Lesson 1: The Principles of Learning

Lesson Objectives

            The student will learn about...

• What is Learning?
• Learning Begins With Me – Self-concept, Motivation, and Attitudes
• The Process of Learning
• Significant Factors in Learning
• Basic Principles of Efficient Learning
• The Power of Personal Learning Styles
• Human Development: What is Learning? What is Maturation?
• The Basic Theories of Piaget
• A Mixture of Reinforcement, Reward, and Punishment
• Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning
• Mind Mapping Skills
• A Road Map to Improve Your Reading
• Efficiency Begins with Your Own Study Habits
• Top Students Reveal These Secrets to Success

Introduction

This lesson was created using material from General Psychology 20, Student Module Booklet, Alberta Distance Learning Centre.

What is Learning?

Human beings are born learners. Learning begins as soon as the newborn enters the fascinating new world and continues until death ends the learning process. The road to learning may bring joy or even ecstasy. On the other hand, learning may be marked with confusion, pain, and hard work.

Although learning forms a tremendous part of our lives, we can define what is not considered learning. Reflex is a behaviour that is not learned. It is a simple automatic response involving a part of the body. For example, a reflex action is the response of a baby curling and unclenching its hand. Another example of a reflex action is putting out one’s hands to break the impact of a fall. A reflex action does not require previous learning or practise.

1 - What is Learning?

Learning means acquiring the ability to respond in a competent manner to a situation. When learning occurs, our behaviour is modified through experience. Learning involves mastering information or skills that help us react successfully to our environment. Learning begins with something human beings have in abundance when they are born—curiosity. Learning means gathering information from family members, friends, music, and movies. That is informal learning. Most people think of formal learning situations when learning is mentioned. Formal learning comes to us through reading books, listening to classroom lectures, watching documentary videos, or taking tennis lessons from a qualified instructor.

From birth onward, much of our education involves learning to adapt ourselves to our particular environment. First, we must learn to adapt our behaviour to be acceptable to our parents and family members. In time, we learn the important lessons of adjusting our behaviour to fit the expectations of a wide circle of family, friends, and acquaintances in our society.

Learning involves a number of complex processes that occur to make both knowledge and skills remembered and stored in our brains. But learning also involves an impetus from the learner to engage in the fascinating process of learning.

2 - Learning Begins With Me – Self-concept, Motivation, and Attitudes

Self-concept

How well we learn depends a great deal on our self-concept. We evaluate the world and its meaning in terms of how we see ourselves. We try to behave in a manner that is consistent with the way we view ourselves. Studies have shown that students who receive good grades and are successful all-round students have confidence in their overall abilities and in their abilities as students. Such students have positive self-concept. They require fewer favourable evaluations from others because they know their own worth as individual human beings.

Unsuccessful students have negative attitudes about themselves. They see themselves as less able, less adequate and less self-reliant than their successful peers. Many young people are handicapped throughout their lives by feelings of inferiority that they picked up in their learning experiences. This negative self-concept can strongly influence everything they ever attempt. Thus our capacity for learning is affected by our knowledge of our personalities, our abilities, and our limitations.

We can appreciate that humans are greatly influenced by the emotional tone of the learning situation, but so are animals! An experiment conducted on a group of rats brought some startling results. All rats in the experiment were of average intelligence and ability. First the rats were randomly divided into two groups. The experimenters were told that one group of rats were exceptionally intelligent and superior. They were instructed that the other rats were dull and stupid. The rats labelled superior were handled and responded to as if they were special. These rats showed superior ability in the tests that were conducted. In contrast, the rats labelled stupid did very poorly. The manner in which the rats were handled made a difference in the amount of learning accomplished in each group. Thus, the process of labelling established far different expectations for the two groups with correspondingly different results. What implications does this have for parents, teachers, bosses, and anyone else who guides, directs, and inspires the actions of others?

Motivation

Attitudes

When you are faced with the challenge of learning new information, your most valuable asset for success is a positive attitude. The attitudes acquired through childhood experiences have strong effects on behaviours throughout life. Early experiences influence and determine how later experiences are interpreted. The direct or subtle messages we get from our family about what we can and cannot accomplish are the foundation for attitudes.

When we enter school, we formally learn subject matter. However, the attitudes that we have learned informally have a far more lasting influence. The biggest barrier to progress is fear of failure, embarrassment, and rejection.

