Social Learning Theory: Mini Case

Study
Abstract

This paper discusses Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and the four phases
that make up the theory. They are the attention phase, retention phase, reproduction
phase, and motivation phase. I will discuss a mini case study in which a student, Annie,
does not feel as though she can write well. She says, “I just can't to this writing stuff.” I
will present potential reasons as to why Annie has low self-efficacy and phases that Mr.
Baer may have missed while teaching Language Arts. I will provide recommendations
to improve Annie's self-efficacy through social-cognitive theory and self-regulation.
Lastly, I will discuss how to involve Annie's family and reasons why contacting the
parents is a good idea.

Mini Case Study

Annie, a student in Mr. Baer's class, has a difficult time writing. This may be a result
of instruction from the teacher, low self-efficacy, or motivation. The four phases of
Social Cognitive Theory must be met to maximize student learning. Annie may need
more reproduction in the form of classroom practice. She can also practice writing at
home each night and set goals with Mr. Baer, a form of self-regulation. On another
note, Annie may have low self-efficacy. This can be a result from having an external
locus of control. Annie may need praise from Mr. Baer and support from family
members. It would beneficial for Mr. Baer to communicate with Annie's parents and
to potentially recommend testing for learning disabilities.

Social Cognitive Theory and Understanding Annie's Comments

There are four phases of Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory. They are the
attention phase, retention phase, reproduction phase, and motivation phase. During
the attention phase, the teacher works to get the attention of his students. “You gain
the students’ attention by presenting clear and interesting cues, by using novelty or
surprise, and by motivating students” (Slavin, pg. 112, 2015). Furthermore, “students
pay attention to role models who are attractive, successful, interesting, and popular”
(Slavin, pg. 112, 2015). This can be the teacher or a peer. The next phase, retention,
is when the teacher models the behavior he wants his students to imitate (Slavin, pg.
112, 2015). The third phase is reproduction, which is where “students try to match
their behavior to the [teacher]” (Slavin, pg. 112, 2015). The teacher is able to assess
student learning at this phase based off how well the students match the model behavior
(Slavin, pg. 112, 2015). The last phase is the motivational phase. Teachers can improve
motivation to learn by giving praise and good grades to students who are able to match
the teacher's model (Slavin, pg. 112, 2015). Bandura theorizes that students want to
please the teacher, so they continue to practice and reproduce the model (Slavin, pg.
112, 2015). Students learn by seeing others reinforced and punished as well (Slavin,
pg. 112, 2015). This is called vicarious learning.

Explaining Annie's Comment, “I just can't do this writing stuff.”

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory can help decipher Annie's comment "I just can't do
this writing stuff." Mr. Baer may have skipped one of the four phases of Social Cognitive
Theory. He may need to focus on the reproduction phase and have his class practice
writing more frequently. On the other hand, he may need to motivate his students more
(motivational phase) by giving praise to students that are focusing, working hard, and
improving upon their writing.

Sources of Low Self-Efficacy Beliefs

There may be a few sources of Annie's low self-efficacy beliefs in relation to her writing.
One possibility is she could have an external locus of control, rather than an internal
locus of control.

Internal locus of control is often called self-efficacy, the belief that one’s behavior
makes a difference... Locus of control or self-efficacy can be very important in
explaining a student’s school performance. For example, several researchers have
found that students who are high in internal locus of control have better grades and test
scores than students of the same intelligence who are low in internal locus of control...
Studies have found locus of control to be the second most important predictor (after
ability) of a student’s academic achievement (Slavin, pg. 252, 2015).

Annie focuses on the task difficulty of Language Arts, which shows that she has an
external locus of control in Language Arts. She may have an internal locus of control
in Art and P.E., since she says, “I'm not a good student. Give me P.E. or art over this
stuff any day!” She may believe that doing well in school is based on external factors,
such as luck or the teacher. It is a good idea to teach Annie that with effort and hard
work, she will have success with writing. Teachers “should always praise students for
their effort (which is controlled by them) rather than their intelligence (which is not)”
(Slavin, pg. 253, 2015). This can motivate Annie to put effort into her writing, even if
it feels difficult.
Another potential cause that contributes to Annie's low self-efficacy could be how Mr.
Baer teaches Language Arts. He may be skipping over the reproduction and motivation
phases. “In the classroom, students receive constant information concerning their level
of performance on academic tasks, either relative to others or relative to some norm
of acceptability. This feedback ultimately influences students’ self-perceptions” (Slavin,
pg. 253, 2015). This is Bandura's motivational phase. Perhaps Annie's behavior has not
received positive reinforcement. Mr. Baer needs to give praise to students who are
improving and putting in effort. Annie could also need more practice, which is the
reproduction phase. Mr. Baer can model writing and have his students complete more
writing practice in his classroom.

