Dr Laura Ritchie is Professor of Learning and Teaching at the University of Chichester, UK. She is a chartered phycologist who is vibrant in her teaching, research, music-making, and in life; she embodies a ‘yes’ attitude. She was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2012. Laura’s teaching is heavily influenced by her research into people’s self-beliefs and cognitive processes as they learn and perform/carry out tasks. She has a strong background in both performance and research, with a Masters in Advanced Performance (cello) and a PhD in Psychology of Music from the Royal College of Music. Her PhD research demonstrated that self-efficacy was key to success in learning and performance. As an educator, Laura has used her extensive professional experience to create pioneering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Instrumental / Vocal Music Teaching at the University of Chichester and for the European String Teachers Association.
Her research focuses on self-efficacy beliefs (a person’s self-beliefs in their capabilities to do a particular task) and metacognitive processes. Her recent book Yes I Can: Learn to use the Power of Self-efficacy is a practical and personal book about self-efficacy, strategic thinking, and recognising possibility in order to adopt the yes of self-efficacy into daily life. Earlier books include California Dreaming (2017, co-written with students) and Fostering self-efficacy in Higher Education Students (2015).
Books:
Yes I Can: Learn to use the power of self-efficacy is a practical and personal book founded on solid psychological concepts. Yes I Can addresses the topics of perception, perspective, self-efficacy beliefs, metacognition, self-regulation, and agency by presenting these psychological concepts through a uniquely inviting and approachable, storytelling voice. Laura interweaves psychological theory with personal stories, told in a memoir-like way, drawing upon experience from her musical, academic, and personal life. The important aspect of these stories is not that they are about ‘Laura’ but act as a bridge between research and everyday practice, and serve as a lens for the reader to look both at and into their own experience.
This book will transform your understanding and perception of ‘can’ to become a fundamental part of life. More than a mindset, it is about understanding the processes underlying self-beliefs, which allow you to move from wherever you are through the vision of possibility to achieve your goals. Strategic thinking, instead of grit or willpower, serves to allow you to adopt the yes in your daily life.
Yes I Can: Learn to use the power of self-efficacy is available as an ebook, paperback, and audiobook via most major booksellers. (and also Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q4KR47L/ )
California Dreamingis a non-fiction book that tells the story of an amazing project that took 6 people 6000 miles (and to do that they raised £6000 in 6 weeks). It is an uplifting story that tells what happens when you believe ‘yes I can’. It is your chance to be a fly on the wall and see inside learning, teaching, and life – with all the ups and downs. It is available via this website or Amazon.
Fostering Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Students is a book for those interested in teaching, learning, and improving their own capacity for efficiency and success. It is geared for those in higher education, but is relevant to all learners and teachers.
Review by David Hopkins HERE