Transcript Slide 1

Welcome
Promoting Self-Regulated Learning Skills in
Undergraduate Students Using a Group-Based Training
Programme
Catherine Mahon
Úna Crowley
National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Email – [email protected]
Being Prepared for Learning in
Higher Education
• How can we help students to acquire the
skills needed to become more effective
learners?
The Learning Transition
Second level
education
Higher
education
Explicit
instruction
Self-regulated
learning
Performance
Forethought
Reflection
See Pintrich (2000); Zimmerman (2000).
Self-Regulated Learning
• Links between academic achievement and use of
self-regulation (e.g., Kitsantas, Winsler, & Huie,
2008).
• Many components of self-regulated learning can
be acquired (e.g., Hofer & Yu, 2003; Tuckman &
Kennedy, 2011).
• A question of time? Supplementary supports
alongside structured programmes.
The Critical First Year
• Continued emphasis on the importance of early
interventions.
• Non-presence rates highest in the first year of
undergraduate study at 15% (Higher Education
Authority, 2010).
• In 2012, 86% of incoming first year NUI
Maynooth students stated that the provision of
academic supports was very important.
Aims of Current Research
• Explore ways to help students who may be
struggling academically.
• Develop and test a new programme to promote
skills related to self-regulated learning:
• Specific learning techniques
• Reflection*
• Track academic performance (pre- and postsessions).
• Refine the programme based on initial
evaluations.
The INSTALL Project
• Narrative Mediation Path (Freda, Esposito, Martino, &
Monteagudo, 2012).
• Encourage reflective thinking skills in students at risk of
academic underachievement through use of narrative
stimuli:
•
•
•
•
Metaphors and proverbs
Vignettes
Writing
Role play
• Components modified to local context.
Method
Participants (cycle one)
• Seventeen undergraduate NUI Maynooth students.
• Median age = 19 years (range, 18 to 22 years).
• Academic performance
• Eight participants previously did not pass one examination at
the initial attempt.
• Nine participants ‘self-selecting’.
• “I think that I would benefit from completing a
programme about learning to learn.”
• All participants agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.
What Learning Strategies Do The
Students Currently Engage In?
• Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire [MSLQ]
(Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991).
Organisation
I make simple charts, diagrams, or
tables, to help me organise course
material.
Help seeking
I ask the instructor to clarify concepts
I don’t understand well.
1
Not at all true of me
7
Very true of me
Influence of Pre-Training Data on
Session Content
MSLQ
• “When reading for this course I make up questions to
help focus my reading.”
• 12 participants (not at all true of them).
• “When studying for this course, I often try to explain the
material to a classmate or friend.”
• 11 participants (not at all true of them).
• “I ask the instructor to clarify concepts I don’t
understand well.”
• Four participants scored ≥ 4.
“Sometimes it is hard to
balance everything;
lectures, assignments,
reading and the social
side.”
“Making friends
impacted greatly,
found it difficult, and
therefore chose not
to attend.”
“Trying to manage
my time well and
organise myself so I
can get everything
done.”
“Bad experiences
have come from not
knowing enough
information …”
“Being unsure of
what to learn
and where to
start.”
“Sometimes lecturers
can seem uninterested
in their students so
speaking to them about
problems related to their
lecture is difficult.”
“Being slightly
overwhelmed at all the
differences (from
secondary school) at
first did affect my
performance.”
“Not enjoying my
subjects I feel that if I
was enjoying them more
I would work harder at
them.”
“Studying!!! Always
found it difficult to
find a study
technique.”
Training
cycle
one
Training
cycle
two
Recruiting participants
Measuring pre-training use of
learning strategies
Overview of
procedure
Motivated Strategies for Learning
Questionnaire
“What kind of difficulties have you
encountered at university?”
Group training sessions
Measuring post-training use of
learning strategies and evaluation
of programme
Motivated Strategies for Learning
Questionnaire
Additional questionnaires – usefulness of
training, changes in learning strategies
Refining the training
Interviews
Follow-up measures of academic
performance
Group Sessions
Sessions
Session Focus
Narrative Stimuli*
Proverbs
‘if at first you don’t
succeed …’
Learning to learn
Components of learning
Memory
Organisation, elaboration,
mnemonics
Study strategies
Reading texts, question
generating, peer learning
Writing
Time management
Planning and schedules
Vignettes of university
scenarios
Goal setting
Forming goals,
implementation, review
Role play
Motivation
Links to goal setting,
beliefs, self-efficacy
MSLQ results
Very true
of me
Pre-sessions
7
* p < .05
** p < .01
Post-sessions
** **
6
*
**
Mean score
5
4
3
2
Not at all
true of
me 1
Elaboration
Rehearsal
Organisation
Critical
thinking
Time & study
environment
Metacognition
Peer
learning
Effort
Help
seeking
Programme Evaluation
Programme Evaluation
• First year relevance.
“The programme covered relevant materials that are useful for studying and I would
recommend it to friends who don’t know how to study at all for college.”
• Social benefits associated with group training.
“It gave me an opportunity to meet other students and to discuss issues without
feeling I was stating the obvious.”
• Subject-specific learning strategies.
“Would like more information given on how to structure an answer for arts subjects
(e.g., essay style answers).”
• Additional sessions.
“More follow-up sessions on how you can continue to apply the programme.”
Discussion and Future Directions
• Limitations
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Short time frame for sessions.
Small sample size.
Lack of a control group.
Subjectivity versus objectivity.
• Monitoring academic progress and use of learning
strategies over a longer period of time.
•
When?
Why?
Why not?
• Influence of student characteristics (e.g., prior
knowledge).
Acknowledgements
• This research has been funded by the European Commission (Erasmus
Multilateral Projects No. 517750-LLP-1-IT-ERASMUS-ESIN).
• This presentation reflects the views only of the presenters and the
Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of
the information contained therein.