Attribution Theory and Performance Prior to beginning this assignment, be sure to read Chapter 4: Cognition, Learning, and the Environment, and read the article “Extending Attribution Theory: Considering Students’ Perceived Control of the Attribution Process”, the Instructor Guidance, and view the following website The Critical Thinking Community (Links to an external site.) (http://www.criticalthinking.org/). For this written assignment, you will demonstrate your understanding of attribution theory. In essence, attribution theory states that individuals tend to make sense of (logically prescribe) situations by associating them to self, others, thoughts, feelings, or actions. This theory suggests that learners should consider why they do what they do, and what or who they are giving credit for both the victories and the failures. Further, this theory suggests that if a person believes that they are not good at something, they may attribute their unsuccessful outcomes to external factors, rather than to themselves. In contrast, if individuals have success, they more often may attribute their successes to internal factors. Using your required resources to support, discuss the following: Describe a time where you feel you have failed and blamed someone else: the teacher, the friend, a loved one. (Failure could be academic, relational, and/or organizational – loss of a job.) Do you believe that you blamed external things to support a more stable version of your own self-image? (In other words, it could not be your mistake). If not, what other reasons might external variables be attributed for our own performance? How do think stability and controllability affect performance attributions, based on our reading this week? Why do you think that self-efficacy plays such a critical role in how we process our learning behaviors? What strategies could be applied to utilize what we know about self-perception and attributions to increase your learning performance in the future? (Minimum of two strategies.) Suggested template. The Attribution Theory paper

          Unit 1 Assessment Discourse Communities          Analyze: Discourse Communities Evaluation Title: Discourse Communities  Before starting a research project it is imperative to recognize your  discourse community. This will lead you to suitable places to conduct  your research and will assist you in communicating with your audience in  a language that they recognize and relate to. To complete this assessment, consider the discourse communities or  groups of people with whom you share common interests. Consider the  individuals that discuss topics important to the group. List all learning and social discourse communities that you are member of. Respond to the questions below in an essay that provides an analysis of your discourse communities. What topics of discussion, issues, problems, or concerns keep  these communities together? What constitutes new knowledge for your  group? Is it created experimentally, through discussion, or through a  combination of these two and other methods? How would you characterize the kinds of language which each of  these communities use? Is it formal, informal, complex, simple, and so  on? How are the community’s reasons for existence you listed in the  first question reflected in their language? When you entered into the community, did you have to change your  discourse, both oral and written, in any way, to be accepted and to  participate in the discussions of the community? Does your community or group produce any written documents? These  may include books, professional journals, newsletters, and other  documents. What is the purpose of those documents, their intended  audience, and the language that they use? How different are these  documents from one community to the next? How often does a community you belong to come into contact with  other intellectual and discourse groups? What kinds of conversations  take place? How are conflicts and disagreements negotiated and resolved?  How does each group adjust its discourse to hear the other side and be  heard by it?