Lastly, it is possible is that a sibling or parent of Annie's expresses that writing is hard
or that they cannot write well. If this is going on at home, then Annie will see this
behavior and adopt this belief as well. Annie is not only learning socially from her
teacher, but also from peers and her family. If a brother, sister, or parent struggle with
writing, she may be modeling that behavior she picked up on at home.

Applying Social-Cognitive Theory to Improve Confidence and Success

Social Cognitive Theory can be applied to help Annie become more confident and
successful in her writing skills. Mr. Baer can model the behavior he would like to see
in his students, the retention phase, and he can motivate his students to model his
writing. Mr. Baer can also place his students in groups, using collaboration, to enhance
the reproduction phase. “Because peers are usually operating within each other’s zones
of proximal development, they often provide models for each other of slightly more
advanced thinking” (Slavin, pg. 34, 2015). On the other hand, he can work with Annie
individually to increase self-regulation. He can come up with a plan for self-regulation.
Through this process he can provide positive reinforcement when Annie does practice
her writing.

Self-Regulation and A Plan to Improve Annie's Self-Regulation

By improving Annie's self-efficacy in Language Arts, her self-regulation will also

improve. Mr. Baer may implement self-regulation with Annie to improve her beliefs
about her writing ability. “Development occurs as the child (is)... able to think and solve
problems without the help of others, an ability called self-regulation” (Slavin, pg. 33,
2015). Furthermore, “Bandura (1997) hypothesized that people observe their own
behavior, judge it against their own standards, and reinforce or punish themselves,”
(Slavin, pg. 113, 2015), in other words, self-regulation. Students are at different levels
and have different standards for themselves (Slavin, pg. 113, 2015). For example, “one
student might be delighted to get 90 percent correct on a test, whereas another might
be quite disappointed” (Slavin, pg. 113, 2015).
Mr. Baer can teach Annie how to self-regulate her writing practice. He can help Annie
set up a daily goal for writing and a weekly improvement goal. These goals need to be
specific and simple. Mr. Baer and Annie can decide her goals are writing each night
for twenty minutes and improving her writing scores by 5% each week, assuming that
Mr. Baer is providing frequent feedback to his students. Mr. Baer can give Annie a
tracking sheet. This tracking sheet can have four weeks listed out and have a spot to
check off for each night of writing. Annie can check the box once she practices twenty
minutes of writing at home. There can also be four lines with the date of each Friday
in that month. Annie will write down her writing scores for each week on that line.
Annie can meet with Mr. Baer twice per week to review the tracker sheet, to make sure
Annie is following through and using the tracker sheet correctly. This is the second
phase of Vygotsky's three phases of self-regulation (Slavin, pg. 33, 2015). Mr. Baer can
reinforce Annie's good behavior by giving her words of praise when she completes her
writing and improves her writing scores.

Addressing Typical v. A-Typical Behavior and Development

In my opinion, Annie displays typical behavior. Some students have high self-efficacy,
and some have low self-efficacy. It varies by student and by subject. It is the role of the
teacher to guide his or her students to improve in academics. Some students are not
comfortable with various subjects or skills at first, but additional practice and learning
help improve self-efficacy. If Annie has a learning disability, then this behavior could
also be typical for a student with a learning disability.

Parental Contact

There are few instances when a teacher should avoid speaking to the parents of a
student. It is a good idea to include family in school activities and in the classroom.
Moreover, establishing communication with parents and involving them in their
student's schoolwork helps the student succeed. I would recommend that Mr. Baer
reach out to Annie's parents to begin the conversation about Annie's low self-efficacy
in Language Arts. Mr. Baer can ask the parents if anyone in the family has beliefs about
their own writing abilities, and whether they are positive or negative beliefs. He can ask
if anyone in the family makes comments such as “you are good at art, but not at
writing,” “I'm not good at writing,” or “writing is hard.” Do they say things that enforce
an external locus of control?

Mr. Baer should share with Annie's parents what Annie said about writing. He can
express his concern for her low self-efficacy in Language Arts. Furthermore, he can
give the parents tips for supporting Annie in her writing. He can teach them about
external and internal locus of control, and advise that they remind Annie that her effort
in writing will help her succeed. They can reduce any negative comments they might
have about writing and tell Annie that she can become a great writer if she puts in the
effort.

Consideration for Additional Services

Since the only information known is that Annie does not like to write, it is unclear
where her level of writing is at. If she is behind in her writing, Mr. Baer can implement
Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) for Annie. She can write a paragraph each
week about a new topic, then Mr. Baer can grade her sentence structure, vocabulary,
spelling, and representation of ideas. Her score can be tracked to make sure there is
improvement. Annie could also undergo testing for potential learning disabilities.
Perhaps Annie has a language disability. It would be a good idea to get testing and then
take the proper course of action thereafter.

References:

Slavin, R. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice . New Jersey: Pearson.