Thinking like a winner makes a person a winner. You can overcome many barriers by providing yourself with positive messages. Self-talk (which means silently coaching yourself) can help you accomplish many tasks that you thought were impossible. Before you were three years old, you succeeded in learning two of the most difficult tasks you will ever face—walking and talking. If you watch young children tackle both of those tasks, you will see that small failures, such as falling down, do not stop them for long.

We may not have control over every learning situation we enter, but we can make conscious decisions about whether we are going to think positively or negatively. Those decisions determine the outcome more than almost any factor.

3 - The Process of Learning

Learning progress is slow at first because the learner is just entering a new area of skills and concepts. You can certainly identify with that notion when you think back to the first time you attempted a skill or began studying a new topic. You may have been afraid, bewildered, and frustrated all at the same time.

Then, the rate of learning accellerates as the learner becomes comfortable with the learning material. The learning process slows when the learner reaches mastery; previous learning is consolidated and refined in the final stage. The learner reaches a point of saturation after absorbing a great deal of content on a particular topic. The learner becomes very knowledgeable.

The Learning Curve and Plateaus

That one’s progress in learning can be quite irregular is easily shown on graphs. On a certain day an individual might not have a good learning record for a variety of reasons. The learning path itself is not smooth. Some concepts are connected quickly and smoothly; others take longer. Sometimes the learner may not be able to give full concentration to the material at hand for some reason. A plateau is a period of little or no noticeable progress in learning. A great deal of learning may occur both before and after the plateau. Plateaus are temporary standstills in the learning process. Sometimes a rest period may be helpful. A plateau can be the stepping stone to future learning.

Plateaus occur for several reasons. The learner becomes bored or loses interest after the initial excitement of a new topic. The learner may make a change in the earlier work or study procedures, which may cause a loss in learning progress for a while. If a learner does not have a good background in the original concepts, a plateau will likely occur. Anxiety in the learning situation cause tension that may lead to a plateau.

4 - Significant Factors in Learning

Efficiency is certainly a familiar theme in our lives. Listen to these words of wisdom.

A stitch in time saves nine.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
Waste not, want not.

Learning is a complex task because a number of variables interact with each other all at once. An understanding of key learning components gives you, the student, an opportunity to use them to your advantage. Learning efficiency should be a special concern of every student. Efficiency means better results with less effort. You do not want to spend hour upon hour studying if you can economize. Let’s take a closer look at some of the components in the learning process.

Transfer

Will learning in one area transfer to learning in other topics? Transfer means the effect of previous learning on later learning or performance. If the prior learning is helpful to later learning, positive transfer has occurred. For example, Heidi learned proper typing skills on an electric typewriter. Later, Heidi completed a computer course and had to type certain commands and responses on the keyboard. Her earlier learning in typing classes was helpful. Transfer has definite value in learning efficiently.

Transfer occurs because of close associations between stimuli and responses. As stimuli become more and more similar to each other, the amount of transfer increases. For example, if you have a certain kind of computer at home and one that is very similar at school or work, you will have little trouble in changing from one to the other. Transfer will be high. The highest positive transfer occurs when stimuli and responses of two tasks or situations are identical.

However, all is not positive in transfer. If the prior learning interferes with later learning, negative transfer occurs. For example, Mario learned to drive a car with an automatic gear shift. Then, he was in a situation where he had to drive his brother’s truck with a standard, on-the-floor gear shift. He had trouble learning how to get the truck moving smoothly and to shift gears using a clutch.

Overlearning

When we have learned a skill or a piece of information but continue to practise until we acquire complete mastery, we are overlearning. Overlearning has both advantages and disadvantages. Overlearning reaches a maximum when the learner can understand and explain the material without mistakes or hesitations. Once the learner knows the material thoroughly, any extra time spent reviewing this body of knowledge is time wasted.

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are memory aids that help the learner remember certain facts. They may appear as formulas, catchwords, or jingles. These techniques encode material to be learned so they trigger one’s memory and the entire package of material is recalled. Here is a common example.

Thirty days hath September
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Except February which stands alone.

Here is another little rule that is frequently useful:

“i” before “e” except after “c"

Students can be creative and devise whatever mnemonic device or memory hook is useful to anchor the material they are learning. The disadvantage of mnemonic devices is that students spend too much time trying to make up a trick for remembering a piece of information, and they do not really understand the basic ideas in the material itself.

Latent Learning

The word latent means hidden, present but not visible, concealed. Latent learning is information that becomes evident only when it is being used. Latent learning occurs without reinforcement or maybe without complete awareness that the information is being filed in our memories. However, when reinforcement is given, the information is recalled. For example, a teacher gives a lesson on safety in the wilderness. One of the students in the class does not give the information much attention. But later when a similar real life problem occurs, he suddenly remembers what was said in the classroom lecture.

