Teaching Cognitive Learning Strategies to College Students

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Teaching Cognitive Learning Strategiesto College
Students

• Shirley L. Yu
• Department of Educational Psychology
• University of Houston

slyu_at_uh.edu 713-743-9822
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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

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Activity

• Rate the sentences I will read according to the
  scale on your handout.

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Some Principles of Information Processing Theory
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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)

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Effortfulness in Processing

• The more difficult decisions and thinking
  required during learning, the better the learning
• (related sidebar) Blooms taxonomy of educational
  objectives

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Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Cognitive Domain

• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation
• (Bloom, Engelhart, Frost, Hill, Krathwohl, 1956)

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Blooms Taxonomy Revised (2001)
The Cognitive Process Dimension





The Knowledge Dimension
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Elaboration in Processing

• Generating more information and adding it to the
  target information helps in learning
• Links target information to prior knowledge

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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)

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Defining Cognitive Learning Strategies
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Teaching Strategies vs.Cognitive Learning
Strategies

• Teaching strategies
• Utilized by the instructor/teacher to teach
• Cognitive learning strategies
• Utilized by the student to learn

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Cognitive Learning Strategies

• Conscious behaviors and mental activities used by
  students in order to learn
• (Alexander, Graham, Harris, 1998
• Weinstein Mayer, 1986)

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Rehearsal

• Repeating information over and over
• E.g., Re-read textbook
• Review lecture notes

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Organization

• Making connections between and among information
• E.g., Make outline Create concept map

Cognitive Learning Strategies
Elaboration
Rehearsal
Organization
Mnemonics
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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

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Mnemonic Strategies

• Memory tricks
• E.g., Rhymes and songs
• 1st letter technique
• Keyword method

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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

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Issues in Teaching College Students to be SRL

• (Hofer, Yu, Pintrich, 1998)

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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)

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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.

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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)

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Advantages - Adjunct Course

• Dedicated course time
• Instructor interest, knowledge, expertise
• Improvements in
• Self-regulated learning
• Motivation
• Cognitive learning strategy use
• Metacognition
• Achievement

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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.

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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

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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)

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Components and Design of Intervention

• Definition of self-regulated learner
• Components to include
• Cognitive strategies
• Metacognitive strategies
• Motivation
• Behavior

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Integrated Cognitive Strategy Instruction
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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)

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State Those Objectives Specifically

• On syllabus, in class, by TAs
• E.g., Active learning
• Students will become more effective in their
  learning processes

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Label and Discuss Strategies Explicitly

• Make metacognition and strategies part of
  classroom discourse
• Learning is not something that happens
  mysteriously
• (Pintrich, 2002)

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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)

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Provide Opportunities for Student Practice

• Embed cognitive learning strategies as
  assignments
• Conveys the importance
• Encourages participation

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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

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Elaboration

• Assignment example
• Generate examples of concept X
• Relate course concepts to your own experience

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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

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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