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Preparation:
A. For Instructors:
The most difficult task for you might be to trigger the interest
of your students. Students will not be willing to alter their
current study methods or spend more time thinking about a subject
unless they feel that they will get something out of it.
What doesn’t work: Just telling
students that their grades will improve as a result of becoming
better learners probably will not do the trick. Teachers must
convince students that improving study skills and regulating
their own learning can be rewarding.
What might work: For some students
that may be as simple as providing extra credit, for others
it will require truly engaging them in the subject matter.
- Show students how what they are learning relates to life
outside of the classroom.
- When planning for your class find ways to employ as many
senses as possible. Hearing it, seeing it, writing it, and
discussing it will help students connect with the content.
- Help students become aware of why they are having specific
problems with the class. It is important to teach in a manner
that raises metacognitive awareness.
- Finally, in order to successfully use this approach to
teaching, you must be knowledgeable of the study skills necessary
to achieve success in your discipline and the type of information
that you expect students to know. Students perform better
on exams if their studying targets the format of the exam.
Prepare students for exams by giving them practice, e.g.,
analyzing, memorizing, synthesizing . . . whatever they will
be required to do on the exam. Let them know what to expect.
| “Did you know that over 30%
of students say they rarely or never consider how they will
use the information that they have gained from reading a
text?” (O’Phelan, et al, 2002) |
For ideas on how to raise metacognitive awareness and teach
study skills please refer to the “Teaching Activities”
button.
B. For Students:
At the beginning of the semester, let students know what you
expect in and out of the classroom.
- Discuss the syllabus with students and give guidance for
assignments. Tell students if you expect them to read nightly,
participate in class discussions or group activities, take
notes, and/or listen actively. Some students have never been
taught this, and they must be made aware of it before they
can be appropriately prepared to learn in your course.
- Do not just assign readings. Tell the students how to do
the reading.
- Help bring self-awareness to students, so they will be
prepared to take learning the course content into their own
hands. Once students are aware of their own strengths and
weaknesses, they will be able to find ways of studying that
suit their own needs. Then, students must take responsibility
for their own learning.
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