Teach Students How to Learn:
Metacognition is the Key!
Saundra Yancy McGuire, Ph.D.
Asst. Vice Chancellor for Learning & Teaching
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Past Director, Center for Academic Success
2004-2005 National College Learning Center Association
Frank L. Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award
Desired outcomes
• We will 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 learning,
and we will be committed to trying them
• 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
• We will spend time reflecting on improving our
teaching and our students’ learning
Overview
• Impact of using metacognitive strategies
• Previous study behaviors of many of
today’s learners
• Turning students into expert learners
• Cognitive Science Research
• Types and levels of learning
• Effective learning strategies
• Wrap Up
The Story of Three Students Before and
After Using Metacognitive Strategies
• Travis, intro psychology student
47, 52, 82, 86
B in course
• Maryam, first year art student
57, 87
B in course
• Dana, first year physics student
80, 54, 91, 97, 90 (final) A in course
How’d They Do It?
 They used metacognitive strategies
 They began thinking about their thinking
 They focused on learning instead of grades
Metacognition
The ability to:
 think about one’s own thinking
 be consciously aware of oneself as a problem
solver
 monitor, plan, and control one’s mental
processing (e.g. “Am I understanding this
material, or just memorizing it?”)
 accurately assess one’s learning preferences
and use strategies congruent with those
preferences
 accurately judge one’s level of learning
Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.
Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Travis, junior psychology student
47, 52, 82, 86
Problem: Reading Comprehension
Solution: Preview text before reading
Develop questions
Read one paragraph at a time
and paraphrase information
What is the task described here?
*”The procedure is actually quite simple. First, you arrange things
into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient
depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere
else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step. Otherwise, you are
pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is
better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run
this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A
mistake can be expensive as well. At first, the whole procedure will
seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet
of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task
in the immediate future, but then one can never tell. After the
procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different
groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places.
Eventually, they will be used once more, and the whole procedure
will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.”
Unknown Task Source
Bransford, J.D.& Johnson, M.K. “Contextual
Prerequisites for Understanding: Some
Investigations of Comprehension and Recall,”
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior,
2:7, 1972.
Maryam, freshman art student
57, 87
Problem: Not seeing the underlying
structure of different types of art
Solution: Focus on characteristics of different
artists’ work in order to indentify the
painter of an unfamiliar piece of art
Dana, first year physics student
80, 54, 91, 97, 90 (final)
Problem: Memorizing formulas and using
www.cramster.com
Solution: Solve problems with no external
aids and test mastery of concepts
Why the Fast and Dramatic Increase?
It’s all about the strategies, and
getting them to engage their brains!
Why don’t most students know
how to learn or how to study?
Don’t make the “Fundamental Attribution Error” (FAE) that I
made during the first thirty years of my teaching career!
According to data from the
entering class of 2010...*
• It wasn’t necessary in high school
- 63% of 2010 entering first year
students spent less than six hours per
week doing homework in 12th grade.
- More than 48% of these students said
they graduated from high school with
an “A” average.*
• Students’ confidence level is high
- 71.2 % believe their academic ability is
above average or in the highest 10 percent
among people their age
*2010 Higher Education Research Institute Study
How do you think most students
would answer the following?
 What did most of your teachers in high
school do the day before the test?
 What did they do during this activity?
 What grade would you have made on
the test if you had gone to class only
on the day before the test?
Faculty Must Help Students
Make the Transition to College
Help students identify and close “the gap”
current behavior
current grades
efficacious behavior
desired grades
Reflection Questions
• What’s the difference, if any, between
studying and learning?
• For which task would you study more?
A. Make an A on the test
B. Teach the material to the class
Turn Students into Expert Learners:
Teach Them Metacognitive
Learning Strategies!
Counting Vowels in 45 seconds
How accurate are you?
Count all the vowels
in the words on the next slide.
Dollar Bill
Dice
Tricycle
Four-leaf Clover
Hand
Six-Pack
Seven-Up
Octopus
Cat Lives
Bowling Pins
Football Team
Dozen Eggs
Unlucky Friday
Valentine’s Day
Quarter Hour
How many words or
phrases do you remember?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
2 or less
3–5
6–8
9 – 12
13 or more
Let’s look at the words again…
What are they arranged
according to?
