Social Cognitive Theory
Name three types of models and explain each type
Live: actual person who is displaying the behavior.
Symbolic: a portrayal of a person in media form.
Verbal: descriptions of behavior.
Explain the difference between operant and classical conditioning.
Classical: learned response is beyond learner's control (automatic & involuntary); the stimulus occurs before the response
Operant: learner is aware of the stimulus/response association; the behavior occurs and the stimulus is presented
Name a factor that is crucial to learning, according to cognitive psychologists
Attention
Vygotksy suggested these two factors play a large role in student learning; what were they?
More competent others & cultural influences
What is metacognition and how is it related to learning?
Explain the four characteristics of effective models
Competent
Prestige or power
Relevance to learner (the behavior)
Similarity (to the model)
How can we be sure that reinforcement will be effective?
Reinforcers are specific to the learner and subjective, so we should know which reinforcers motivate our students (e.g., praise, candy, etc.).
Teach students the behaviors we expect & reinforce consistently.
Do not use reinforcement to control/manipulate behaviors- it should be genuine.
Explain rote learning and provide an example.
Trying to remember information without attaching meaning to it, such as rehearsal.
Explain the Zone of Proximal Development.
*100 bonus points if you draw it on the board*
ZPD is the spot between the child's actual developmental level (what they can already do independently) and potential developmental level (what they cannot yet do, even with assistance). The ZPD is what students cannot yet do independently but can do with support.
Explain the difference between covert and overt learning strategies and provide an example of each.
Covert: internal, mental learning processes that are unseen, such as monitoring learning or being able to discern what content is important/relevant.
Overt: learning behaviors we can see, such as taking notes, summarizing, etc.
Describe one way you could promote learning through modeling in your classroom and explain why it will be effective, according to SCT
Possible answers:
Make sure you have student attention.
Engage in cognitive modeling.
Use I do, we do, you do.
Use models from media sources that interest students.
Explain positive and negative punishment and provide an example of each.
Positive/presentation punishment: adding something to decrease a behavior.
Negative/removal punishment: removing something to decrease a behavior.
Name the three parts of the human memory model and explain each.
Sensory register: holds unencoded sensory input.
Working memory: information in the SR that you pay attention to moves into working memory; information recalled from LTM is also processed in the working memory.
Long-term memory: holds knowledge, beliefs, etc. we can store information in LTM more easily when it is connected to prior knowledge (as opposed to rote memorization)
Scaffolding is a variety of techniques that can be used to help supports students to learn information in a way that meets their developmental needs.
Strategies include demonstrating correct performance for students, breaking a task down into smaller parts, providing guidelines for task completion, providing assistive technology (e.g., calculator), asking questions that provide hints, etc.
What are epistemic beliefs? Provide an example and explain why it is related to learning
Epistemic beliefs are our beliefs about knowledge and learning.
Examples:
Simple Knowledge: ranges from knowledge as compartmentalized as isolated bits to knowledge as highly integrated and interwoven
Certain Knowledge: knowledge as absolute to knowledge as constantly evolving
Innate Ability: ability to learn as genetically predetermined to ability to learn as acquired through experience
Omniscient Authority: the belief that knowledge as handed down by omniscient authority to knowledge as reasoned out through objective and subjective means
Quick Learning: belief in learning as quick or not-at-all to learning as a gradual process
Define self-efficacy, explain how it is related to education, and list the four factors that influence self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy: a learner's belief about their ability to perform behaviors to reach a desired goal.
S-E is related to academic choices, effort, persistence, and achievement.
S-E is influenced by mastery experiences, vicarious experiences or observation, social persuasion/feedback, and physiological feedback.
Explain positive and negative reinforcement and provide an example of each.
Positive reinforcement: adding something to increase a behavior.
Negative reinforcement: removing something to increase a behavior.
Explain meaningful learning and three meaningful learning strategies.
Elaboration, visual imagery, and organization are all examples of ways that information can be engaged with in a more meaningful way.
Explain bioecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner), draw the layers of influence on the board, and provide an example of each.
BST acknowledges that children are influenced by both their immediate environments, as well as more external ones. The layers include:
The child: characteristics, temperament, etc.
The microsystem: everyday environments
The mesosystem: microsystem interactions
The exosystem: people/institutions that affect the microsystems (e.g., policies, parent employment)
The macrosystem: broader societal or cultural influence (e.g., current events, beliefs)
Chronosystem: all systems change over time
What is self-regulated learning and what behaviors are associated with SRL?
SRL: regulation of learning behaviors.
Examples: Goal setting, planning, self-motivation, controlling attention, use of learning strategies, self-monitoring of comprehension/progress, seeking help, self-evaluation.
A student in your math class has been struggling to keep up with instruction and you recently heard her say that she just isn't a math person. How could you increase this student's self-efficacy for math and why will you be effective?
Possible answers:
Scaffold the material so the student experiences success (mastery experiences).
Provide a coping model who is similar so that the learner sees they too can achieve in math (observation).
Provide encouragement and clear feedback to the learner (social persuasion).
Teach strategies for regulation of negative emotions that may occur during math class/exams (physiological feedback).
A student in your 5th grade social studies class has been disruptive all week long- she gets out of her seat and runs around the classroom, touches other students, speaks loudly without raising her hand, and gets the whole class off topic with her silly antics. You decide to take away her recess time, but the behavior continues. Using principles from behaviorism, what could you do differently?
Possible answer: use reinforcement instead of punishment; rather than trying to decrease off-task behavior with punishment, try to increase on-task behavior with reinforcement.
A parent approaches you and says that he is frustrated his student isn't doing well in your science class because she is practices memorizing the book content every night. What would you suggest this parent do to help their child learn science more effectively?
Possible answer: engage in meaningful learning strategies; for instance, the student could try thinking of how the content is applicable to their own life, have the student explain the content to someone else, help the student identify how the information is related to what they already know/to other content, or use mnemonics if needed.
You have a student in your classroom who is an English language learner. Provide an example of how you could scaffold your content for this student.
Possible answers: use visual aids, if there are other ELL students with the same primary language in the classroom allow them to communicate in their first language, connect content to student's culture, have student work with a helpful model, etc.
A student in your class struggles to engage in effective SRL strategies/behaviors. For example, they never seek help, give up easily, don't set goals, and procrastinate considerably. How could you help this student be better at SRL?
Possible answers: teach the skills you want to see; for instance, have students set goals (SMART!) and monitor their progress, provide opportunities to self-regulate such as with independent work time, teach time management strategies, model SRL behaviors, encourage adaptive help-seeking, remove distractions in environment, have students evaluate their performance.