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2: Knowing Yourself as a Learner

  • Page ID
    52369
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    • 2.0: Prelude to Knowing Yourself as a Learner
      This page outlines a survey for students to evaluate their learning skills, emphasizing the need for tailored study approaches across subjects, exemplified by a student's shift from STEM to humanities. It discusses diverse learning strategies, personal involvement, and a growth mindset, also considering how personality types and external influences affect learning.
    • 2.1: The Power to Learn
      This page highlights the significance of understanding the learning process and its effects on the brain. It covers various learning theories and stresses the importance of metacognition for effective studying. The chapter distinguishes between different learning types, such as memorization and deeper comprehension, and references Bloom’s Taxonomy.
    • 2.2: The Motivated Learner
      This page examines the impact of motivation, resilience, and grit on learning, highlighting grit as a key predictor of academic success. It introduces the GRIT acronym and suggests practical steps for developing grit. The significance of social connections, or "grit partners," is noted for enhancing student persistence and graduation rates, supported by the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT).
    • 2.3: It's All in the Mindset
      This page discusses growth and fixed mindsets in learning, highlighting that a growth mindset encourages embracing challenges and learning from failures, while a fixed mindset limits growth. It contrasts performance versus learning goals, recommending the latter for deeper engagement. The text also emphasizes key traits of a growth mindset, such as persistence and learning from criticism, and references Dweck and Leggett’s work on the link between motivation and personality.
    • 2.4: Learning Styles
      Several decades ago, a new way of thinking about learning became very prominent in education. It was based on the concept that each person has a preferred way to learn. It was thought that these preferences had to do with each person’s natural tendencies toward one of their senses. The idea was that learning might be easier if a student sought out content that was specifically oriented to their favored sense.
    • 2.5: Personality Types and Learning
      Much like learning styles, there have been a number of theories surrounding the idea that different personality types may prefer different kinds of learning. Again, this builds on the original learning style concept that people may have a single preference toward how they learn, and then adds to it that certain personality traits may determine which learning style a person prefers.
    • 2.6: Applying What You Know about Learning
      This page emphasizes informed learning for college students, advocating for personalized strategies that fit individual goals and experiences. Key aspects include thoughtful seating choices, a safe environment for mistakes, problem-centered assignments, and time management. It promotes partnership with instructors for ownership of education.
    • 2.7: The Hidden Curriculum
      This page discusses the hidden curriculum in education, highlighting unspoken expectations that influence learning experiences, such as classroom dynamics and professors' beliefs. It suggests that students can effectively navigate these influences by recognizing their impact, taking ownership of their learning, and fostering collaboration, turning challenges into opportunities.
    • 2.8: Summary
      This page emphasizes motivating learners to make informed educational choices by presenting research and models related to effective learning. It highlights the significance of motivation, grit, and mindset as essential elements for successful learning.
    • 2.9: Career Connection
      This page critiques the concept of personalized learning styles, arguing they lack empirical support despite their appeal for tailored education. It emphasizes the importance of critical thinking while encouraging reflection on possible experiments to test this notion.
    • 2.10: Rethinking
      This page prompts reflection on personal learning beliefs, urging individuals to consider changes in their opinions on four key statements about learning experiences. It explores perceptions on ease of learning, preferred styles, perseverance through challenges, and the influence of teachers. Individuals are encouraged to express if they anticipate changes or defend their current beliefs if they see no need for adjustment.
    • 2.11: Where do you go from here?
      This page highlights the significance of understanding learning processes to improve personal learning. It encourages exploration of concepts like growth mindset, strategies against negative bias, the role of grit, and the Uses and Gratification model in decision-making.

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