From DSC:<\/span><\/em> Speaking of questions…I’ll add some more, but of a different sort:<\/span><\/p>\n …<\/span><\/p>\n I appreciate Bill Knapp and his perspectives very much (see here<\/a> and here<\/a>; Bill is GRCC’s Executive Director of Distance Learning & Instructional Technologies). The last we got together, we wondered out loud:<\/span><\/p>\n As Bill asserted, we need to help our students build self-efficacy and a mindset of how to learn. Then learners can pivot into new areas with much more confidence. I agree. In <\/span>an era that continues to emphasize freelancing and entrepreneurship — plus dealing with a rapidly-changing workforce — people now need to be able to learn quickly and effectively.<\/strong> They need to have the self confidence to be able to pivot. So h<\/strong><\/span>ow can we best prepare our students for their<\/em> futures?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Also, on a relevant but slightly different note (and I suppose is of the flavor of a Universal Design for Learning approach)…I think that “tests” given to special needs children — for example that might have to do with executive functioning, and\/or identifying issues, and\/or providing feedback as to how a particular learner might best absorb information — would be helpful for ALL students to take. If I realize that the way my brain learns best is to have aural and visual materials presented on any given topic, that is very useful information for me to realize — and the sooner the better!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How Metacognition Boosts Learning<\/a> <\/strong>— from edutopia.org by Youki Terada Excerpt (emphasis DSC):<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Strategies that target students\u2019 metacognition\u2014the ability to think about thinking\u2014can close a gap that some students experience between how prepared they feel for a test and how prepared they actually are. In a new study<\/a>, students in an introductory college statistics class who took a short online survey before each exam asking them to think about how they would prepare for it earned higher grades in the course than their peers\u2014a third of a letter grade higher, on average. This low-cost intervention helped students gain insight into their study strategies, boosting their metacognitive skills and giving them tools to be more independent learners. …<\/p>\n Before a test, students should ask themselves:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n …<\/p>\n After a test, students should ask themselves:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n From DSC:<\/em> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nFrom an early age, we need to help our students learn how to learn. <\/strong><\/span><\/strong>What tips, advice, and\/or questions can we help our students get into the habit of asking themselves? <\/span><\/strong>Along these lines, the article below,”How Metacognition Boosts Learning<\/a>,” provides some excellent questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\nStudents often lack the metacognitive skills they need to succeed, but they can develop these skills by addressing some simple questions.<\/em><\/p>\n
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\nMore recently, a team of psychologists and neuroscientists published a comprehensive analysis<\/a> <\/strong>of 10 learning techniques commonly used by students. They discovered that one of the most popular techniques\u2014rereading material and highlighting key points\u2014is also one of the least effective because it leads students to develop a false sense of mastery. They review a passage and move on without realizing that they haven\u2019t thoroughly understood and absorbed the material.
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\nMetacognition helps students recognize the gap between being familiar with a topic and understanding it deeply. But weaker students often don\u2019t have this metacognitive recognition\u2014which leads to disappointment and can discourage them from trying harder the next time.<\/span><\/strong>
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\nTo promote students\u2019 metacognition, middle and high school teachers can implement the following strategies. Elementary teachers can model or modify these strategies with their students to provide more scaffolding.<\/span><\/strong>
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\nDuring class, students should ask themselves:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\nBelow are a few resources more about metacognition and learning how to learn:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\nExcerpt:<\/em>
\nRereading is a terribly ineffective strategy. The best strategy–by far–is to self-test–which is the 9th most popular strategy out of 11 in this study. Self-testing leads to better memory even compared to concept mapping<\/strong> <\/span>(Karpicke & Blunt, 2011).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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