Helping Students Learn to Learn:Helping Students Learn to Learn:Simple Things that Teachers Can DoSimple Things that Teachers Can Do

Angela Ho, EDCChan Chi Hung, Learning to Learn Project

Helping Students Learn to Learn:

What Do Your Students Need? What Do You Need?

Learning to Learn

What do your students NEED?

Learning to Learn: What do students say they need? To know the aims of learning To set learning goals Improve our thinking process Skills to answer questions Learn to apply in daily life To know more about real world situations How to learn efficiently & effectively, i.e. less time to learn

more, less effort to get more returns Learn the different ways for learning different subjects e.g.

ICT, IT

Learning to Learn: What do students say they need? (I) My relatives ask me “What do you do with the subject you’re

studying?”, I don’t know what to say, …… In fact, I am quite lost. (Lacking understanding of learning goals)(Lacking understanding of learning goals)

We are completely lacking thinking skills and don’t know how to transfer our learning.…I have no idea what has to be interpreted. … We learned a lot of things, but we don’t know how to apply these in work (Badly lacking thinking/cognitive skills)(Badly lacking thinking/cognitive skills)

Learning to Learn: What do students say they need? (II) The most difficult is the project. We have to take care of

everything from the beginning…. We have to form groups with someone we are not familiar with

The teaching of writing reports, we only know the heading, we do not know what should go under it. (Lacking skills for specific learning tasks)(Lacking skills for specific learning tasks)

Helping students learn to learn

What are the more efficient What are the more efficient methods?methods?

Learning to Learn

Stand alone course on learning skills

Learning to learn in the context of teaching, learning & assessment

Preference for learning to learn in-contextin-context of teaching, learning & assessment

The following all suggest that in-context L2L is preferredin-context L2L is preferred

Empirical evidence in the literature PolyU experience

Students’ opinions

Empirical evidenceEmpirical evidence in support of in-context learning-to-learnA meta-analysis of the effectiveness of 51 learning skills interventions

… the typical study skills training package is indeed not so effective as metacognitive and contextualised intervention, but is significantly better than nothing -- clearly so in the case of younger students, and only marginally so in the case of college students.

(Hattie, Biggs and Purdie, 1996: 129)

PolyU experiencePolyU experience Stand-alone L2L effortsStand-alone L2L efforts

Workshops One-off study of

L2L handbooks

Students found materials very useful, BUT seldom refer to them afterwards

In-context L2L supportIn-context L2L support Detailed feedback on

assignments

Students reported to have more impact on their learning

Students’ wordsStudents’ words suggest that in-context L2L is more appropriate Difficulties in learning perceived by students are

mostly related to the programme or to the teaching / learning process

Students prefer L2L help To be given in relation to a task To be given when they need to work on the

task

Helping Students Learn to Learn

What do your NEED?

Learning to Learn in-context of teaching, learning & assessment How can the learning of learning skills be integrated with

the learning of content knowledge?

What teaching & assessment methods foster the development of learning skills?

How to appropriately provide students with guidance on learning skills?

What knowledge and abilities do teachers require for the teaching of learning skills?

Learning to Learn

Developing students’ Cognitive, Motivational & InterpersonalCognitive, Motivational & Interpersonal

strategies for learning

Participating departments

1. BSE2. BUSS3. COMP4. ENGL5. GEC

6. ITC7. LSGI8. ME9. MFG10. OR

3 handbooks for helping students learn to learn Help in the cognitivecognitive domain

For the Success of Your StudyFor the Success of Your Study

Help in the motivationalmotivational domainGetting the Most out of Your University: Becoming a Getting the Most out of Your University: Becoming a Successful Learner and a Preferred GraduateSuccessful Learner and a Preferred Graduate

Help in the interpersonalinterpersonal domainWorking Your Way through a Group ProjectWorking Your Way through a Group Project

What do students say about “For the success of your study”? This is the first booklet I’ve come across which is so

systematically written to tell me what to do in my learning.

