RUNNING HEAD: SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY: MINI CASE STUDY 1

Social Learning Theory: Mini Case Study

ITL 606

Professor Nevis Henry

Taylor Petrus

November 7, 2018
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Introduction

Albert Bandura is a psychologist who made his own theory about social cognitive

learning in children. He believes that children learn from their social influences, achievements

and outcomes. Branching from those beliefs, he explains that children use the phenomena of

modeling and self-regulation in relation to their social cognitive learning. Human learning is

learned directly from models (Slavin, 2018).

2. Tell how Bandura’s theory of social cognitive theory help us to understand Annie's

comment "I just can't do this writing stuff"?

Based on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, one can claim that Annie is lacking self-

efficacy. According to Akhtar (2008), “self-efficacy… is the optimistic self-belief in our

competence or chances of successfully accomplishing a task and producing a favorable outcome”

(para.1). Having self-efficacy keeps us motivated to learn and that we able to accomplish tasks.

Annie clearly does not have proper self-efficacy instilled in her Language Arts skills and

learning.

3. Given the information provided and demonstrating your understanding of the theory,

what might be the sources of Annie's low self-efficacy beliefs related to her writing beliefs?

Sources of Annie’s low self-efficacy beliefs can come from low test scores or lack of

mastery, lack of recognition in class, and lack of social persuasion.

4. How could you apply social cognitive theory to help Annie become more confident and

successful in her writing skills?

One way we could apply the social cognitive theory to help Annie become more

confident and successful in her writing skills is to recognize her accomplishments and answers

she had gotten correctly to instill confidence and to keep her motivated. Another way we could
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apply it is by creating her homework or assessments achievable so that she can experience

mastery.

5. Annie's self-efficacy beliefs for writing are expected to influence her self-regulation.

What might you do as the teacher to influence Annie’s self-regulation? Be specific.

Annie is in need to influence her self-regulation. According to Morin (2016), “self-

regulation allows kids to manage their emotions, behavior and body movement when they’re

faced with a situation that’s tough to handle. And it allows them to do that while still staying

focused and paying attention” (para. 4). What I would do to influence Annie’s self-regulation is

to immediately have her say “I can do it” every time she says something negative.

6. Do you think Annie displays typical or atypical behavior for a child of her age? Why?

I think Annie displays very typical behavior for a child her age. She is still very young

being in fifth grade where it is easy to be discouraged and feel like they are not able to master

something. I think this behavior is still typical within all age groups besides the vocal outbursts

of negativity.

7. It is appropriate for Mr. Baer to contact Annie’s parents. What would be some

important points for Mr. Baer to share? What would be some important questions for Mr.

Baer to ask the parents?

I think it would be appropriate for Mr. Baer to contact Annie’s parents because if she

feels this way in the classroom then she obviously also feels this way at home since there must

be homework or at home reading. Some important points to share to parents would be the

negative outburst she has about herself and also how she is very quiet in class. Some important

questions for Mr. Baer to ask the parents would be how they help her with her homework or how

she acts at home. It is also important for him to know if she is very quiet also at home or if this
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is just at school. It is important to help build Annie’s self-efficacy and self-regulation at home

and at school so that it is very enforced.

8. Is the need for other services indicated for Annie? If “yes” tell which services and why

they are possibly needed.

If Annie’s unsuccess in Language Arts is not purely due to her confidence, she could

possess a learning disability which is stopping her, especially if she does not have the proper

help. She may need to be helped with a teacher’s aide or go to RSP occasionally.

Summary

Annie is a student that needs intervention to work on her self-efficacy and self-regulation.

From there on we can also determine if she has a learning disability and needs more assistance.

If she is found to have a learning disability, building her self-efficacy while having self-

regulation of knowing about her disability and how to work with it will eventually help in overall

in the long run.

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References

Akhtar, M. (2017, April 08). What is Self-Efficacy? Bandura's 4 Sources of Efficacy Beliefs.

Retrieved November 7, 2018, from http://positivepsychology.org.uk/self-efficacy-

definition-bandura-meaning/

Morin, A. (2016). Trouble With Self-Regulation: What You Need to Know. Retrieved November

7, 2018, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-

disabilities/sensory-processing-issues/trouble-with-self-regulation-what-you-need-to-

know

Slavin, R. 2018. Educational Psychology. New York. Pearson.