Reflections

Another overdue post. Take it with a sack of salt.

Been doing a bit of reading lately. Some reflections on an idea.


Thinking About Thinking
Is a student able to attain understanding thru self-regulation? My thoughts? Maybe. Self-regulation is very much dependable on the motivation of the student. Here is what I gathered from my reading.

1. Relevance. Motivation can come from many areas and forms. I believe everyone is motivated. The difference is the source of their motivation. The more relevant the topic to their ideas, the stronger the driving force. e.g. A student places more importance on an activity and neglects another. Boredom, believe or not, is a form of motivation.



2. Self-efficacy. Different from self esteem, it is the self confidence in the ability to carry out a task. When a student has high self-efficacy, he/she is more motivated to carry out a task. Low self-efficacy results in non-coping strategies or low quality work.These students usually have very little faith in their abilities and would have thought they would fail in a task even before attempting it. Too much self-efficacy or over-efficacy can also result in mediocre or low quality work. Students' over-efficacy can hinder learning. For example, a student might be so confident in his/her abilities they avoid asking questions or enquire about something they are unfamiliar with.



3. Attribution. A student's attribution to success or failure determine their views on matters. Students who attribute their success or failures to uncontrollable factors have an external locus of control. They are referred to as internalists. Internal or uncontrollable factors include luck, stupidity, ability. Students attribute to controllable factors have an internal locus of control. This group is referred as the externalists. External or controllable factors include effort, strategy. Internalists tend to give up after failure as their view their failure as something which is out of their control. Externalists view failure as a learning and makes adjustment to strategies or increase effort to achieve their expectations.



4. The Teacher. In the regular classroom, teachers often regulate the pace of learning. In an attempt to cover the syllabus, teachers often give out worksheets after worksheets(remember borrdom?). Besides teaching content and understanding, it is also important to promote interest in learning in students.

In a time as such, when information is easily available, it is no longer enough to teach from a book; learning can and should be done thru any appropriate medium. Which brings me to another question- Are these resources readily available? How exactly should we filter the useful tools from the inappropriate ones. That will be answered when I have time for my research. To all who are moulding our young minds, look for that teachable moment and exploit it. Who knows you might just lay the foundation for the next Edison or Einstein.

To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires brains. -Mary Pettibone Poole