggling. As a peer mentor I hope to
provide that same positive experiential learning experience to students.