UTS

Chapter 3: How To Be A Better
Learner
Lesson 1: LEARNING TO BE A
BETTER STUDENT
It is only when a student looks back as he
reaches college that he realizes just how
much time he had already spend in school. In
the Philippines, a college freshmen devotes
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
approximately 13 years of his life to primary ✘Why do people spend so
and secondary education. Yes, that much time much in school?
studying and learning. Having an education is
an essential part of life and even if school ✘Can people not attend
days are over, people still continue to learn. school and still be
Thus, one should take advantage of every successful?
opportunity to learn and become a better
person.
2
WHAT IS LEARNING?
In the field of human
behaviour, learning may be
defined as relatively
permanent changes or
behaviour brought about by
practice and experience
(Coon,2001).
As implied by the
definition, learning involves
acquisition of information or
mastery of skills that brought
about changes not only in
how the person thinks and
feels but more importantly in
how he behaves. 3
Associative Learning
is a method or process wherein the
learner associates a certain response to
an object or a stimulus resulting in a
positive or negative outcome. It links
ideas to continually reinforce one another.
Associative Learning can be habitual
conditioning or what is called Operant
Conditioning, and the other one is a more
controlled type of conditioning called
Classical Conditioning. These two types
give us a better understanding of the
conditions of human behavior.
Cognitive Learning
“Cognitive” refers to “cognition”, which
the Oxford dictionary defines as “the mental
action or process of acquiring knowledge and
understanding through thought, experience,
and the senses.” Webster’s Dictionary
defines learning as “knowledge or skill
acquired by instruction or study”. The concept
of cognitive learning unites these two ideas,
and defines the processes that intervene
when processing information, which goes
from sensory input, passes through the
cognitive system, and reaches the response.
A.
Latent Learning
is a form of learning that is not
immediately expressed in an overt response. It
occurs without any obvious reinforcement of
the behaviour or associations that are learned.
Latent learning is not readily apparent to
the researcher because it is not shown
behaviourally until there is sufficient motivation.
This type of learning broke the constraints of
behaviourism, which stated that processes
must be directly observable and that learning
was the direct consequence of conditioning to
stimuli.
B. Observational Learning
Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the
behaviourist learning theories of classical
conditioning and operant conditioning. However,
he adds two important ideas:
. Mediating processes occur between stimuli

& responses. Behaviour is learned from the
environment through the process of
observational learning
Observational learning could not occur
unless cognitive processes were at work.
These mental factors mediate (i.e., intervene)
in the learning process to determine whether a
new response is acquired.
Therefore, individuals do not automatically

observe the behaviour of a model and imitate
it. There is some thought prior to imitation, and
this consideration is called mediational
processes. This occurs between observing the
behaviour (stimulus) and imitating it or not
(response)
There are four mediational processes proposed by
Bandura:
Attention: The extent to which we are exposed/notice the

behaviour. For a behaviour to be imitated, it has to grab our
attention. We observe many behaviours on a daily basis,
and many of these are not noteworthy. Attention is
therefore extremely important in whether a behaviour
influences others imitating it.
Retention: How well the behaviour is remembered. The

behaviour may be noticed but is it not always remembered
which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore
that a memory of the behaviour is formed to be performed
later by the observer.
Reproduction: This is the ability to
perform the behaviour that the model has
just demonstrated. We see much
behaviour on a daily basis that we would
like to be able to imitate but that this not
always possible. We are limited by our
physical ability and for that reason, even
if we wish to reproduce the behaviour, we
cannot.
Motivation: The will to perform the behaviour.

The rewards and punishment that follow a
behaviour will be considered by the observer. If
the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived
costs (if there are any), then the behaviour will
be more likely to be imitated by the observer. If
the vicarious reinforcement is not seen to be
important enough to the observer, then they will
not imitate the behaviour.
Metacognition
refers to “thinking about thinking” and was
introduced as a concept in by John Flavell, who
is typically seen as a founding scholar of the
field. Flavell said that metacognition is the
knowledge you have of your own cognitive
processes (your thinking). Flavell (1979). It is
your ability to control your thinking processes
through various strategies, such as organizing,
monitoring, and adapting. Additionally, it is your
ability to reflect upon the tasks or processes you
undertake and to select and utilize the
appropriate strategies necessary in your
intercultural interactions.
A. Metacognitive Learning
This component is about knowing how the
person learns and his beliefs about learning in
himself and in others. It also includes awareness
of how the person processes information and the
strategies he uses to optimize his learnings.
B. Metacognitive Experience
This component refers to the affective
aspect of the learning process. Feelings
provide a feedback system to help the
person understand his response to the
whole process of learning. Positive
emotion can motivate the person to
continue learning and a positive directs the
person to accomplish the learning task.
C. Metacognition Strategies
These are the techniques use by
the person to monitor his learning
progress. The aim of these strategies
is to discipline the person by
controlling his thinking activities and
keeping him on track towards the
completion of his learning goals.
Study Strategies
Study skills or study strategies are
approaches applied to learning. They are
generally critical to success in school,
considered essential for acquiring good grades,
and useful for learning throughout one's life.
There are an array of study skills, which may
tackle the process of organizing and taking in
new information, retaining information, or
dealing with assessments. They include
mnemonics, which aid the retention of lists of
information, effective reading, and concentration
techniques, as well as efficient notetaking.
Based on research data, there
are 7 learning styles; visual,
physical, aural, verbal, social,
logical and solitary.
Managing Yourself: Self
Regulated Learning
Self-regulated learning is a form of
self-empowered learning wherein the
learner is active and self-guided in
monitoring his own study. The study
strategies discussed can help a lot and can
be a start in self-regulated learning
process. The following techniques can
further guide the self-regulated learner
(Coon 2001).
• Have specific learning goal in mind.
• Have a learning strategy.
• Be your own teacher.
• Monitor progress.
• Reinforce yourself.
• Evaluate you progress and goals.
• Take corrective actions.
• Boost motivation.
References:
✘ https://
ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Understanding-the-Self.pdf
✘ https://
saylordotorg.github.io/text_leading-with-cultural-intelligence/s06-02-
what-is-metacognition.html
✘ https://blog.mindvalley.com/types-of-learning-styles/
21
Thanks!
22

UTS

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

UTS

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3: How To Be A Better

. Mediating processes occur between stimuli

Therefore, individuals do not automatically

Attention: The extent to which we are exposed/notice the

Retention: How well the behaviour is remembered. The

Motivation: The will to perform the behaviour.

You might also like