Teach Students HOW to Learn: Metacognition is the Key

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Teach Students HOW to Learn Metacognition is
the Key!

• Saundra Y. McGuire, Ph.D., Director
• Center for Academic Success
• Adj. Professor, Dept. of Chemistry
• Louisiana State University

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2004 National College Learning Center
AssociationFrank L. Christ Outstanding Learning
Center Award 
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The Story of Four LSU Students2003 - 2004

• Travis, junior psychology student
• 47, 52, 82, 86
• Robert, freshman chemistry student
• 42, 100, 100, 100
• Michael, senior pre-medical organic student
• 30, 28, 80, 91
• Terrence, junior Bio Engineering student
• GPA 1.67 cum, 3.54 (F 03), 3.8 (S 04)

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Four Analytical Chemistry Students in 2005
Date of Final Exam December 14, 2005 Meeting
with Student No. 1 December 12, 2005 Meeting
with Student Nos. 2 4 December 2, 2005 Meeting
with Student No. 3 December 8, 2005 The final
was worth 100 points with a 10 bonus question.
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LSU Analytical Chemistry Graduate Students
Cumulative Exam Record
2004 2005 9/04 Failed 10/04 Failed 11/04 Fail
ed 12/04 Failed 1/05 Passed 2/05 Failed 3/05 Faile
d 4/05 Failed
2005 2006 10/05 Passed 11/05 Failed 12/05 P
assed best in group 1/06 Passed 2/06 Passed 3/06 F
ailed 4/06 Passed last one! 5/06 N/A
Began work with CAS in October 2005
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Desired outcomes

• We will better understand why students spend
  little time studying and do not know how to learn
• We will have concrete learning strategies that
  faculty can teach students to increase critical
  thinking and we will be committed to trying some
  of these strategies in our classes
• We will have more resources for our students
• We will view our students differently
• We will see positive changes in our students
  performance and self-perception

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Think/Pair/Share

• What is the difference, if any, between studying
  and learning?
• Which, if either, is more enjoyable?

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Characteristics of Many ofTodays Students

• Working more hours
• More ADD/ADHD
• Taking non-prescription drugs to increase
  concentration
• Interested in obtaining credentials
• Feel entitled to an A or B if they consistently
  attend class
• Few time management skills
• Few learning skills

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Why dont students know how to learn?

• It wasnt necessary in high school
• - 66 of 2003 entering first year students
  spent less than six hours per week doing
  homework in 12th grade.
• - More than 46 of these students said they
  graduated from high school with an A average.
• Students confidence level is high
• - 70 believe their academic ability is above
  average or in the highest 10 percent among
  people their age
• Higher Education Research Institute Study
• http//www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/03_press_release.
  pdf

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What did we at the CAS do to improve students
learning and performance?

• We gave them
• Confidence
• Attitude Adjustment
• Strategies involving metacognition

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Metacognition

• The ability to
• think about thinking
• be consciously aware of oneself as a problem
  solver
• monitor and control ones mental processing
• accurately assess what one
• understands and does not understand

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What We Know About Learning

• Learning is a complex process involving the
  development of conceptual understanding
• Individual learners must actively construct their
  own learning (constructivism)
• New learning is based on prior knowledge
• Active learning is more lasting than passive
  learning
• Thinking about thinking is important
• Metacognition
• The level at which learning occurs is important
  for effective transfer
• Blooms Taxonomy

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Rote Learning

• Involves verbatim memorization
• (which is easily forgotten)
• Cannot be manipulated or applied to novel
  situations
• (e.g. memorizing strong and weak electrolytes,
  quantum numbers, etc.)

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Meaningful Learning

• Learning that is tied and related to previous
  knowledge and integrated with previous learning
• Can be manipulated, applied to novel situations,
  and used in problem solving tasks
• (e.g. comparing and contrasting the Arrhenius
  and B-L definitions of acids and bases.)

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This pyramid depicts the different levels of
thinking we use when learning. Notice how each
level builds on the foundation that precedes it.
It is required that we learn the lower levels
before we can effectively use the skills above.
Blooms Taxonomy
Evaluation
Graduate School
Making decisions and supporting views requires
understanding of values.
Combining information to form a unique product
requires creativity and originality.
Synthesis
Identifying components determining arrangement,
logic, and semantics.
Analysis
Undergraduate
Using information to solve problems transferring
abstract or theoretical ideas to practical
situations. Identifying connections and
relationships and how they apply.
Application
Restating in your own words paraphrasing,
summarizing, translating.
Comprehension
High School
Memorizing verbatim information. Being able to
remember, but not necessarily fully understanding
the material.
Knowledge
Louisiana State University ? Center for Academic
Success ? B-31 Coates Hall ? 225-578-2872 ?
www.cas.lsu.edu
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Example Blooms Levels of Learning Applied
to Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Courtesy of http//www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/br
isas/sunda/litpack/BloomsCriticalThinking_files/v3
_document.htm
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Students Learn When We Teach Them How to Learn!

