Kai Wynter
Thursday March 31st, 2022
Educational Psych.
Throughline Assignment #2
Questions:
1. What new insights have you had about how people learn best?
After taking this course, I have been enlightened on many ways students learn best,
including the best ways to increase motivation and how best to grasp students' attention so they
can understand better. At first, I thought that a "good" teacher would produce "good" students.
However, I never really went into deep thought to examine what a good teacher is. I knew a good
teacher makes their students feel good about learning, but how effective would this be for
education? I learned that people learn best when their attention is obtained and kept. For
example, a teacher can begin the lesson with a topic related to the work that they know interests
their students. Or even an activity that gets the class to be active and engaged. (Chapter 10.4) It
is also essential for the teacher to keep their students' attention so that the students do not miss
any vital information and students are actively learning and understanding the material. If a
student does not understand and is paying attention, they will have the opportunity to ask for
clarity.
Secondly, students learn best when they feel motivated in the classroom and at home.
More specifically, teachers should foster intrinsic academic motivation, the motivation to learn
through curiosity, persistence, and the excitement to take on challenging tasks. (Chapter 15.1)
1
, Students who demonstrate intrinsic academic motivation will have a genuine passion for
learning, take on challenges in the classroom, and produce amazing academic results. These
students will also show lower levels of anxiety when learning new things. As a current student, I
see better results in the classes where my motivation is increased rather than in those I am not
very interested in.
2. How do these insights change or elaborate on your theory of learning?
As it relates to attention, this elaborated on my theory of learning as I understand why
someone needs to be fully attentive for them to understand and learn any new material. It is
impossible for someone to take in, process, and deliver information if they were not paying
attention to what was being given in the first place. If students are not actively engaged in the
material being taught, they can miss important parts of information and get confused during
lessons. This, in tune, will hinder the learning process.
As for motivation, in my opinion, the unmotivated student will have an insane amount of
difficulty learning and retaining information. Encouragement fosters creativity and critical
thinking. As a result, a motivated student will find joy in learning new content and dealing with
challenges. A motivated student will also want to attend the class, take notes, and study to do
well. It may be possible for a student to pass a class while they are not motivated, but they would
have never fully maximized their potential in that class. A motivated student is not more
intelligent or capable than an unmotivated student; however, their mindset will help them go the
extra mile to master a concept.
2
Thursday March 31st, 2022
Educational Psych.
Throughline Assignment #2
Questions:
1. What new insights have you had about how people learn best?
After taking this course, I have been enlightened on many ways students learn best,
including the best ways to increase motivation and how best to grasp students' attention so they
can understand better. At first, I thought that a "good" teacher would produce "good" students.
However, I never really went into deep thought to examine what a good teacher is. I knew a good
teacher makes their students feel good about learning, but how effective would this be for
education? I learned that people learn best when their attention is obtained and kept. For
example, a teacher can begin the lesson with a topic related to the work that they know interests
their students. Or even an activity that gets the class to be active and engaged. (Chapter 10.4) It
is also essential for the teacher to keep their students' attention so that the students do not miss
any vital information and students are actively learning and understanding the material. If a
student does not understand and is paying attention, they will have the opportunity to ask for
clarity.
Secondly, students learn best when they feel motivated in the classroom and at home.
More specifically, teachers should foster intrinsic academic motivation, the motivation to learn
through curiosity, persistence, and the excitement to take on challenging tasks. (Chapter 15.1)
1
, Students who demonstrate intrinsic academic motivation will have a genuine passion for
learning, take on challenges in the classroom, and produce amazing academic results. These
students will also show lower levels of anxiety when learning new things. As a current student, I
see better results in the classes where my motivation is increased rather than in those I am not
very interested in.
2. How do these insights change or elaborate on your theory of learning?
As it relates to attention, this elaborated on my theory of learning as I understand why
someone needs to be fully attentive for them to understand and learn any new material. It is
impossible for someone to take in, process, and deliver information if they were not paying
attention to what was being given in the first place. If students are not actively engaged in the
material being taught, they can miss important parts of information and get confused during
lessons. This, in tune, will hinder the learning process.
As for motivation, in my opinion, the unmotivated student will have an insane amount of
difficulty learning and retaining information. Encouragement fosters creativity and critical
thinking. As a result, a motivated student will find joy in learning new content and dealing with
challenges. A motivated student will also want to attend the class, take notes, and study to do
well. It may be possible for a student to pass a class while they are not motivated, but they would
have never fully maximized their potential in that class. A motivated student is not more
intelligent or capable than an unmotivated student; however, their mindset will help them go the
extra mile to master a concept.
2