Dollar Bill
Dice
Tricycle
Four-leaf Clover
Hand
Six-Pack
Seven-Up
Octopus
Cat Lives
Bowling Pins
Football Team
Dozen Eggs
Unlucky Friday
Valentine’s Day
Quarter Hour
Now how many words or
phrases do you remember?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
2 or less
3–5
6–8
9 – 12
13 or more
What were two major differences
between the two attempts?
1. We knew what the task was
2. We knew how the information
was organized
Cognitive Science:
The Science of the Mind
•
•
•
•
•
Questions
How do humans process information?
How do people increase their knowledge?
What factors influence learning?
What types of learning facilitate transfer of
information learned to new settings?
How can we change teaching to improve
learning?
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R. (Eds.), 2000. How people learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
What we know about learning
 Active learning is more lasting
than passive learning
 Thinking about thinking is important
– Metacognition
 The level at which learning occurs
is important
– Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom's_Taxonomy
Evaluating
Carrying out or using a
procedure through executing,
or implementing.
Constructing meaning
from oral, written, and
graphic messages through
interpreting, exemplifying,
classifying, summarizing,
inferring, comparing, and
explaining.
Applying
Understanding
Retrieving, recognizing,
and recalling relevant
knowledge from
long-term memory.
Breaking material into
constituent parts,
determining how the
parts relate to one
another and to an
overall structure .
High School
Analyzing
Putting elements together to
form a coherent or functional
whole; reorganizing elements
into a new pattern or
structure through generating,
planning, or producing.
Undergraduate
Making judgments based on
criteria and standards
through checking and
critiquing.
Creating
Graduate School
Bloom’s
Taxonomy
This pyramid depicts the different levels of thinking we use when learning.
Notice how each level builds on the foundation that precedes it. It is
required that we learn the lower levels before we can effectively use the
skills above.
Remembering
http://www.odu.edu/educ/llschult/blooms_taxonomy.htm
Participant Poll
Do you specifically teach Bloom’s
Taxonomy to your students?
When we teach students
about Bloom’s Taxonomy…
They GET it!
How students answered
At what level of Bloom’s did you have to operate
to make A’s or B’s in high school?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
35%
25%
21%
13%
1
2
3
4
3%
3%
5
6
How students answered
At what level of Bloom’s do you think you’ll need
to be to make an A in Chem 1201?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
35%
23%
15%
14%
7%
6%
1
2
3
4
5
6
How do we teach students to move
higher on Bloom’s Taxonomy?
Teach them the Study Cycle*
*adapted from Frank Christ’s PLRS system
Center
for Academic Success
Transform Learning. Maximize Performance.
The Study Cycle
344
Reflect
Review
Reflect
Preview
Preview before class – Skim the chapter, note headings and boldface words, review
summaries and chapter objectives, and come up with questions you’d like the lecture to
answer for you.
Attend
Attend class – GO TO CLASS! Answer and ask questions and take meaningful notes.
Review
Review after class – As soon after class as possible, read notes, fill in gaps and note any
questions.
Study
Assess
Study – Repetition is the key. Ask questions such as ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘what if’.
• Intense Study Sessions* - 3-5 short study sessions per day
• Weekend Review – Read notes and material from the week to make connections
Assess your Learning – Periodically perform reality checks
• Am I using study methods that are effective?
• Do I understand the material enough to teach it to others?
Intense Study Sessions
Decide what you want to accomplish in your study session
1
Set a Goal
2
Study with Focus
30-50 min
Interact with material- organize, concept map, summarize, process, re-read, fill-in notes, reflect, etc.