Learning by Insight

Learning by insight is based on previous experience that is suddenly pieced together in the mind. A sudden connection of relationships or components to an answer occurs, and the solution appears. When insight occurs, the learner has made many connections between relationships. The final link that brings the person to a solution happens after the person quietly ponders a number of different possibilities. For example, you may slave over a math equation for several minutes. Then, you take a closer look at something you have scribbled beside the equation as a possible solution.

Trial and Error Learning

Sometimes learning occurs in a very unstructured manner. Trial and error learning is defined as learning to solve a problem by trying various alternatives until the right solution is found. Sometimes trial and error learning is necessary. The disadvantage is that much time is wasted until the learner stumbles upon the correct answer. It is time consuming and also can be very frustrating The learners must devise ways of keeping track of discarded possibilities so they avoid repeating mistakes.

Mazes are used in experimental work on trial and error learning. A maze is a large box with a series of pathways or hallways. One path is the correct path; other pathways lead to blind alleys or dead ends.

Natural Association

Natural association in learning is sometimes called “belonging” because it implies that one thing seems to belong with another.

Related to the idea of natural association is the notion that we begin with ideas or concepts we know and build hooks or anchors from the new information to the data that has already been successfully stored in our minds. That process builds a bridge between known information and new information.

Intensity

Intensity or vividness can have a tremendous impact on learning. Intensity means an experience that is unexpected or that shocks us emotionally makes a lasting impression on us. For example, a stimulus such as a loud noise, a flash of lightning or a near-miss accident is remembered for some time. When a subject is presented to students in an interesting or vivid manner, it will seldom need much repetition to be remembered. Perhaps one disadvantage of intensity is that if the emotional shock is too much for the person, extreme fear may block the learning path.

5 - The Power of Personal Learning Styles

How do people acquire information and learn about their world? People use their senses to gain information about events around them. Individuals store the information they acquire in certain kinds of memory tapes as they are learning about their world. However, individuals receive and process data about the world in different ways. You may have an entirely different learning style than your best friend or your family members.

Neurolinguistic programming or NLP is the study of the structure of learning experiences. What individuals sense externally is translated into internal memory systems. The way information is absorbed and stored has great significance in the way that information is recalled and used.

Of our five senses, only three are widely used by individuals as major input channels for collecting data about our surroundings. These sensory channels are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactual. Visual and auditory are self-explanatory. Kinesthetic refers to whole body experiences involving feelings, emotions, and motion itself. Tactual, which is the other part of that channel, means learning by touching.

Everyone uses all channels to some degree, but each individual has a preferred channel. The most highly valued channel is the one that the person typically uses to bring information into the conscious. It is the one used to represent the world and the individual’s experiences. What is your preferred channel? Probably by the end of this section you will have a very clear picture of your learning style. It is easy to get in tune with your own preference after you understand the basic data. Then you will have a feel for the learning style that is most comfortable for you.

Different types of learners include the following:

The Visual Learning
The Kinesthetic or Tactual Learner
The Auditory Learner

Individuals have a primary communication channel they rely upon during times of stress or when problem solving. Besides having a dominant or favoured learning style, the learner also has a secondary choice. People have widely different preferences. For example, some may have two sensory channels that are almost equally comfortable. Others may have one very dominant channel, and they may seldom use the remaining channels.

How can one’s learning style be determined?
Learning preferences can be detected by taking the "What is Your Learning Style?" Quiz

Summary of Learning Styles

• take numerous detailed notes
• tend to sit in the front
• are usually neat and clean
• often close their eyes to visualize or remember something
• find something to watch if they are bored
• like to see what they are learning
• benefit from illustrations and presentations that use color
• are attracted to written or spoken language rich in imagery
• prefer stimuli to be isolated from auditory and kinesthetic distraction
• find passive surroundings ideal

• sit where they can hear but needn't pay attention to what is happening in front
• may not coordinate colors or clothes, but can explain why they are wearing what they are wearing and why
• hum or talk to themselves or others when bored
• acquire knowledge by reading aloud
• remember by verbalizing lessons to themselves (if they don't they have difficulty reading maps or diagrams or handling conceptual assignments like mathematics).

