Learning strategy

Draft

Definition

According to Jasmina Hasanbegovic “learning strategies refer to Students' self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions, which are systematically oriented toward attainment of their goals”.

Therefore, implementation of appropriate learning strategies is related to student's self-regulation behavior which in turn should be encouraged by pedagogical designs.

Typical strategic questions a learner might ask, are:

• How to write a project thesis. How do I have to do a literature review?
• How to structure my course and lecture notes? How can I cope with note taking ?
• How to organize my time and keep track of various assignments ?
• How can I tackle a difficult exercise, e.g. a math problem ?

Types of learning strategies

Globally, one could distinguish among the following kinds

• Disciplinary heuristics (e.g. "Look at this and that" kind of advice)
• General problem-solving heuristics
• Metacognition

Cognitive vs. behavioral vs. self-regulating

Warr & Allan (1998) distinguish between three categories according to the kind of resources used in the regulation of behavior:

1. Cognitive learning strategies: skills in rehearsing a material to be learned or in organizing it into main theme
2. behavioral learning strategies: preferences for seeking help from others, for trial and error or for written instruction
3. self-regulating strategies: controlling emotions, motivation and comprehension [1]

Metacognition

See the metacognition article for details.

• Blakey and Spence (1990) describe techniques that facilitate metacognition, or "thinking about thinking." Citing the educational value of student-owned learning, the authors suggest that thinking about one's own behavior is the first step towards directing that behavior and learning how to learn. The strategies they discuss as a means to developing metacognition include: "identifying 'what you know' and 'what you don't know'"; "talking about thinking"; "keeping a journal"; "planning and self-regulation"; "debriefing the thinking process"; and "self-evaluation."

Learning styles vs. learning strategies

Issues regarding learning style are somewhat related, i.e. students that willing and able to think in more abstract terms and/or to critically examine what they do may show better performance.

A learning style refers to the relationship between individuals and their ways of learning whereas learning strategies refer to attitudes and behavior that is oriented towards goals. As an example, one could compare/oppose:

Learning style	Learning strategy
self-assessment	self-assessment
field-dependent	field-independent
cognitive level	plus meta-cognitive level
learner preference	learner competence

Instructional design considerations

It is important to engage students in strategic thinking, in particular more open designs like project-oriented learning.

There exist instructional design models like POME or at least simple pedagogical activities like asking students to blog from time to time about their own progress.

References

• Barrell, J. (1995). Teaching for thoughtfulness: Classroom strategies to enhance intellectual development. White Plains, NY: Longman.

• Blakey, E., & Spence, S. (1990). Developing metacognition. ERIC Digest [2]

• Depover Christian, Bruno De Lièvre, Jean-Jacques Quintin, Filippo Porco et Cédric Floquet. Quelques concepts clés issus du modèle cognitiviste, dans Les modèles d'enseignement et d'apprentissage.

• Paris, S.G, Cross, D.R., & Lipson, M.Y. (1984, December). Informed strategies for learning: A program to improve children's reading awareness and comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(6), 1239-1252.

• Swartz, R.J., & Perkins, D.N. (1989). Teaching thinking: Issues and approaches. Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications.

Footnotes

Metacognition and learning strategies