3
Reward Yourself
10-15 min
Take a break– call a friend, play a short game, get a snack
4
Review
1-2 min
5 min
Go over what you just studied
Center for Academic Success
B-31 Coates Hall ▪ 225.578.2872 ▪www.cas.lsu.edu
Metacognitive Get Acquainted Activity*
• What do you believe is important to
understand and learn in
_____________________?
• What do you believe to be critical
characteristics of successful students in
___________?
• How will you study and prepare for exams in
______________________________?
*Simpson, M. & Rush, L. (2012) in Teaching Study Strategies in Developmental
Education, Hodges, Simpson, Stahl eds. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Hodges, Simpson, Stahl eds. (2012) Teaching Study
Strategies in Developmental Education, New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s






Historical Background on Study Strategies
Developmental Education and Learning Assistance Today
Diverse Populations in the Classroom
Students’ Beliefs about Study Strategies
Theory, Research, and Best Practices
Assessment and Evaluation
Gabriel, Kathleen F. (2008) Teaching Unprepared
Students. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing
Effective Strategies for
Teaching Unprepared Students*
• Establish high expectations
• Emphasize Consistent Contact
• Determine Students’ Learning Styles
• Define Student Success
• Clarify Student Responsibility
• Establish a Learning Community of Scholars
• Meet Students Where They Are
• Interweave Assessment and Teaching
*Kathleen Gabriel, Stylus Publishing, 2008
Help Students Develop the Right Mindset
Dweck, Carol, 2006.
Mindset: The New Psychology
of Success. New York:
Random House Publishing
Shenk, David, 2010. The Genius in All of
Us: Why Everything You've Been Told
About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is
Wrong. New York: Doubleday
Mindset* Matters!
 Fixed Intelligence Mindset
Intelligence is static
You have a certain amount of it
 Growth Intelligence Mindset
Intelligence can be developed
You can grow it with actions
Dweck, Carol (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
New York: Random House Publishing
Mindset determines reactions to
• Challenges – avoid vs. embrace
• Obstacles – give up easily vs. persist
• Tasks requiring effort – fruitless vs. path to
mastery
• Criticism – ignore vs. learn from
• Success of Others – feel threatened by vs.
find lessons and inspiration in
What happens when we teach
metacognitive learning strategies,
Bloom’s Taxonomy, and the Study Cycle
to an entire class, not just individuals?
Introductory Chemistry Results
Test 1 Test 2
Attended lecture 156
on metacog. 3/2*
Final
Total points
109
214
801 (B)
Did not attend
154
93
153
563 (D)
Class average
153
100
176
662 (C)
*Approximately 80 attendees out of 200 students
because session was on a Friday afternoon. Exam 1
was Wednesday, March 7.
How do we teach metacognitive
strategies to students on
warning or probation?
Innovative Educators Webinar
October 20, 2010
Center
for Academic Success
Transform Learning. Maximize Performance.
Results from Spring 2011
GPA change from Fall 2010 to Spring 2011
Group
Warning or Probation
IMPACT
(n=466)
+.53
0.65 Difference!
NON-IMPACT
(n= 184)
-.12
Results from Spring 2011
Retention from Spring 2011 to Fall 2011
Group
Warning or Probation
IMPACT
(n=466)
68%
20% Difference!
NON-IMPACT
(n=184)
48%
IMPACT Content
• Learning Center Services
• How I Learn
• Super Strategies
(Bloom’s, Metacognition, Mindset)
• Get Organized
• Reduce My Stress
The Impact of Using Metacognitive Strategies
“Without these strategies, I probably would have
gotten a C in chemistry. You showed us the first week
a way to get an A in the class and I knew that was
going to be my only way to achieve that A. I was
planning on just studying before the test.
But when you stressed how important it was to
preview and review and study 2 hours a day or so, I
was in shock, but I followed the guideline and got
myself an A. So, I would like to thank you, because
without these strategies, I probably would have done
terribly in Chemistry.”
Fall 2009 First semester chemistry
student
Center
for Academic Success
Transform Learning. Maximize Performance.
… and from s Spring 2011 student
“…Personally, I am not so good at chemistry and
unfortunately, at this point my grade for that class is
reflecting exactly that. I am emailing you inquiring about
a possibility of you tutoring me.”
