Monday, September 10, 2012

Module 10 Post 1

In Module 10, the most important concept was the idea that people can learn from other people by modeling.  In this scenario, there is a model who must be relevant, competent, of high status, and gender-appropriate.  The imitator learns from the model, and the imitator must be paying attention to the model, remembering what the model tought him or her, produce the behavior that he or she learned from the model, and have the motivation to continue performing that behavior.  The first example I can think of myself would be a coach-athlete relationship.  The coach is the model, and the athlete is the imitator.  What the coach teaches is obviously relevant, and the athlete considers the coach to be of high status.  The athlete (imitator) is interested in what the coach has to teach and plans to utilize what he or she learns from the coach in the future.

Module 10 also discusses the importance of self-efficacy in learning from modeling.  This means that the imitator must be motivated and confident in his or her ability to succeed.  This can happen either by past successes or by other people telling the imitator that he or she can be successful.

One question I have is centered on the "of high status" aspect of models.  Say a student really likes his math teacher and has a great amount of respect for her, and say that same student dislikes his science teacher because he doesn't consider her as good of a teacher.  How much would that influence a student's learning?  Would he learn more in the science class just because of the status he gives the teacher in his mind?

According to the Sociocultural Theory, learning is the process of watching a respected figure perform any specific action or behavior and imitating that same action or behavior in one's own life.  Examples include students learning from a teacher, young siblings learning from older siblings, athletes learning from a coach, students learning from their peers, etc.

I think other people influence the way we learn a lot more than we realize.  The main example of this is celebrities and the media.  Society often tries to imitate celebrities (for example, fashion or partying lifestyle).  The media and views of public figures also influence the rest of society.  The examples we talked about today in class (public service announcements) can influence society to behave a certain way.

3 comments:

  1. A key part of the idea of "high status" is that it is personal to different students. While some students love some teachers, those same teachers are disliked by other students. This can affect the way that these children learn in their classes. When a student has a lot of respect for a teacher and regards them as a person with high status, they are more likely to learn more in that class. On the other hand, if a student dislikes a teacher, they are less likely to succeed in the class. Since this is so personal to students, it is hard for teachers to control. The best thing that they can do is try their hardest to teach their students to the best of their ability, but it's hard to please everyone.

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  2. I think that it is really important for the student that is trying to learn looks up to the person teaching them as an authoritative figure that they enjoy learning from and respect. The term "high status" refers to as an individual person that is of high status to another and learns through observational learning. If a student enjoys his/her math instructor better than his/her science teacher, the student would learn better in math because there is more motivation to do well in a class where the teacher is enjoyable. Also, students who dislike a teacher and do not have respect for them can affect the way a student wants to learn and gains information too. I agree that the way a student learns through observational learning by a "high status" person is personal and individualized between each student. The teacher is not in control if a student is liking them based on their way of teaching.

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  3. You have a definition here of learning according to Sociocultural Theory (which would be enculturation!), but I think you mean Social Cognitive Theory. According to SCT, remember that a change in behavior (actually imitating) doesn't necessarily have to occur.

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