EDCI 6304Assignment #4Jenni Alfaro

EDCI 6304 Assignment #4 Jenni Alfaro

1. In the 1980’s, Bandura presented his second major concept in learning theory, called "self efficacy.” How does Bandura define this concept?

a. Self efficacy is the belief of an individual’s capabilities of achieving a goal or outcome.

2. A key concept to self efficacy is “reciprocal determinism.” How does Bandura define this phrase?

a. Reciprocal Determinism is the idea that an individual is influenced by personal factors and their social environment.

3. Bandura said there are four sources of information by which a person’s self-efficacy can increase (or decrease). What are those four sources?

a. Four Sources of Information:

a.i. Personal success/failure

a.ii. Observational learning

a.iii. Outside perceptions

a.iv. Emotional State

4. Which ONE of those four sources of information does Bandura believe is the most important and how does reciprocal determinism fit into that source?

a. Personal success/failure would be the most significant. Reciprocal Determinism plays into this because the personal factor will lead to a positive or negative outlook and the social environment, whether positive or negative, will also affect the attitude of an individual.

How does the concept of “self fulfilling prophecy” (a term originating with Bandura at this time) influence how we can increase or decrease our sense of self efficacy?

a. As an individual succeeds at any given task they experience high levels of self- efficacy, however, if that individual does not experience success then they will experience low levels of self-efficacy.

5. What is Martin Seligman’s concept of “learned helplessness” and how does it relate to Bandura’s idea of self efficacy?

a. Learned Helplessness is a concept used to describe individuals that have learned to behave helplessly. This relates to Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy because once an individual deems themselves unable to complete a certain task their self-efficacy lowers.

6. How could we apply what Bandura conceptualized about self efficacy to influence our decisions about designing effective instruction for learners? EDCI 6304 Assignment #4 Jenni Alfaro

a. I would design my lessons based on the self-efficacy experienced by my pupils. I would ensure that my students experienced high self-efficacy before moving on to my next lesson. Also, I would refrain from delivering instruction that leaves my students with low levels of self-efficacy and would focus my lessons on activities that allow them to experience high levels of self-efficacy.