Learning Strategies

A research overview from ERS summarizes the latest research on helping students develop the skills of highly effective learners. Learning to learn is the next challenge for us in the business of ensuring that each child progresses toward mastery. We can't teach all the content, we must find effective ways for students to learn how to learn.

The research summary shows that highly effective learners continuously monitor what they are doing as they work toward mastery. They have a wide range of learning strategies and know when and how to apply the strategies. Other students need to be systematically taught how and when to apply learning strategies.

Examples of learning strategies:

  1. setting goals and planning an approach
  2. focusing attention on the information that is most important
  3. forming mental frameworks or organizing and understanding information
  4. linking new ideas with prior knowledge
  5. monitoring comprehension of material and recognizing when to change the learning approach
  6. reading more slowly
  7. looking at headings, pictures and questions at the end of the chapter before reading again
  8. active note taking
  9. checking answers
  10. asking for help
  11. using memory strategies
  12. understanding that the purpose of reading is to make meaning, not simply to know all the words
  13. determining what problem to solve

What teachers can do to improve learning strategy skills.

Model strategic thinking - think out loud

MIRRORS

M - Model the strategy, explain how to carry it out
I - Inform the students about when and how to use it
R - Remind them to use the strategy
R - Repeat the strategy through practice
O - Outline the strategy's usefulness through constant feedback
R - Reassess the student's performance as a result of using the strategy
S - Stress strategy generalization to other content

Encourage students to develop their own strategies (CCC - Cognitive Credit Card. In conversation with each student, the teacher and student came up with cues that would help the student remember HOW to learn rather than what to learn. The credit card is laminated and the student uses it as a prompt.)

Don't lecture too quickly.
Write key terms, names, definitions on the board or overhead
provide advanced organizers or skeletal notes

Copies of the seven page research study are available from Lauri.

Dr. Lynn Brogan
Curriculum, Instruction, Staff Development & Assessment
Auburn School District
2/01/2000

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