Month: October 2006

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Effective problem-solvers engage in the following steps…

1. Identify the problem(awareness of the problem and the ability to define the problem concretely)

Possible difficulties to engage in this step?

1. ‘Not in the habit’
2. Lack background knowledge (affects awareness – e.g. Math problems)

iii. Do not spend TIME to reflect

Required disposition?

1. Open-minded (not affected by first impression – react vs. respond)
2. Engage in exploratory activities

iii.llow problem and solution to evolve (consider it an ongoing process)

1. Divergent thinking
2. Re-presenting the problem(helps in analyzing the problem)

› Abstraction

›  Visualization (graph, picture, story, etc.)

› Ability to think across events, experiences, and knowledge domains

› Goal state = “what you want to accomplish once the problem is solved?”

3. Selecting an appropriate strategy
4. trial-and-error = no strategic plan whatsoever
5. means-ends analysis = sequence of steps identified, implemented, and evaluated individually
6. formulate a goal state
7. break down the problem into smaller sub-problems
8. evaluate the success of one’s performance ateach step before proceeding to the next
9. Implement the strategy

› success at this stage depends on success at stages 1-3

› strategy shifting = change strategies more often

› strengthened by previous experiences dealing with problem resolution

› quick solution vs. solution-after-analysis & understanding of the problem

5. Evaluating solutions

› of product and then process

› opportunity to IMPROVE and do better in the future

› usefulness and applicability of a particular strategy checked

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Belief about intelligence and knowledge affects academic performance of learners (thinking and learning)

Two types of intelligence:

1. Fixed(entity theory)
2. Changeable(incremental theory)

The type of belief learners hold about intelligence – (1) or (2) – give rise to the following learning goals:

Those who believe that intelligence is fixed – hold and cherish PERFORMANCE GOALS = strong desire to demonstrate one’s performance and to achieve normatively (for name sake) high success in a domain (show off?)

Characteristics:

1. Surface/superficial learning
2. Less persistent
3. Less apt to use learning strategies
4. attribute failure toability and teacher
5. May developlearned helplessness (defense against perceived incompetence – “anything I do will fail…so why try?”)
6. Engage in external locus of control

Those who believe that intelligence is changeable – hold and cherish LEARNING GOALS = strong desire to improve one’s performance and achieve mastery in a domain; also called mastery goals (doing something for my own sake…for the sake of learning and improving as a person)

Characteristics:

1. More persistent
2. More likely to use learning strategies
3. Attribute their success to strategy use and effort
4. “I can improve if I polish my ways of studying and put in more effort”
5. Engage in internal locus of control

Questions:

› How would you define knowledge?

› What is the origin of knowledge?

› It’s nature?

› What are some of the characteristics of knowledge?

How you perceive ‘knowledge’ affects the way you think and learn!Those who hold the following beliefs about knowledge engage in more sophisticated forms of thinking:

1. Knowledge is complex
2. Knowledge is relative
3. Learning is incremental (change in quantity and quality)
4. Ability to learn is not innately determined (Q: any real life example for this?)

Developmental Sequence that individuals pass through on their way to mature reasoning about ‘knowledge’:

1. Dualist stage– right or wrong, quick learning, absolute, universally certain, accessible only to authorities, look for fact-oriented info, remember info becomes important
2. Relativist stage– uncertain and relative, knowledge must e evaluated on a personal basis by using the best available evidence, look for context-oriented info, construction of meaning, gradual learning, tentative and subject to personal interpretation (Bruce Lee!)

Performance differences between the two orientations do exist…!!!

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Self-esteem: Self-esteem refers to general feelings of self-worth or self-value.

Self-efficacy: Self-efficacy is belief in one’s capacity to succeed at tasks. General self-efficacy is belief in one’s general capacity to handle tasks. Specific self-efficacy refers to beliefs about one’s ability to perform specific tasks (e.g., driving, public speaking, studying, etc.)

Self-confidence: Self-confidence refers to belief in one’s personal worth and likelihood of succeeding. Self-confidence is a combination of self-esteem and general self-efficacy.

Self-concept: Self-concept is the nature and organization of beliefs about one’s self. Self-concept is theorized to be multi-dimensional. For example, people have separate beliefs about physical, emotional, social, etc. aspects of themselves.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Chapter 5: Retrieval Processes (Summary)

Encoding Specificity Principle (ESP)

Memory is enhanced when information available at encoding is also available at retrieval

Context – affects both encoding and retrieval

Context effects

1. Environment – same place!
2. State-dependent – drug states
3. Mood-dependent – mood states

Good memory is a result of a GOOD LINK…!

Memory Cues / Retrieval Cues – enhance memory (sights and sounds, moods, psychological conditions, etc.)

“All forgetting is due not to the actual loss of memories, but our inability to retrieve them”

Recall = retrieving without any hints or cues (free recall and cued recall)

Vs.

Recognition = examine a list and identifying what one has learned before

Q: How do you prepare for a Multiple Choice quiz?

How do you prepare for an Essay quiz?

Which one is easier to study for and take?

Generation Effect = “verbal material self-generated at the time of encoding is better remembered than material that one merely reads at encoding”

Elaborative Interrogation = asking ‘why?‘ enhances encoding and retrieval

Memory Reconstruction = retrieval is not just a straightforward reading out of memory – rather than remembering the entirety of a memory event, only KEY ELEMENTS of an episode are stored, guided by schemata – you usually retrieve some key elements and reconstruct the rest (e.g. what happened in the church last Sabbath?). For this, we rely on…

› Gist of experience

› General knowledge

Flashbulb Memory = memory of highly specific events (e.g. where were you at the time when the WTC were attacked? What were you doing?)

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