INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / APRIL 17, 1990

performance has been achieved.

Modifying. Sometimes it is appropriate for students
to modify their approach to a learning task. Modifica-
tion can occur on an ongoing basis or after a summa-
tive evaluation. Students usually become aware of the
need to modify their approach when they experience
some triggering event. For example, a student may
have difficulty paraphrasing a section of text, or
answering a review question for a test, or organizing
the information in his lecture notes. Each of these
events is a signal that he has a studying or learning
problem. Whenever a problem is identified, modifying
also involves analyzing the other components of
executive control to identify the component, or compo-
nents, that may need to be redefined.

Instructional Applications

Increasing Academic Awareness. One way to
encourage the development of executive control is by
increasing students’ awareness of the factors that
influence academic performance. For example, at the
beginning of the semester instructors can explain their
teaching philosophy, their instructional approach, and
the nature of the tasks students will be expected to
perform. Knowing about the instructor’s expectations
and understanding the nature of the academic tasks in
a course helps students to create a useful study plan.

In addition, instructors can help students by asking
them to be more explicit about their learning goals and
increasing their awareness of how their personal
characteristics as students impact their academic
performance. Getting students to set specific goals for
a course affects their motivation (they have something
tangible for which to strive), persistence (they have an
end point which marks completion), and effort (they
have a measure of performance against which they can
gauge their work).

Increasing Students’ Understanding of Academic
Tasks. Another way to foster the development of
executive control is to explicitly explain the characteris-
tics of specific academic tasks and what is required to
achieve them. Increased awareness of task characteris-
tics enables students to set more specific and measur-
able goals. The more information students have about
the objectives of the course, as well as the criteria on
which they will be evaluated, the more they will be
able to regulate their learning successfully. In addition,
knowledge about academic tasks is needed to help
select appropriate study and learning strategies. For
example, instructors can help students prepare effec-
tively for an exam by providing information about the
specific material that will be covered on the exam, the

format of the exam, the type of questions that will be
asked, and how much time students will have to
complete it.

Increasing Students’ Understanding of How They
Learn and Think. Another approach to helping stu-
dents develop executive control is to focus on the
variety of strategies needed to be a successful learner.
However, simple knowledge of which strategies are
useful is not enough. Students need to know how to
implement the strategies as well as when to implement
them. Therefore, instructors need to: 1) help students
develop a repertoire of learning and thinking strate-
gies; 2) instruct students in how to implement these
strategies in the context of the students’ personal
characteristics (strengths and weaknesses) as learners,
as well as the demands of the task; 3) provide opportu-
nities for students to practice and receive feedback
about their use of this knowledge; and 4) provide
opportunities for students to practice and receive
feedback on when it is most appropriate to apply a
particular strategy. Finally, students need to be
encouraged to give rationales for why they selected a
particular strategy, and weigh their choices against
task requirements, their individual approaches, as well
as their learning and performance goals in the course.
Enhancing Students’ Executive Control

Effective executive control requires awareness of
academic and personal characteristics, a knowledge of
what is required to successfully complete a variety of ww
academic tasks, and a repertoire of learning and
thinking strategies that can be used to accomplish our
academic goals. Individual faculty members can help
their students become strategic life-long learners by
enhancing their knowledge and skills in each of these
areas through direct instruction and modelling. In
addition, the development of a strategic approach to
learning and thinking requires extensive opportunities
for practice and feedback in a variety of academic and
applied content areas. Helping students to become
strategic learners is not the responsibility of one
instructor...it is one of the goals of a post-secondary
education, and it is a responsibility all of us must share.

Claire E. Weinstein, Professor, Educational Psychology
Debra K. Meyer, Gretchen Van Mater Stone, Graduate
Students, Educational Psychology

For further information, contact Dr. Weinstein at The
University of Texas at Austin, EDB 352, Austin, TX
78712.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

March 23, 1990, Vol. XII, No. 9

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1990
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER
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