Metacognition: The Key to Knowledge Transfer in Writing Saundra Yancy McGuire, Ph.D.

Asst. Vice Chancellor & Professor of Chemistry Past Director, Center for Academic Success

Writing Instructor Seminar February 1, 2013

2004-2005 National College Learning Center Association Frank L. Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award

Reflection Questions

• What skills do you

want

students to transfer? • How do you teach students these skills?

• How do you teach students to

transfer

these skills?

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Desired outcomes

• • • • • We will understand why many students have difficulty with writing We will have concrete strategies that faculty can teach students to improve knowledge transfer in writing, 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’ self perception and performance C enter for A cademic S uccess

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The Story of Two Students

• Travis, a psychology student 47, 52, 82, 86 B in course • Robert, a chemistry student 42, 100, 100, 100 A in course C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Travis, 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 C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Robert, chemistry student 42, 100, 100, 100

Problem: Using examples to do homework problems Solution: Study information

before

trying homework problem Use example to test skill Do homework problems as if doing a test or quiz (no looking at solution manual or examples!) C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Two quick stories



Paradigm shift in speaking skills



Paradigm shift in writing skills

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What facilitated the paradigm shift?



Foundational Knowledge



Metacognition

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Why don’t many students know how to write?

Several reasons are suggested by Brain Track* *www.braintrack.com/blog/2012/11/why-college-students-today-cant-write

• • • • • • • • • Colleges don’t demand high-quality writing High schools aren’t preparing students with writing skills College professors don’t want to spend time playing catch-up

Students don’t get enough feedback

Graduation doesn’t depend on demonstrating writing skills Grading isn’t harsh enough

Web and text habits seep into academic writing

Required writing courses often aren’t writing focused.

Students aren’t taught the fundamentals - rules of good writing - how to think critically and creatively

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Reasons suggested by others…

• Writing instructors and students don’t speak the same language • Students are “programmed” NOT to think or trust their judgment; writing is emotional • Students don’t know how to respond to feedback C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Instructors Must Help Students

Make the Transition to College Writing

Help students identify and close “the gap”

Past strategies

unsatisfactory writing

Effective strategies

good writing

To Close the Gap

 Teach students how to learn, think, and write!



Metacognition is the key!

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Metacognition*

• • • •

The ability to: think about one’s own thinking be consciously aware of oneself as a problem solver monitor and control one’s mental processing (e.g. “Am I understanding this assignment?”) accurately judge one’s level of learning *term coined by Flavell in 1976

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Reflection Questions to Help Students Develop a New Paradigm

• •

What’s the difference, if any, between studying and learning? For which task would you work harder?

A. Do well on a on a test B. Teach the material to the class

What are the parallel questions for shifting the paradigm in writing?

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To Perform Well in Classes Students Must…

• Stay in learn mode, not study mode • Study as if they have to teach the material, not just make an A on the test C enter for A cademic S uccess

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To Write Well Students Must …

• Stay in knowledge transformation mode, not knowledge telling mode • Engage in a conversation with the readers, whose characteristics they’ve carefully considered • Others?

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Counting Vowels in 45 seconds How accurate are you?

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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

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How many words or phrases do you remember?

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Let’s look at the words again… What are they arranged according to?

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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

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NOW, how many words or phrases do you remember?

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What were two major differences between the first attempt and the second attempt?

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1. We knew what the task was 2. We knew how the information was organized

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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 C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Bloom’s Taxonomy

Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001

http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom's_Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Combining information to form a unique product; requires creativity and originality.

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.

Evaluation Synthesis Making decisions and supporting views; requires understanding of values.

Using information to solve problems; transferring abstract or theoretical ideas to practical situations. Identifying connections and relationships and how they apply.

Analysis Application Comprehension Knowledge Identifying components; determining arrangement, logic, and semantics.

Restating in your own words; paraphrasing, summarizing, translating.

Memorizing verbatim information. Being able to remember, but not necessarily fully understanding the material.

Louisiana State University  Center for Academic Success  B-31 Coates Hall  225-578-2872  www.cas.lsu.edu

When we teach students about Bloom’s Taxonomy… They GET it!

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At what level of Bloom’s did you have to operate to make A’s or B’s in high school?

35%

1. Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation

21% 25% 13% 1 3% 3% 2 3 4 5 6

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At what level of Bloom’s do you think you’ll need to be to make an A in college?

35%

1. Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation

7% 6% 14% 23% 15% 1 2 3 4 5 6

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How do we teach students to move higher on Bloom’s Taxonomy?

Teach them the Study Cycle*

*adapted from Frank Christ’s PLRS system

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4 Reflect Preview 4 Reflect Attend

The Study Cycle

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 class – GO TO CLASS! Answer and ask questions and take meaningful notes. Review Study Review after class – As soon after class as possible, read notes, fill in gaps and note any questions.

