Get Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades: Teach Them HOW to Learn!

1. Get Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades: Teach Them HOW to Learn! Saundra Y. McGuire, Ph.D., Director Center for Academic Success Adj. Professor, Department of Chemistry Louisiana State University

2. 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 this semester

3. Reflection Questions • Did you study a lot in high school? • When did you learn the conceptual structure (relationships between basic concepts) of your discipline? • When/why/how did you to learn this?

4. Working more hours More ADD/ADHD Interested in obtaining credentials Feel entitled to an A or B if they consistently attend class Few time management skills Few learning skills Characteristics of Today’s Students

5. “The Engaged Student”

6. Why don’t students know how to learn or how to study? • It wasn’t necessary in high school - 33.4% of 2002 entering first year students spent less than six hours per week doing homework in 12th grade. - More than 45% of these students said they graduated from high school with an “A” average. Higher Education Research Institute Study • High Stakes Testing in high school forces teachers to “teach to the test”. • Students think everything they need is on the net

8. How does the university exacerbate the problem? • Orientation programs that stress fun, recreation, and campus organization involvement • Counselors who assist students in scheduling courses “back to back” with no breaks between • Others?

9. How do faculty members further add to the problem? • By assigning homework and giving tests that require little, if any, higher order thinking • By assessing learning too infrequently • By putting notes on-line and advising students they don’t need to purchase the textbook • By having little ability to teach students concrete learning strategies

10. So, what can we do to improve student learning? • Help students understand the learning process • Require them to use effective learning tools • Assess and provide feedback as often as possible

11. Rote Learning • Involves verbatim memorization (which is easily forgotten) • Cannot be manipulated or applied to novel situations (e.g. remembering phone numbers, dates, names, etc.)

12. 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.)

13. Counting Vowels in 30 seconds How accurate are you?

14. Judgment: the ability to make decisions and support views; requires understanding of values Evaluation Combining information to form a unique product; requires creativity and originality Synthesis Identification of component parts; determination of arrangement, logic, semantics Analysis Use of information to solve problems; transfer of abstract or theoretical ideas to practical situations Application Identification of connections and relationships Interpretation Restatement in your own words; paraphrase; summarize Translation Verbatim information; memorization with no evidence of understanding Recall

15. Keys to Learning Based on Cognitive Science Principles • Deep factual and procedural knowledge of a discipline is required to solve complex problems • Learning is a continuous process; repetition is the key • New knowledge must be tied to existing knowledge • Metacognition (thinking about thinking) is important • Learning should involve both sides of the brain and several learning styles

16. Experts vs. Novices They think differently about problems

17. What intelligent novices know • Learning is different from memorization • Solving problems without looking at the solution is different from using the solution as a model • Comprehension of reading material must be tested while the reading is in progress • Knowledge is not “handed out” by the instructor; it is constructed by the learner

18. Average Retention for Learning Activities (Source: National Training Laboratories, Bethel, ME) 5% Lecture 10% Reading 20% Audio-Visual 30% Demonstration 50% Discussion Group 75% Practice by Doing 90% Teach Others/Immediate Use of Learning

19. We Can Turn Our Students into Intelligent Novices– All of them CAN learn! • Teach them the difference between learning (meaningful learning) and memorization (rote learning) • Help them determine their learning style • Teach them specific learning strategies • Implement pedagogical strategies that make them use the learning strategies

20. The Study Cycle Phase 1:Read or preview chapter(s) to be covered in class… before class. Phase 2: Listen actively, take notes, participate in class. Phase 3:Review and process class notes as soon after class as possible. Phase 4: Intense Study Session. Repeat

21. 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 minutesTake a break • 5 minutesReview what you have just studied • Repeat

22. Good notes are essential for meaningful learning

23. Cornell Note Taking Format Notes on Taking Notes, 2/6/03 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.

24. Concept maps facilitate development of higher order thinking skills

25. Mapping Notetaking Styles/Formats Modified Outline Running Text your own symbols Formal Outline paragraph Roman numerals

26. Compare and Contrast Concept#1 Concept #2 How are they similar? How are they different?

27. Note-taking Styles Running Text Formal Outline Informal Outline Outline Concept Map Notetaking Styles Informal Outline Running Text Formal Outline

28. Create a Chapter Map Title of Chapter Primary Headings Subheadings Secondary Subheadings

29. Learning Styles • Visual concept maps charts, diagrams • Auditory lectures, debates, discussions • Kinesthetic simulations, field trips, research projects

30. The Role of Academic Support Centers in Facilitating Learning Provide faculty and TA’s with information on characteristics of their students and on learning strategies they can teach students Assist faculty in advising students about effective study skills (Absent Professor Program) Help students identify the problem with their performance (e.g. vowel counting vs. word usage)

31. What Learning Strategy Can You Teach that Might Improve Student Performance in Your Course?

32. Strategies that have worked at LSU • Integrating study strategis techniques into class structure. • Teaching and requiring concept mapping • Setting up collaborative working groups in class • Pop quizzes and different approaches to testing • Using motivational techniques

33. In conclusion Our students CAN change their attitudes and behaviors about learning. BUT, we must help them do this and hold them accountable for meaningful learning.

34. Final Note Please visit the CAS website at www.cas.lsu.edu. We have on-line workshops that will introduce you and your students to effective study strategies techniques. Please feel free to contact me at smcgui1@lsu.edu. I wish you great success this semester. Saundra McGuire

35. References • Bruer, John T. , 2000. Schools For Thought: A Science of Learning in the Classroom. MIT Press. • Robinson, Adam. 1993. What Smart Students Know. Three Rivers Press. • www.cas.lsu.edu

36. B-31 Coates Hall Louisiana State University www.cas.lsu.edu