12th-13th April, 2014, Cluj-Napoca
Learn how to learn: developing effective study skills Cristina Mogoașe, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca
How does an efficient learner look like? • Has success (e.g., is appreciated, promoted, has superior test performance etc.) • Has the ability to plan, monitor, control, evaluate his learning • Seems to learn easier and more efficient ▫ Has superior reading comprehension, study skills, problem-solving skills
• Isn’t overconfident, neither lacks confidence ▫ Attribute success/failure to own study habits & efforts ▫ Seems to learn from failures..
Why am I not an efficient learner? • Negative emotions (e.g., depression, performance anxiety) interfering with learning • Procrastination • Don’t know how to study • Don’t think I can • Don’t expect success
How to become a better learner: The ABC of learning A (Activating event) • Thinking about an upcoming exam
B (Beliefs) • I have plenty of time. • I cannot do this (it’s too much, too difficult). • I have no chance… • I cannot stand this course. • I must do it perfectly / I must succeed. • If I fail, I am unworthy.
C (Consequences) • Learning (or lack of learning) • Emotions • Fatigue
How to become a better learner: Learning as a behavior A (Antecedents)
B (Behavior)
• - Procedural knowledge: do I know how to learn? • Self-efficacy: do I think I can? • Positive expectancies: do I expect success?
• Studying • Procrastination
C (Consequences) • Rewards • Punishments • E.g.: • Fatigue, frustration, effort • Positive emotions, temporary relief
Procrastination • The intentional delay in the initiation or completion of important tasks to the point of discomfort • May be functional or dysfunctional • When dysfunctional, associated with deleterious effects on relationships, mental well-being, and work performance
Why does procrastination happen? • • • •
Task avoidance Perfectionism Fear of failure (or success) It entails both benefits (on short term; e.g., not having to face an upsetting task) and costs (on long term; problems caused by accumulation of unresolved tasks)
Albert Ellis on procrastination • “….you foolishly delay, you put it off and again and again. Because you (stupidly) think, Or you think (idiotically!)
