1. Two things that I would like to learn in this course are:
1) How to be discerning in reading scientific papers, and select the parts that are needed without getting too bogged down in information that I may not understand so well or is not relevant to what I’m trying to learn from the paper
2) Learn how a single cell/zygote can eventually develop into an organism that comprises millions of cells, and how each of these cells can be so specifically adapted to a purpose while still working as part of the whole.
2. For learning goal 1, I think that persisting when tasks are difficult will be the most challenging in this situation, as when I’m reading higher-level things I tend to get frustrated when I can’t understand what it’s saying easily. I will respond to this challenge by really focusing on what I need to take out of the paper, and if I get to a difficult piece that I can’t seem to understand I will take a break for a little and come back to it, and if I”m still having trouble I will try to get help from either friends in the course or my professor.
3. I think this is self-regulated learning, as it involves me specifically thinking of two things that I want to learn, and is the beginning of me setting goals that I would be self-regulated in achieving. These two things are specific to me and may not coincide with what others want to learn, and in that sense thinking of them is a very self-oriented process. Answering these questions also made me think of a way that I would persist when encountering difficulties, giving me strategies for further learning adventures.