• need to be active and take frequent breaks
• speak with their hands and with gestures
• remember what was done, but have difficulty recalling what was said or seen
• find reasons to tinker or move when bored
• rely on what they can directly experience or perform
• activities such as cooking, construction, engineering and art help them perceive and learn
• enjoy field trips and tasks that involve manipulating materials
• sit near the door or someplace else where they can easily get up and move around
• are uncomfortable in classrooms where they lack opportunities for hands-on experience
• communicate by touching and appreciate physically expressed encouragement, such as a pat on the back

6 - Human Development: What is Learning? What is Maturation?

When and how do we learn? Some present-day psychologists have concluded that a new baby learns from the very first day of life. Other theories suggest that learning begins in the womb before birth. These views contradict an earlier belief that an infant is an unresponsive organism that can only breathe and eat.

Two major factors modify human behaviour. One is learning; the other is maturation. Maturation is the development of the individual through growth processes. It is controlled by internal biological factors. Maturation means the ordinary development of growth and aging. It occurs naturally without any conscious effort of the individual. Maturation provides the potential or the basic ability to do something that then allows learning to occur.

An example of maturation from the animal world is birds acquiring the ability to fly, and fish acquiring the ability to swim. Human beings are more complex. A child’s learning to walk may be attributed to maturation because the child learns to walk when reaching a particular stage in development. Not every child begins to walk at the same age. Examining some examples of physical skills the young child acquires shows how maturation and learning work together.

A child learns to colour pictures keeping inside the lines. Maturation is helpful to assist developing eye-hand coordination to handle the task. Learning is helpful because the child watches others colour and copies their behaviour.

The child acquires the ability to ride a bicycle. Maturation provides strength, balance, and coordination for the task. Learning is helpful because the child has watched others ride a bike and may try a few practice sessions to polish skills for bicycle-riding.

7 - The Basic Theories of Piaget

Jean Piaget was a famous Swiss psychologist who gained worldwide recognition for his studies of the thought processes of children. Piaget outlined four principle stages of concept formation. Concept refers to the meaning an individual gives to various objects or abstract ideas. Concept formation refers to the way we build these ideas in our mind. You can picture concept formation as like the process a child goes through when assembling interlocking blocks to make various shapes and structures.

The following important principles were described by Piaget when discussing concept formation:
     • Each stage must occur in proper sequence.
     • A child cannot attempt a more difficult skill until mastering the skills at a lower level.
     • Each stage is cumulative; earlier skills are retained and are the basics for reaching the next higher level.
     • The child acquires skills gradually and in a systematic order.

 The ages suggested for Piaget’s four principle stages of concept formation are approximate.

Space correction

During the sensorimotor stage, babies learn through physical contact with their surroundings by using their senses. They acquire a basic idea of cause and effect. For example, if they push the ball, it will roll across the room.

Space corrector

Young people are now comfortable in dealing with abstract concepts. Abstract concepts are ideas about objects that are viewed separately or apart from the physical object. A concrete concept is a doghouse; an abstract concept is religious freedom.

Stages of Cognitive Development

8 - A Mixture of Reinforcement, Reward, and Punishment

In this lesson, you have learned about the personal side of learning–self-concept, motivation, and attitudes. You studied Jean Piaget’s stages of human development from infancy to adolescence. In Section 1, Lesson 1 you learned that to enable psychology to advance to the category of experimental science, psychology had to become involved with the scientific testing of data. In preparation for the challenging topics of classical and operant conditioning, your first step is to learn about important variables used in such procedures—reinforcement, intermittent and secondary reinforcement, reward, and punishment.

You remember that a stimulus is an object, event, or situation that causes a person or an animal to behave in a particular way. A stimulus could be a red light, a ringing telephone, a waving hand, or a touch on the arm. A response is the way a person or an animal behaves toward the stimulus. If a situation occurs and a young child responds to it in a favourable way, a parent might attempt to strengthen that connection by providing reinforcement. A reinforcement is a process that increases the chances of a certain behaviour occurring again. For example, a pile of toys are in the living room (stimulus), the child puts them away in the toy cupboard (response). The parent is pleased with the child’s behaviour and, therefore, rewards the child with a cookie and praise (reinforcement).

A cookie, a hug, extra privileges at home, and an allowance are all examples of positive reinforcement. Presenting a reinforcement strengthens the response. But negative reinforcement is also a possibility. A negative reinforcement includes anything negative that is removed from the environment like loud noises, physical pain, punishment, or annoyances of any kind. Removing a reinforcement strengthens the response.