In the past, I tried my best to put in everything which I thought the teacher wanted. Now I realise that I need to select and organise.

Teachers asked me to elaborate but I didn’t know how to. Now the thinking tasks have inspired me what to do.

I started to realise why those classmates who explained their steps in calculation got better results than me. I used to focus on calculating the answer only.

What do students say about “Becoming a successful learner and a preferred graduate”? I know what I should do and learn in these coming 3 years. And

the most important is that I have to learn in a correct way in different learning activities.

I helps me understand deeply what I can do after my graduation and to realise what employers want employees to have.

University is a new life to me … This workshop can help us to cope with the new ways of learning.

It helps me to set a goal and to understand the things I should learn besides textbook knowledge.

What do students say about “Working your way through a group project”? This clarifies what it means by a project

It is useful because I need the skills to handle our project. It really can help us solve the problems.

It can help me to increase my responsibility in a group.

I find the the part on communication and leadership skills useful.

I will try to have an evaluation for each section and make sure that each members can learn from each other and the process.

What do students say about a 2-day L2L programme? the workshop raise my awareness of my thinking method and help me to

think about how I should work with my group members in the coming projects.

I also enjoyed the Learning to learn workshop. Things I got in the workshop:

knew more friends from other groups. e.g. xxx

had deeper thinking in some aspects. e.g.learning approach, communication with other, work and organise project--improvement!!

And I still keep thinking them after the workshop.

Helping Students Learn to Learn –Simple Things that Teachers Can Do1.1. Helping students learn to learn: What do your Helping students learn to learn: What do your

students need? What do you need?students need? What do you need?

2. Motivating students to learn by helping them see their learning goals

3. Helping students to achieve higher level learning outcomes

4. Helping students to get the most out of group project work

Approaches to Helping Students Learn Study skills training approach Learning strategies teaching approach Student development approach Contextual approach

Study skills training approach mostly skills for “managing study to pass exam”

-- peripheral to “understanding” out-of-context of the subject prescriptive skills

Learning Strategies Teaching

Teaching students about cognitive processes which underlie effective learning

Learning strategies from Cognitive psychology

Rehearsal Elaboration Organisation Comprehension monitoring …...

Methods for teaching learning strategies

courses/workshops integrating the teaching of learning strategies

into regular teaching (Metacurriculum)

Student-Development Approaches

Developing self-awareness

Changing conceptions of learning

Rationales for Student-development approaches

Different techniques suit different people

Research has shown that “peripheral” skills are NOT related to learning outcomes

Many “study skills” advice are based on experiments absurdly unlike student learning

Developing self-awareness stimulates thinking about own

learning (the processes, decisions, purposes … that make up studying)

encourages sharing of experiences facilitates development of an

armoury of suitable approaches to be used in appropriate conditions

Contextual Approach

to

Improving Student Learning

Factors affecting student learning

Curriculum

Teaching method

Assessment method

Research findings on

Effectiveness of different approaches

Martin & Ramsden (1987)

Students’ comments

Learning outcomes

Students commentsstudy skillscourse

studentdevelopmentprogramme

at thebeginning

keen Did not getwhat I wanted

at the end lost enthusiasm,cannot apply toreal learning

Gained insightabout learning

Learning outcomescomparing participants with non-participants

study skillscourse

studentdevelopmentprogramme

exam no difference no difference

essay no difference participantssignificantlybetter thannon-participants

Learning Outcomes Comparing participants in study skills programme with non-participants

Final exam -- No difference

Essay assignment -- No difference

Learning OutcomesComparing participants in student development programme with non-participants

Final exam -- No difference

Essay assignment -- Participants performed significantly better than non-participants

Common topics in study skills training courses

Time organisation Study management Using text-books or reference materials efficiently Revision techniques Note taking etc.

Looking at Approaches to Helping Students Learn

characteristics of the approach examples research findings on effectiveness

Helping students learn to learn What

What are their “learning to learn needs”?

When?When is the best time to provide help?

How?How best to help them?