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This presentation sheds light on teaching cognitive learning strategies to college students, emphasizing principles of information processing theory and defining cognitive strategies. It delves into issues in teaching students to be self-regulated learners and highlights the importance of integrated cognitive strategy instruction, offering practical activities and insights.
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Teaching Cognitive Learning Strategiesto College Students Shirley L. Yu Department of Educational Psychology University of Houston slyu@uh.edu 713-743-9822
Outline • Activity • Some principles of information processing theory • Defining cognitive learning strategies • Issues in teaching college students to be self-regulated learners • Integrated cognitive strategy instruction
Activity • Rate the sentences I will read according to the scale on your handout.
Levels of Processing • Deeper processing focused on meaning of information results in better recall than does • Shallow processing focused on superficial aspects of information (Craik & Lockhart, 1972)
Effortfulness in Processing • The more difficult decisions and thinking required during learning, the better the learning • (related sidebar) Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives – Cognitive Domain • Knowledge • Comprehension • Application • Analysis • Synthesis • Evaluation (Bloom, Engelhart, Frost, Hill, & Krathwohl, 1956)
Bloom’s Taxonomy – Revised (2001) The Cognitive Process Dimension The Knowledge Dimension Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Factual Knowledge Conceptual Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Metacognitive Knowledge
Elaboration in Processing • Generating more information and adding it to the target information helps in learning • Links target information to prior knowledge
Encoding Specificity • When trying to recall information, cues start the retrieval (search) process • When same cues are present at time of presentation (encoding) AND at time of testing/use (retrieval), recall is better (Tulving, 1983; Tulving & Thomson, 1974)
Teaching Strategies vs.Cognitive Learning Strategies • Teaching strategies • Utilized by the instructor/teacher to teach • Cognitive learning strategies • Utilized by the student to learn
Cognitive Learning Strategies • Conscious behaviors and mental activities used by students in order to learn (Alexander, Graham, & Harris, 1998; Weinstein & Mayer, 1986)
Rehearsal • Repeating information over and over • E.g., Re-read textbook; Review lecture notes
Organization • Making connections between and among information • E.g., Make outline; Create concept map Cognitive Learning Strategies Elaboration Rehearsal Organization Mnemonics
Elaboration • Generating more information and adding it to the target information • E.g., Create an example; Restate into own words; Relate information to own experience or something learned previously; Use a mnemonic strategy
Mnemonic Strategies • Memory tricks • E.g., Rhymes and songs; 1st letter technique; Keyword method
Keyword Method • For vocabulary; foreign language; etc. pato = duck 1) Acoustic link pato sounds like pot (keyword) 2) Visual link duck sitting in a pot
Issues in Teaching College Students to be SRL (Hofer, Yu, & Pintrich, 1998)
General Assumptions of a Self-Regulated Learning Perspective Active construction Potential for control Use of goals/criterion/standards Mediates between personal and contextual characteristics and actual achievement (Pintrich, 2004)
Integrated vs. Adjunct Course Design • Adjunct course • Stand-alone course • Example at University of Houston HDFS 1311: Development of Self-regulated Learning (Cr. 3) • Theory and research on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral factors related to academic success; emphasis on application to students' development.
“Learning to Learn” Course • Lectures – principles, concepts, research findings • Laboratories – demonstrations, group work, activities to enhance application and practice (Hofer & Yu, 2003; Hofer, Yu, & Pintrich, 1998; Pintrich, McKeachie, & Lin, 1987; Weinstein, Husman, & Dierking, 2000)
Advantages - Adjunct Course • Dedicated course time • Instructor interest, knowledge, expertise • Improvements in Self-regulated learning • Motivation • Cognitive learning strategy use • Metacognition Achievement
Integrated into Course • Strategies instruction embedded in curriculum (metacurriculum) • Example • HDFS 1300: Development of Contemporary Families • A multidisciplinary integration of historical, psychological, and sociological approaches to the study and understanding of diversity in family forms and influences that shape a family's values, beliefs, and behaviors.
Advantages - Integrated into Course • Communicates value of strategies in context • Provides opportunities for immediate and authentic use • May increase probability of transfer of strategy use
Transfer of Learning • Learning in one context enhances performance in another context (Salomon & Perkins, 1989) • Both integrated and adjunct courses – issue of transfer of strategies to other disciplinary courses (Hofer, Yu, & Pintrich, 1998)
Components and Design of Intervention • Definition of self-regulated learner • Components to include • Cognitive strategies • Metacognitive strategies • Motivation • Behavior
Direct Explanation Approach WHO? Teachers teach students to use cognitive learning strategies WHAT? Variety of different strategies WHEN? When to use different strategies for different tasks/information WHERE? In a variety of contexts; for different subjects HOW? Model and give students practice WHY? Importance/value of using cognitive strategies (Pressley & McCormick, 1995) 29
State Those Objectives Specifically • On syllabus, in class, by TAs • E.g., Active learning; Students will become more effective in their learning processes
Label and Discuss Strategies Explicitly • Make metacognition and strategies part of classroom discourse • Learning is not “something that happens mysteriously” (Pintrich, 2002)
Model and Explain Strategy Use • Demonstrate your own use of strategies and explain why it is useful • E.g., While solving a problem, provide mental modeling by talking aloud about your thought process; Provide a mnemonic for hard-to-remember information (Duffy & Roehler, 1989; Pintrich, 2002)
Provide Opportunities for Student Practice • Embed cognitive learning strategies as assignments • Conveys the importance • Encourages participation
Organization • Assignment example: Write an outline for one of the textbook chapters • Jigsaw method • Students get in groups of 4-5 • Each student writes outline for 1 chapter • Students distribute and review copies of their outline to group members
Elaboration • Assignment example: Generate examples of concept X; Relate course concepts to your own experience
Writing Strategies • Teach procedural knowledge related to writing papers • Break down task into smaller subgoals (and collect for feedback) prior to due date • Peer review • Revise, edit
Final Thoughts • Cognitive strategies (as part of self-regulated learning) improve performance • College students can be taught to use strategies • Faculty can begin this process on a small scale and build up