Helping Students Learn How to Learn Kaatje van

Helping Students Learn How to Learn Kaatje van der Hoeven Kraft Mesa Community College David Mc. Connell North Carolina State University This material is based on work supported by NSF DUE Award #: 1022980 & 1022917 Any opinions, findings, and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF 1

Aspects of Motivation 3. Metacognitive strategies - use of planning, monitoring, and regulation of learning and the ability to continue studying despite difficulties or distractions and how to apply the appropriate strategies for a given problem or task. 1. Value - perception that class activities/content will help achieve a personal goal and that the task is important and useful. 2. Expectancy - a student’s belief that their efforts will result in positive gains in learning and their appraisal of their ability to master tasks. 2

Factors that influence learning Personal Characteristics of Student motivations (things that drive learning, e. g. , task value, self-efficacy) (age, gender, academic rank, experience) Course Context (tasks, grading policy, pedagogy, instructional resources) Course Outcomes Student selfregulation of learning (effort, interest, performance) (studying and/or learning behaviors, e. g. , planning, monitoring, reflection) adapted from Pintrich, P. R. , & Zusho, A. (2007). Student Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning in the College Classroom. In R. P. Perry & J. C. Smart (Eds. ), The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: An Evidence-Based Perspective (pp. 731 -810). Dordrecht: Springer. 3

Opportunities to Think about Learning: Learning how to learn Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Self-regulation cycle Reflection, Monitoring, Reaction Acting Regulation, Control Self-regulation cycle: • How can we structure courses to provide opportunities for students to engage in these steps? • Role of Instructor vs. role of student? Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learners and academic achievement. An overview and analysis. In B. J. Zimmeran & D. H. Schunk (Eds. ), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical Perspectives (2 nd ed. , pp. 1 -38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 4

Opportunities to Think about Learning Engage students in thinking about what they know and need to do. Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Self-regulation Reflection, cycle Monitoring, Reaction Acting Regulation, Control • Target goal setting (clear goals, moderate difficulty) • Initial situational and topical interest • Perceptions of task (relevance, utility), prior knowledge • Ease of learning judgment Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learners and academic achievement. An overview and analysis. In B. J. Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds. ), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical Perspectives (2 nd ed. , pp. 1 -38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 5

Opportunities to Think about Learning Students monitor their learning process to stay engaged in a task Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Self-regulation Monitoring, Reflection, cycle Acting Reaction Regulation, Control • Activation of situational or topical interest • Anxiety coping strategies • Metacognitive judgments of learning relative to goals • Study, effort monitoring Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learners and academic achievement. An overview and analysis. In B. J. Zimmeran & D. H. Schunk (Eds. ), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical Perspectives (2 nd ed. , pp. 1 -38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 6

Opportunities to Think about Learning When a student identifies a “problem” they modify their behavior Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Self-regulation Reflection, cycle Monitoring, Reaction Acting Regulation, Control • Application of extrinsic or intrinsic reward strategies • Rehearsal, elaboration or organization strategies • Encouragement of persistence • Regulation of study environment • Peer help strategies Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learners and academic achievement. An overview and analysis. In B. J. Zimmeran & D. H. Schunk (Eds. ), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical Perspectives (2 nd ed. , pp. 1 -38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 7

Opportunities to Think about Learning When students can reflect on what they learned or can improve upon next time, it helps to restart the cycle • • • Assess goal achievement Success/failure attributions Judgments of efficacy, effort Time/study adjustments Help seeking Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Self-regulation Reflection, cycle Monitoring, Reaction Acting Regulation, Control Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learners and academic achievement. An overview and analysis. In B. J. Zimmeran & D. H. Schunk (Eds. ), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical Perspectives (2 nd ed. , pp. 1 -38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 8

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Monitoring, Acting Low Effort: Pause + Think/Pair/Share Regulation, Control Experimental Group: Three 2 -minute pauses per lecture, student discussion of lecture content with peer. Control Group: No pauses for discussion in lecture. Students completed a free recall exercise after lecture • Experimental Group – number of facts recalled: 22. 97* • Control Group – number of facts recalled: 16. 63 Ruhl, Hughes, and Schloss. , 1987. Teacher Education and Special Education, v. 10 #1, p. 14 -18 9

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Monitoring, Acting Low Effort: Build graphic organizers Regulation, Control Does the way we organize information make a difference? Blue • Students examined a list of these 22 random items for one minute and tried to remember as many as possible. Gold • Students examined a list of these 22 organized items for one minute and tried to remember as many as possible.