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

1 2 3 4

*Intense Study Sessions

Set a Goal Study with Focus Reward Yourself Review

(1-2 min) (30-50 min) (10-15 min) (5 min) 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?

Decide what you want to accomplish in your study session

Interact with material- organize, concept map, summarize, process, re-read, fill-in notes, reflect, etc.

Take a break– call a friend, play a short game, get a snack

Go over what you just studied

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Stages in the Writing Cycle?

4 Plan 4 Reflect Prewrite

Brainstorm ideas…

Get started!– Use a strategy! Freewriting, focused freewriting, looping, brainstorming, clustering, mapping, others?

Develop a thesis statement, .

Draft Revise

Revise for: focus, development, organization, style, convention; use a reverse outline

Assess/ Reflect

Come back after letting it “Sit” for 24 hours. Have others look at it… Don’t be afraid to change things around

3 4 1 2

*Intense Writing Sessions

Set a Goal Write with Focus Reward Yourself Review

(1-2 min) (30-50 min) (10-15 min) (5 min)

Decide what you want to accomplish in your session (prewriting, drafting, revising, etc.)

Interact with material- organize, concept map, process, draft, reflect, etc.

Take a break– call a friend, play a short game, get a snack

Go over what you just wrote and make plans to continue. Schedule your next session!

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Concept Mapping

 A visual manipulative approach to learning  Excellent tool for content/concept analysis  Organize and manipulate concepts, ideas, theories and other material in a visual format.

 Can be used for learning, teaching, organizing, problem solving, decision-making and brainstorming.

 Offers simplicity and clarity to complex, multifaceted material.

Create a Chapter/Research Paper Map Chapter/Title of Paper

Primary Headings Subheadings Secondary Subheadings

Compare and Contrast

Concept #1 Concept #2 How are they similar?

How are they different?

Persuasive Writing or Critical Analysis

Thesis Viewpoint Viewpoint Details Reasons, Facts, Examples Details Reasons, Facts, Examples Conclusion

Gabriel, Kathleen F. (2008) Teaching Unprepared Students. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing

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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 *Gabriel, Kathleen F. (2008)

Teaching Unprepared Students.

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Mindset* is Important!



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 C enter for A cademic S uccess

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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 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 C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Learning Strategies Should be Based on Learning Style

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Learning Styles

• • • • • Influence how we take in information from the outside world Influence how we process information Influence how we interact with others Influence our motivation for learning

different subjects

Influence our frustration level with learning tasks C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Learning Style Diagnostics

www.cas.lsu.edu

•

Brain Dominance

•

Personality

•

Sensory Preference

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Sensory Preference

• • • • Visual: prefers pictures, symbols, charts, graphs, concept maps, etc. Aural or auditory: prefers hearing lectures, reading notes out loud, etc.

Read/write: prefers flashcards, notes, lists, outlines, etc.

Kinesthetic: prefers direct experience, mapping, charting, experiments, visualizing action, etc. C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Feedback

from a 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,

the previous topic”

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 May 13, 2011 Semester GPA: 3.8

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How might you significantly improve student writing?

• • • • Teach students the writing process and

specific strategies

Don’t judge student potential on initial performance, and don’t them do it!

Encourage students to persist in the face of

initial failure

We must encourage the use of metacognitive tools in student and instructor learning communities C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Five Strategies for Instructors to Promote Metacognitive Learning Skills

1. Present Bloom’s Taxonomy 2. Encourage Use of the Writing Cycle with Intense Writing Sessions 3. Teach Students to Judge Their Learning by getting the most out of assignments and “teaching” the material 4. Promote Active Reading Techniques (SQ5R – survey, question, read, recite, review, wRite, reflect) 5. Strongly promote CAS on-line workshops www.cas.lsu.edu

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Final Reflection Questions

• What are three strategies that you feel might help your students become better writers?

• How do you plan to implement these strategies?

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Special Note

Please visit the CAS website at www.cas.lsu.edu

.

We have on-line workshops that will introduce you and your students to effective metacognitive strategies. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

. Have fun teaching your students powerful metacognitive strategies!

Saundra McGuire C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Useful Websites

• • • • • • www.cas.lsu.edu

www.howtostudy.org

http://learners.ncu.edu/writingprogram /writing_center.aspx?menu_id=63 www.vark-learn.com

www.oncourseworkshop.com

Skip Downing Searches on www.google.com

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• • • • • • •

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.

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.

College Instructors.

Teaching at It’s Best: A Research-Based Resource for

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 C enter for A cademic S uccess

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Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R. (Eds.), 2000. How people learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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