• Teach them the difference between learning
  (meaningful learning) and memorization (rote
  learning)
• Teach them specific learning strategies
• Implement pedagogical strategies that make them
  use the learning strategies

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Metacognitive Strategies

• Always ask why, how, and what if
• Use SQ5R for reading assignments
• (survey, question, read, recite, review, wRite,
  reflect)
• Test understanding by giving mini lectures on
  concepts
• Move higher on Blooms taxonomy
• Always solve problems more than one way
• Use the Study Cycle with Intense Study Sessions

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The Study Cycle
Phase 1 Preview chapter(s) to be covered in
class before class. Phase 2 GO TO CLASS!
Listen actively, take notes, participate in
class. Phase 3 Review and process class notes
as soon after class as possible. Phase
4 Implement Intense Study Sessions. Repeat

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Intense Study Sessions

• 2-5 minutes Set Goals
• 20-50 minutes STUDY with FOCUS and
  ACTION (Read your text, create flash cards,
  create maps and/or outlines, work problems
  -without peeking at the answers, quiz
  yourself) Achieve your goal!
• 5 minutes Take a break

• 5 minutes Review what you have just
  studied
• Repeat

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Another Cognitive Science Concept Judgment of
Learning (JOL)

• The ability to
• Realistically evaluate what youve learned and
  what you havent learned
• Devise strategies to test your learning (e.g.
  write about the topic, give a lecture about the
  topic, etc.)
• Use strategies to deepen your learning

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Why Students Do Not Accurately Judge their
Learning

• They base their learning on whats in short term
  memory
• They dont test their learning
• Theyve never engaged in an activity that would
  show them that they are overestimating their
  learning

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Concept maps facilitate development of higher
order thinking skills
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Concepts Maps
Can Have Many Forms
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Chapter Map
Title of Chapter
Primary Headings
Subheadings
Secondary Subheadings
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Ideas...
(Comments go Here.)
(Comments go Here.)
(Comments go Here.)
Cause and Effect
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Get Creative!
Issue 2
Issue 3
Issue 1
Issue 4
Topic Area
Issue 7
Issue 5
Issue 6
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Compare and Contrast
Concept 1
Concept 2
How are they similar?
How are they different?
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How Concept Mapping Improves Accuracy of Judgment
of Learning

• It forces students to come to grips with the
  state of their current understanding of a topic
• Students see how other students see the
  concepts
• Students develop a conceptual framework for the
  material

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Good notes are essential for meaningful learning
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Cornell Note Taking Format
Notes on Taking Notes, 01/04/07
Recall Column

• Uses of notes
• identify major points
• identify minor points
• There are 4 Kinds of Notes
• Running Text
• Formal Outline
• Informal Outline
• Cornell Note system

Reduce ideas and facts to concise summaries and
cues for reciting, reviewing and reflecting over
here.
Developed by Walter Pauk
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Knowledge of Metacognition Greatly Increases
African American Student Success

• They are less likely to have been cognitively
  challenged in high school
• They are less likely to be encouraged to stick
  with it
• They are more likely to experience the impact of
  a paradigm shift

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Motivation
In the academy, the term motivating means
stimulating interest in a subject and, therefore,
the desire to learn it. (Nilson, 57)
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Motivation to Learn Study Hobson 2000 2001
(n412)

• Positive motivation
• Teachers attitudes behaviors 27.1
• Course structure 22.5
• Intrinsic 19.8
• Course content 17.0
• Perform. Measures 10.0
• Vocational/financial 1.4
• Learning environ. 1.1
• Parents/others 1.0

• Negative motivation
• Teachers attitudes behaviors 31.6
• Course structure 25.9
• Learning environ. 12.9
• Course content 10.8
• Intrinsic 10.0
• Perform. measures 7.5
• Parents/others 0.9
• Vocational/financial 0.3

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Motivation Boosters

• Partial credit for partially correct answers
• Letting students use their own problem solving
  method
• Flexible grading scale based on student
  performance
• Demonstrated personal interest in, and belief
  that EVERY student can succeed!

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• The 2004 LSU Dental School First Year Class
• An Amazing Success Story!
• Metacognition Discussion August 13, 2004
• Histology Exam August 23, 2004
• Previous class averages 74 78
• Challenge to class on August 13 84 average
• Reported average on August 24 85!

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Final Reflection Question

• Who is primarily responsible for student
  learning?
• a) the student
• b) the instructor
• c) the institution

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We can significantly increase our students
learning!

• We must teach them the learning process and
  strategies
• We must not judge their potential on their
  initial performance
• We must encourage them to persist in the face of
  initial failure
• We must encourage the use of metacognitive tools

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References

• Bruer, John T. , 2000. Schools For Thought A
  Science of Learning in the Classroom. MIT Press.
• Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R.
  (Eds.), 2000. How people learn Brain, Mind,
  Experience, and School. Washington, DC
  National Academy Press.
• Halpern, D.F and Hakel, M.D. (Eds.), 2002.
  Applying the Science of Learning to University
  Teaching and Beyond. New York, NY John Wiley and
  Sons, Inc.
• Kameenui and Carnine, 1998. Effective Teaching
  Strategies That Accommodate Diverse Learners.
  Upper Saddle River, NJ Merrill Publishing
• Nilson, Linda, 2004. Teaching at Its Best A
  Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.
  Bolton, MA Anker Publishing Company.
• Taylor, S. (1999). Better learning through better
  thinking Developing students metacognitive
  abilities. Journal of College Reading and
  Learning, 30(1), 34ff. Retrieved November 9,
  2002, from Expanded Academic Index ASAP.
• http//academic.pg.cc.md.us/wpeirce/MCCCTR/metac
  ognition.htm
• Zull, James (2004). The Art of Changing the
  Brain. Sterling, VA Stylus Publishing.