Effective Study Strategies for Higher Education Students

1. Sink or Swim Prof. Andreas Prinz Introduction Models of higher education Effective students Study strategies How to teach habits? Summary

2. Introduction • It seemsthatourstudents do not usetheir time in the best way. Often, they do not have goodstudytechniques to start with, and also not whenthey finish. • How canwe make sure thatthe students learnefficiently? • Useof group work?  Godfrey • Have high(er) expectations? • Usebetterscaffolding? Prepared by Andreas Prinz

3. 3 models of higher education • Content-centered (Sink or Swim): provide the material well structured and well prepared; student is responsible for learning. • Teacher-centered (Schooling): provide the material matching to the students needs; teacher is responsible for teaching (& learning). • Student-centered (6th generation): enable the student to make good choices; joint responsibility. Prepared by Andreas Prinz

4. What is a good student? • Controls own learning • Is interested and motivated. • Is always in efficient development zone • Is prepared for the next step Prepared by Andreas Prinz

5. Zones of development Prepared by Andreas Prinz

6. Good study strategies • Responsibility: Take over responsibility for own learning • Motivation: Attitude is crucial. Want to acquire new knowledge and skills, and have faith to be able to do it. Setting goals. • Acquire information: Find and learn the main facts and concepts in the subject in a way that suits own learning style. Read also related material. • Searching meaning: Convert facts and information to something with personal meaning in order to achieve understanding and to trigger memory. • Exhibiting what you know: Reify knowledge by teaching to a "study buddy" or creating a narrative, a lecture, an essay, a PowerPoint presentation etc. • Reflecting on how you have learned: What techniques and ideas worked best? How to improve the learning processes? Control own learning • Efficiency: time management, making and following plans, deadlines • Activity: Get engaged. Find meaning in the work. Be proactive. Simply work. • (Source: Bjørke, Øysæd: Online Study Strategy Course, UiA) • (Source: Cottrell, S. (2008) The study skills handbook, Palgrave) • (Source: Rose, C. & Nicholl, MJ (1997) Accelerated learning for the 21st century, DTP) Prepared by Andreas Prinz

7. Blooms taxonomy: Cognitive domain • Knowledge is the ability to recall information. • Comprehension is the understanding of the information and the ability to state it in one’s own words. • Application is the ability to apply the information one has learned in new situations. • Analysis is the ability to divide the information into different parts and understand the different concepts of the information. • Synthesis is the ability to build new concepts or meaning out of existing information. • Evaluation is the ability to validate the ideas and material and judge it. Prepared by Andreas Prinz

8. Blooms taxonomy: Affective domain • Receiving Phenomena is the ability to listen to and be aware of people. • Responding to Phenomena is the ability to actively involve, attend and react to a phenomenon. • Valuing is the worth or value a persona attaches to a phenomenon, object or behavior. • Organization is the ability to compare, relate, and synthesize values. • Internalizing values is the ability to adjust the behavior to different situations having their own characteristics. Prepared by Andreas Prinz

9. Blooms taxonomy: Psychomotor domain • Perception is the ability to become aware of objects, qualities or relations by way of the sense organs. • Set is the ability to be ready for an action or an experience. • Guided response is the ability to imitate or use trial and error together with an instructor. • Mechanism indicates a skill that has become habitual. • Complex overt response is the ability to use complex motor acts and a high degree of skill usage. • Adaptation is the ability to adapt or modify the skill to fit specific situations. • Origination = ability to develop new psychomotor movements to solve specific problems or to react to new situations. Prepared by Andreas Prinz

10. How to teach habits? • Know how to teach knowledge. • Maybe need to teach skills: exercise • Teach habits: repetition/training • Need to teach experience • Mastery learning: repeat until OK Prepared by Andreas Prinz

11. Separating content and method • Hattie «visible learning»: direct training in study technique is efficient • Two parallel tracks: content & method • Content is taught with a method, here a transition to more responsible student is planned • Method is taught using content as example. Followup is specific based on current level of achievement. (mastery learning) Prepared by Andreas Prinz

12. Summary • Recommended: two parallel tracks • Review the models • 6th generation: fine, but only after the habits are established • Teacher centered: use this for the study habits track • Content centered: for content track, but now the students swim because of their second track. Prepared by Andreas Prinz

13. What is good teaching (Hattie)? • Reciprocal teaching (.74), Peer tutoring (.57) • Problem solving teaching (.71), Worked examples (.57) • Direct training in metacognitive skills (.69), direct training of effective study techniques (.59), effective study intervals and rest periods (.71) • Direct instruction (.59) • Mastery learning (.96) (cannot continue until you have mastered the topic) – not as good for good students (.58) • Computer-cooperative pair learning (.96) • Piagetian programs (1.28) = (Activation: relevant repetition, Concrete: experiment, Invent: discussion, Apply: novel problem)