Because negative reinforcement is difficult to visualize, some illustrations may be useful. A little girl knows that if she picks up all her toys she will not get a scolding. Removing the threat of a scolding encourages her to behave in a favourable way. Assume you fell and broke your arm while skating. The pain is intense. When you go to the doctor for treatment, you expect even more pain while your arm is being properly set in a cast. However, you decide to go to the doctor to repair the damage of the broken arm knowing that it will eventually feel better. Both positive and negative reinforcement are rewards.

Positive reinforcement ........................................presenting strengthens response
Negative reinforcement ......................................removing strengthens response

The shorter the time span between a correct response and the reward, the more likely the animal or person will learn that response.

Complete reinforcement means that when an animal or person makes a correct response, a reward or reinforcement is given every time it occurs. Complete reinforcement is important in the first stages of learning when habits are becoming established. Partial or intermittent reinforcement means that, when an animal or person makes a correct response, sometimes a reward is given and sometimes it is withheld. Partial reinforcement can follow a definite pattern, or sometimes it is random and unpredictable. For example, every third time your dog does a trick, you give him a dog biscuit. Or, occasionally you give your dog a biscuit for doing a trick if you happen to be in the right mood that day.

Some experimental evidence suggests that both people and animals perform faster and for longer periods of time when given intermittent reinforcement rather than complete reinforcement. If a person is always rewarded, the person may begin to take the reward for granted. Intermittent rewards often increase the individual’s motivation to try harder and, therefore, receive more frequent rewards in the future.

A secondary reinforcement is a reward that has been associated with something that satisfies the actual need. It becomes the reward in a round-about way. The secondary reinforcement is not a direct reward but is a stepping-stone to help you get what you want. Money is a very common example of a secondary reinforcement. Money gives us the opportunity to acquire the things we need and desire. We work for money, which in turn satisfies our needs. Here is another example: when you were in elementary school your teacher gave you stars on your assignments for good work. When you received a certain number of stars, you would get a treat of some kind. The stars you received were secondary reinforcement.

One of the basic learning principles is that reinforcement of desired behaviour with reward is more effective than to punish undesired behaviour. A child is rewarded with love for good behaviour; a child is spanked for bad behaviour. A positive reinforcement does more to motivate good behaviour in the future than the fear of punishment does to make the person avoid negative behaviour. Therefore, reward is usually a more significant influence in shaping or changing one’s behaviour.

Mild punishment might be useful in some circumstances if it cautions people to be more careful about behaviour that could be potentially dangerous. However, the fear and anxiety generated by punishment usually hinders the learning process. Punishment stops undesirable behaviour, but the behaviour may reappear if the punishment ceases. Punishment is not a permanent solution for improving behaviour.

Punishment tells the individual what not to do; it does not indicate what the person should do. Punishment merely says “no”. Suppose you are learning a new skill that you have never seen before. You are handed a strange piece of equipment. You move your hand one way and you are punished. You try another movement and are punished again. You try a third way and receive more punishment. Have you learned the skill? No! But you have probably picked up a great sense of fear. Punishment may make a person or animal so fearful that he or she makes even more mistakes than usual. Punishment may lead to behaviour that is less predictable than behaviour that comes from rewarding desirable responses. Anxiety interferes with learning.

9 - Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

In 1901, Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov conducted a very interesting experiment with dogs. He had noticed that just when he was about to feed his dogs, they would drool saliva. This response was quite natural because they needed these juices to soften their food and begin digestion. But then Pavlov began the practice of ringing a bell at the same time or just before he gave them food. After a good many feedings following the bell-ringing routine, he decided to just ring the bell without immediately giving them their food. He noticed that the dogs salivated as they had done before. In other words, formerly they had made the response of salivation to the appearance of food, but they now salivated when the stimulus was merely the sound of the bell.

Conditioning refers to the learning of a particular response when a stimulus is presented. For example, when the telephone rings (stimulus), you pick it up (response). You are conditioned to answer the phone when it rings. Classical conditioning refers to a learning situation in which a certain stimulus (situation or event) produces a response it did not previously produce. The dogs in Pavlov’s experiment were subjected to classical conditioning.

In Pavlov’s experiment, the meat is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) because meat is the normal, natural product that will cause saliva to flow in dogs. The flow of saliva is known as the unconditioned response (UCR) because that response occurs naturally with no learning necessary.

Classical Conditioning - The Basics

In some cases counter-conditioning may be necessary when we want an individual to learn a new behaviour. Counter-conditioning means replacing one conditioned response to a particular stimulus with a different response. It is often used to get rid of undesirable behaviour. Counter-conditioning breaks the original connection and links another response to the stimulus. For example, many people believe that smoking cigarettes is enjoyable, sophisticated, and cool. Counterconditioning could be attempted by having someone who is having severe respiratory ailments speak about the suffering cigarette smoking has brought them.