April 6, 2011
“I made a 68, 50, 50, 87, 87, and a 97 on my final. I
ended up earning a 90 in the course, but I started with a
60. I think what I did different was make sidenotes in
each chapter and as I progressed onto the next chapter I
was able to refer to these notes. I would say that in
chemistry everything builds from the previous topic”
May 13, 2011
Semester GPA: 3.8
Center
for Academic Success
Transform Learning. Maximize Performance.
… and from the perspective of a faculty member
who learned metacognitive strategies as a grad student
“…I am happy to report to you that many of my
students are using the study cycle and all of the
outcomes are positive.
In summary, students who were failing all of their
classes, including my course and in their final
semester before being removed from the university
are now the top students in their respective
classes.
I am so proud of these students. Many of the
students stated to me that they will continue to use
the study cycle.....”
October 15, 2010
Algernon Kelley, Xavier University Chemistry Instructor
From a Xavier University student to Dr. Kelley in
Fall 2011
Oct. 17, 2011
Hello Dr. Kelley. … I am struggling at Xavier and I REALLY want to
succeed, but everything I've tried seems to end with a "decent" grade. I’m
not the type of person that settles for decent. What you preached during
the time you were in Dr. Privett's class last week is still ringing in my
head. I really want to know how you were able to do really well
even despite your circumstances growing up. I was hoping you could
mentor me and guide me down the path that will help me realize my true
potential while here at Xavier. Honestly I want to do what you did, but I
seriously can't find a way how to. Can I please set up a meeting with you
as soon as you’re available so I can learn how to get a handle on grades
and classes?
Oct. 24, 2011
Hey Dr. Kelley, I made an 84 on my chemistry exam (compared to the 56
on my first one) using your method for 2 days (without prior intense
studying). Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I’ll come by your
office Friday and talk to you about the test.
Nov 3, 2011
Hey Dr. Kelley! I have increased my Bio exam grade from a 76% to a
91.5% using your system. Ever since I started your study cycle program,
my grades have significantly improved. I have honestly gained a sense of
hope and confidence here at Xavier. My family and I are really grateful
that you have taken time to get me back on track.
We can significantly increase
student learning!
 We must teach students the learning
process and provide specific strategies
 We must not judge student potential on
initial performance
 We must encourage students to persist in
the face of initial failure
 We must encourage the use of
metacognitive tools
Two final reflections questions…
Who would you say is primarily
responsible for student learning?
A) the student
B) the instructor
C) the institution
Who do you think students
say is primarily responsible
for student learning?
a) the student
b) the instructor
c) the institution
The reality is that…
when all three of these entities take full
responsibility for student learning,
we will experience a significant increase in
student learning, retention, and graduation
rates!
Thanks for Participating!
Please visit the LSU Center for Academic
Success website at www.cas.lsu.edu.
We have on-line assessments and workshops
that will introduce you and your students to
effective metacognitive strategies. Please feel
free to contact me at smcgui1@lsu.edu.
Have fun teaching your students powerful
metacognitive strategies!
Saundra McGuire
Useful Websites
•
•
•
•
•
•
www.cas.lsu.edu
www.howtostudy.org
www.vark-learn.com
www.drearlbloch.com
www.khanacademy.org
Searches on www.google.com
Additional References
• Bruer, John T. , 2000. Schools For Thought: A Science of Learning in
the Classroom. MIT Press.
• Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R. (Eds.), 2000. How people
learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.
• Christ, F. L., 1997. Seven Steps to Better Management of Your Study
Time. Clearwater, FL: H & H Publishing
• Cromley, Jennifer, 2000. Learning to Think, Learning to Learn: What
the Science of Thinking and Learning Has to Offer Adult Education.
Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.
• Ellis, David, 2006. Becoming a Master Student*. New York:
Houghton-Mifflin.
• Hoffman, Roald and Saundra Y. McGuire. (2010). Learning and
Teaching Strategies. American Scientist , vol. 98, pp. 378-382.
• Nilson, Linda, 2004. Teaching at It’s Best: A Research-Based
Resource for College Instructors. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing
Company.
• Pierce, William, 2004. Metacognition: Study Strategies,
Monitoring, and Motivation.
http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/metacognition.htm
*Excellent student reference
QUESTIONS?