UNIT 3

MANAGINGAND CARING FOR THE SELF

CHAPTER 1: LEARNING TO BE A BETTER STUDENT

Introduction
This is the last unit for this course. It is not enough to be able to define the self and
know its different components but to also we have to learn how to improve the self.
In this chapter, improving yourself entails knowing how the brain works during the
learning process. Learning involves change and changing one‘s behavior that mostly occur
through our daily experience in life. Generally, learning involves acquiring changes in the
present knowledge, skills, habits, behaviors, or tendencies through experience, practice, or
formal education. Therefore, just as Carl Rogers says, ―The only person who is educated is
the one who has learned how to learn and change‖.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

 Describe the learning process;
 Recognize several metacognition and studying techniques; and
 Identify studying techniques that best fits you.

Lesson 1: How Learning Happens in the Human Brain

According to
neuroscientists, learning new
knowledge and skills everyday
keeps the structures of the
brain changing and increases
its ability to learn. Learning as
defined by behaviorists, it is
the relatively permanent
change in behavior as a result
of practice or experiences.
Cognitive psychologists define
learning as a process that lead
to change as a result of
Source: https://www.learnupon.com/blog/what-is-information-processing-theory/
experience. In other words,
learning is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes through experience. Stevens
(2014) states that learning that results to a better change happens when the brain allows for
faster, stronger signaling between neurons as the brain gains new skills, but the best way to
speed up those signals is to slowly introduce new information to the head.
Let us look at the model developed by George Miller in the 1950s. It illustrates how
our brain process the information it gets from the environment. The first stage is sensory
memory. It is what we are experiencing
at any given moment. Inputs from the To explore more, you may also watch:
environment enter our senses and
How Your Brain Processes Information
given meaning (perceived). Then, the by Academic Success Center at Texas A&M University
information is filtered to our short-term https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIaoBHY1NUE
memory or also known as our working
memory. Some information are The Neuroscience of Learning
discarded especially when you are not by Halo Neuroscience
paying attention to it (decay/forgotten) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nWMP68DqHE
and some are encoded in the long-term
memory where we can retrieve it when we need to.

57
1.1. Metacognition
Go-Monilla and Ramirez (2018) stated that metacognition is the awareness of one‘s
thinking and the strategies one uses to learn or simply defined as cognition about cognition
or thinking about thinking. According to Villafuerte, et al (2018), one of the amazing wonders
the brain is capable of is learning to learn. Metacognition gives students the ability to control
and direct their learning experience to develop powerful skills that can directly relate to their
academic and career success. It has two aspects (Alata, 2018):
1. Self-appraisal is how well you know your strengths and weaknesses. How vast your
current knowledge is and how well developed your skills are.
2. Self-management is a cognitive process where you plan on how to finish a task
based on what you have or possess in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities and other
characteristics.
Waterloo Student Success office (n.d.) introduced the following skills that can help you in
exercising your metacognition:
1. Knowing your limits – you have to have an honest evaluation of what you know and
what you do not know. Doing this will also look at the limitations in terms of resources
so that you can work with what you have and look for other ways to cope with the
lacking necessities.
2. Modifying your approach – it starts with recognizing the way you are solving a
problem or finishing a task is not working. Example is recognizing the you do not
understand what you are reading so you assess what needs to be done. It can be
having a five-minute break every 20 minutes of reading instead of finishing the
material in one sitting.
3. Skimming – this is browsing a material and looking for keywords, phrases or
sentences. For example, you might want to browse the table of contents first or the
introduction of the chapter to get an idea about the content of the material. This is
done when you are trying to read several materials in limited time frame or if you
want to focus on a certain topic to read about.
4. Rehearsing – this is making a personal interpretation of the things you have learned
and not merely repeatedly talking, writing and/or doing what you have learned. One
way to do it is to imagine yourself being interviewed about your task and as you try to
express what you have learned, you insert personal take on the matter. Just be sure
that the key concepts are still in-line with the source material.
5. Self-test – self-test should not only focus on what you have learned but also how you
learned it. You can create
To explore more, you may also watch:
your own self-test in
index cards whether is an Metacognition: The Skill That Promotes Advanced Learning
by Peterson's
objective type of test or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elZFL4FLVLE
essay questions.

1.2. Study Strategies

Here are popular study strategies and learning techniques based on a meta-
study evaluated by Dunslosky et al. (2013):
1. Questioning and explanation. Elaborative interrogation is a complex name for a
simple concept – asking one‘s self why something is the way it is or a particular
concept or fact is true, and providing the answer. Self-explanation refers to a similar
process, through which the explanation might take the form of answering why but
also other questions, as well as relating new information to information which is
already known.
2. Producing summaries of texts. This is likely to involve the reading and
comprehension of text, as well as the ability to identify the most important information
within it and to encapsulate it briefly in one‘s own words. It requires a complex set of
skills that ―it can be an effective learning strategy for learners who are already skilled
58
 at summarizing.‖ Summarizing may be the first stage of a learning process, with
other techniques such as self-testing, and self-explanation come subsequently for
review purposes. Imagery or ‗keywords mnemonics‘ for both vocabulary learning and
text memorization were found to be constrained to highly visual materials.
3. Highlighting and underlining portion of text. This also includes rereading.
Highlighting tended to work better for students who were more adept at identifying
the crucial-to-be-remembered aspects of a text.

1.3. Becoming a Self-regulated Learner

Zimmerman & Schunk (2001)
defined self-regulated learning (SRL)
as the process in which students
systematically direct their thoughts,
feelings, and actions toward the
Steps to Develop Metacognitive attainment of their academic goals. It
and Self-Regulated Learning is a process of taking control of and
Behaviors evaluating one‘s own learning and
 Set your short-term and long-term
academic goals in your studies behavior. It is a self-directed process
 Identify the negative outcomes if you through which students transform their
don‘t achieve your goals as well as mental abilities into academic skills. It
the positive outcomes when you
is also a cyclical process in which the
achieve them.
 Make a self-help plan to achieve your student plans for a task, monitors his
academic goals. Think and select or her performance, and reflects on
strategies to achieve your goals such the outcome. The cycle is then
as staying focused, avoiding
distractions, and developing skills to repeated as the student uses his or
manage your time efficiently. her reflections to adjust and prepare
 Monitor your academic performance for the next task. Thus students
and progress. Use a chart to monitor
practice their self-regulation learning
your work outcomes. When faced with
difficult tasks, seek social support by setting goals, selecting and using
when you need it. Look for inspiration strategies, monitoring their
to keep you motivated in achieving performance, and reflecting on their
your academic goals. When
confronted with difficulties, always outcomes. Consequently, the three
think and keep working toward your essential components of self-regulated
goals and the future. learning are planning, problem solving,
 Reflect on what you have learned and
accomplished. Reflection helps you
and self-evaluation. Planning
develop your strengths and overcome increases efficiency, control, and
your weaknesses. motivation. Problem solving allows
students to learn to think and look for
solutions when faced with adversities.
Self-evaluation increases self-
awareness that leads to the better understanding of one‘s own emotions, strengths, and
weaknesses.
To explore more, you may also watch:
Self-Regulated Learning
by Lori Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OQsT7w6MBM&t=9s

Assessment
Create maximum of 5 minute vlog on your study habits. How you get
your school work done? Send the video to your instructor.

59