Low Effort: Build graphic organizers Using labeled sketches or other graphic organizers (e. g. , concept maps) can make it easier to recall related information Concept Map of Earth’s Structure “Chunking” of information is similar to expert thought patterns

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Monitoring, Acting Regulation, Control Low Effort: Retrieval Practice WHAT IS RETRIEVAL PRACTICE? § Review material for initial study period § Put material away and on a blank piece of paper practice retrieval by recalling and writing down as much information as possible. § Review material and practice retrieval again § Do it the first time during or within a few hours of original lesson § Repeat retrieval process at regular intervals prior to exam (e. g. , weekly) http: //animaltheory. blogspot. com/2012/02/labrador-retrievers. html

Low Effort: Retrieval Practice Research on learning shows that retrieval practice is the most effective study method: Students don’t know this Simple reflection exercises during or following lecture will improve later recall of information. The more practice that students get at retrieval, the more they will recall later in test situations Read once Read 4 separate times Read, make concept map Read, try retrieval, repeat Karpicke, J. D. , and Blunt, J. R. , 2011, Science Express, January 20, p. 1 -7. 13

Long-term Memory – Remember to repeat Day 0 = Initial studying of material 2 tests for Group 1 The more time that passes before attempting retrieval, the more we forget • Thinking or talking about an NORMAL FORGETTING CURVE event immediately after it occurs enhances memory of the event • Reviewing material at fixed, spaced intervals enhances memory (after class reflection, online quizzes, recitations, tutorials, study groups, etc. ) Roediger & Karpicke, 2006, Perspectives in Psychological Science, v. 1, p. 181 -210.

Moderate Effort: Reading Reflections 15

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Monitoring, Acting Moderate Effort: Reading Reflections Regulation, Control 16

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Monitoring, Acting Moderate Effort: Exam Wrappers Regulation, Control 1: As part of/after taking an exam, students describe how prepared they feel for the test, how they studied, etc… 2: After they receive their exam back, ask them to respond to their initial ideas and what (if anything) they’ll change for a future exam. 3: Discuss as a class, and remind them of those key ideas prior to the next exam 17

Moderate Effort: Exam Wrappers Instructor feedback is critical 18

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Moderate Effort: Learning Journals Monitoring, Acting Regulation, Control Students participate in reading reflections AND activities that explicitly tie learning practices to research-based strategies. How do you know when you know something? (How do you know when you have learned something thoroughly? ) Exam Preparation Think about two classes you have takenalong in thewith past. the learning journal and If you have been following Consider a class that resulted in aassignments lot of new on schedule, you will be well on your completing reading Reflecting onnearly Your Learning learning, andway oneto where learn much at can answer doingyou welldidn’t on the exam. If you “Yes” to all of In recent years, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists and all. You may the havequestions received below, the same grade in then you are off to a good start: educational psychologists have made a series of these classes. I have completed my reading and learning journal tasks as they about how the human brain learns. One of discoveries Why did youare think you learned a lot in one class Yes No assigned so I will not end up cramming at the last minute. these is summarized below. Read this summary and relatively little in the other? answertime the questions that follow. I have identified the material I need to study and scheduled Yes No to review it over several days. http: //www. purdue. edu/newsroom/research/2011/11 0120 Karpicke. Science. html I use the headings and subheadings in lecture notes and textbook Yessentences, No Using complete describe how you could use chapters to organize information and predict exam questions. retrieval practice in this class to enhance your learning? 19

Forethought, Planning, Goal Setting Reflection, Reaction Monitoring, Acting Committed Effort: Classroom Notebooks Regulation, Control • Ongoing effort throughout the semester includes: • All class activities • Reflective prompts at the beginning and end of each topic • Consistent organizational structure • Periodically collected and graded 20

Instructor support for learning about learning Provide opportunities for students to self-evaluate their own learning • Provide models (coping are better than expert): • Think-Pair-Share • Provide opportunities for self-evaluation • • • Think-Pair-Share Reflective Prompts Exam Wrappers Learning Journals Classroom notebook 21 Based on research findings from Zimmeran, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(3), 329 -339.

Instructor support for learning about learning Create an environment that fosters learning to learn • Reward effort over ability • Provide assessments that encourage effort (e. g. , allow for revisions) • Encourage self-comparison over social comparison • Reflective Prompts • Exam Wrappers • Provide visual, graphic and organizational structures • Graphic organizers, concept maps, etc… • Reading reflections • BE EXPLICIT: how do these activities support their ability to learn? 22 Based on research findings from Zimmeran, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(3), 329 -339.

Instructor support for learning about learning Encourage behavior that fosters learning to learn • Provide an environment that encourages questioning and help-seeking • Think-pair-share • Reading Reflections • Exam wrappers • Encourage goal setting (proximal vs. distal) • Exam wrappers • Learning journals • Classroom Notebooks 23 Based on research findings from Zimmeran, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(3), 329 -339.