“What kind of student am I?”

Well, I have always been a good student in terms of grades. I learned the subject at hand, passed the test, and went on to the next subject. I never seriously doubted that I could succeed. Although, in hindsight, being a student was my only “job” at the time. My cognitive resources had no real conflicting demands, and my goals were short sighted. I never looked far into the future.

Now is another story. I have more roles and responsibilities (e.g., wife, mother, employee, etc.)  I no longer have the luxury of studying, or not, as I please. I have to fit it in as time allows. While I am still confident that I can get good grades, I am more aware of the importance of what I am learning and how useful it may, or may not, be to me.  My lack of self-confidence is more in my choice of subject matter. Did I choose the best major? Will it benefit me personally and financially?

On a positive note, I am starting to see some common sense applications of some of the subject matter I have  learned in recent courses. That is giving me a bit of a confidence boost.

I found the results of the Self-efficacy survey to be interesting. My first instinct was to choose the most confident response to most of the questions. However, I backed off a bit when I remembered a time when I didn’t finish something I started. Was I unconfident about my ability to finish? Did I lose interest? Or, did I decide the project was not going to be as beneficial as I thought when I began? I will have to think about that some more.