Extinction refers to the elimination of a conditioned response because the conditioned stimulus has been presented many times without the usual reinforcement. For example, an electric can opener is turned on fifty times and your pet dog never receives food after hearing that sound. The dog will eventually learn that the can opener sound is no longer linked to food. Extinction has occurred for that habit.

To eliminate well learned behaviours so difficult. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period following extinction. During the period of extinction, no reinforcement has been given at all. Those conditions make a spontaneous recovery of the response amazing.

• your dog has heard the can opener fifty times without food, and he no longer reacts to the can opener as if he expects food. One day the can opener is used, and he suddenly whines for food although the can opener has been used many times without providing food for him. His whining indicates spontaneous recovery because the link in his mind between food and the electric can opener has been revived.
• a young woman witnessed a bad traffic accident. She was so upset by what she saw that, when the police officer asked her address, she automatically started giving the address from a previous residence where she had lived eight years ago.

Generalization occurs when similar experiences are presented to the individual. A conditioned response to certain stimuli is established. Other stimuli that are similar will also bring about that response. That is generalization.

• If the dog has been conditioned to whine when he hears the electric can opener he might also whine when he hears the blender or electric mixer if he perceives these sounds are similar to that of the can opener.
• A young child is shown how to pet a cat. When the child sees other animals like dogs, bunnies, and hamsters, she generalizes that she should pet these animals in the same way.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is the strengthening of a certain response by immediately presenting reinforcement if the response occurs. The word operant is used because the person’s response in some way operates on the environment.

The Difference Between Classical and Operant Conditioning

10 - Mind Mapping Skills

Mind mapping is an extremely useful skill to understand, absorb, and remember information for future reference. Mind mapping is also called concept mapping or webbing. The beauty of mind mapping is that is it a personal, simple, and clear way to remember large volumes of material.

Tony Buzan - Mind Mapping

Look at the concept map drawn below to see how each branch detail is completed. Remember that a mind map must be completed in various colours.

11 - A Road Map to Improve Your Reading

Having effective reading skills is important for academic success. Hints to improve reading skills can be summarized in the SQ3R technique as follows:

SURVEY
Begin by skimming a chapter. Read the main headings. Notice how the information has been organized. Look at the pictures. Read the diagrams, charts, graphs, and bold print words to get the main idea of the chapter.

QUESTION
If the author has a set of questions at the end of the chapter, read them and give them some thought. Questions of your own that you expect to be answered in the chapter should come to mind. This will give you a purpose for reading.

READ
Now read the chapter thoroughly.

RECITE
When you have finished reading, respond to your original questions in your own words. Summarize what you have read.

REVIEW
Keep brief notes about the major points in the chapter. Refer to them from time to time to refresh you memory.

SQ3R Reading Method

13 - Top Students Reveal These Secrets to Success

12 - Efficiency Begins with Your Own Study Habits

This section is practical and discusses methods you can use to improve your day-to-day study efficiency. As a beginning, you might be wise to take a very close personal inventory of your study habits. Consider these questions:

• What is the best time of day for you to study?

• How long is your average, uninterrupted study session?

• Do you attempt to engage in other activities while studying–such as listening to the radio or snacking? • Generally, how often are you interrupted by other people while studying?

• How often do you study with other students? What is your reason for doing so?

• What is the best place for you to study—sitting at a desk or reclining on the floor or on the bed? • What subjects require the most time for study?

• What subjects are most difficult to study? Should you try to do the tough subjects all at once or try to intersperse them with easy subjects?

Efficiency in learning means more free time for you. If you have developed an individual style of studying that is working for you and is suited to your own tastes, then good for you! Do not follow someone else’s formula unless you are working without any guidelines and are having problems.

Assignment  - U2L1 Quiz Part A and B.

For each assignment, there is a part A and part B. 

• Part A - read the lesson on "The Principles of Learning".  Answer the questions in the following document - Unit 2 Lesson1 Part A and maintain your answers for completing the final assignment (do NOT submit).  
• Part B  - complete part B (open book) by clicking on the following quiz link - Unit 2 Lesson 1 Quiz, Part B.
  
  

Lesson Review

Perhaps this lesson has not been too much of a challenge with an overload of abstract ideas. Learning theory is not an easy topic.