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LEARNING TO LEARN STRATEGIES: LEARNING WHAT YOU KNOW, LEARNING WHAT YOU
DO NOT KNOW, AND LEARNING WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

The adjunct approach to teaching learning and study strategies and skills involves creating some sort of
supplementary instruction that can take any form, from a two-hour workshop on a particular method to a
semester-long course teaching a variety of approaches and techniques. At The University of Texas at Austin
we have developed an undergraduate learning-to-learn course as part of the Cognitive Learning Strategies
Project. Classes meet three times a week for one-hour sessions, and students must take the course for a
grade, rather than on a credit/no-credit basis.

A diversity of students enroll in this course. However, the majority are lower-division students with a
history of academic problems or students who have encountered problems in their studies at UT. Although
the course is a voluntary elective, many of the individuals who enroll have been strongly urged by advisors
to take the course. Other students have enrolled in preparation for advanced studies or training.

The overall goal of the course is to help students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to take more
responsibility for their own learning. Specific goals for the course are developed with each student after a
battery of entry measures are administered. These measures vary somewhat from semester to semester as
different aspects of the course or as new curriculum materials are being evaluated, but in general they
include the LASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory; Weinstein et al., 1987, H & H Publishing
Company, Inc.); a standardized measure of reading comprehension; a measure of self-concept or self-esteem;
and supplementary measures examining various aspects of cognition, anxiety, and motivation. The
information obtained from these instruments, individual interviews, and group discussions is used in
designing the curriculum, individual focus projects, and both group and individual exercises.

It is difficult to individualize teaching learning-to-learn in the context of a structured course with 30
students in each section. For this reason, both group and individual goals are established. General course
goals are that, upon finishing the course, students will be able to: (1) increase their knowledge and
understanding of learning and study strategies and methods; (2) increase their ability to use effective
strategies and methods; (3) monitor and modify, when necessary, their use of strategies and methods; (4)
reduce the stress and negative affect often associated with academic tasks; and (5) accept more responsibility
for their own learning.

The course content focuses on the strategies and skills from each of the following categories: executive
control processes, such as goal setting and comprehension monitoring; knowledge acquisition processes,
such as elaboration and organization; active study skills, such as pre-, during, and post-reading methods;
and support strategies, such as methods for reducing anxiety and dealing with procrastination.

A variety of instructional methods is used; but the emphasis, given the procedural nature of much of the
content, is on guided practice and feedback. When we are teaching declarative knowledge, such as facts,
practice is not so critical When we are teaching how to do something, such as a procedure or problem
solving method, then practice is critical, particularly practice where informational feedback is given. To
facilitate transfer, the exercises used in class and for the homework or lab sessions are adapted from a wide
variety of content areas and task types. Students also use what they are learning in their other courses and
report on the results in a journal. The problems of transferring these new strategies and skills also are
directly addressed in class discussions throughout the semester.

To facilitate integration, the strategies and methods are discussed in a cyclic manner. First, the instructor
gives a brief introduction to the learning strategy, and then she identifies how it can be used to address a
student-identified program. This discussion is always related back to the model of the successful student
presented at the beginning of the semester. Next, the key elements of the strategy are presented along with
a few examples. This is immediately followed by practice and feedback sessions so that students can begin
to incorporate the method into their own learning strategies repertoire. As the course progresses, the use of
the strategy will be reviewed and its relationship to other strategies identified. The purpose of this practice

 

AC)JA ‘Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712 j ZF

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