Learning strategies

Teaching course content to an academically diverse group of students is never an easy task. One of the reasons for this challenge is that many students have not, for whatever reason, acquired effective learning strategies. Learning and study strategies include approaches to managing the learning process, understanding and using information, completing learning tasks, and evaluating learning.

Assisting students to learn how to learn has become an essential teaching skill as many students are attending college underprepared for the rigor of post-secondary education. The strategies they applied in high school do not transfer to college resulting in frustration, decreased engagement, lower grades and for over 30% of students leaving Georgian.

Some things to reflect upon:

  1. What aspects of the learning process do your students have difficulties with (note taking, reading, studying for tests, completing assignments etc)?
  2. What strategies could they learn that would improve their skills in this area?
  3. How could you model, demonstrate, or otherwise integrate these strategies into your teaching practice?

Time management

Teaching course content to an academically diverse group of students is never an easy task. One of the reasons for this challenge is that many students have not, for whatever reason, acquired effective learning strategies. Learning and study strategies include approaches to managing the learning process, understanding and using information, completing learning tasks, and evaluating learning.

Assisting students to learn how to learn has become an essential teaching skill as many students are attending college underprepared for the rigor of post-secondary education. The strategies they applied in high school do not transfer to college resulting in frustration, decreased engagement, lower grades and for over 30% of students leaving Georgian.

Some things to reflect upon:

  1. What aspects of the learning process do your students have difficulties with (note taking, reading, studying for tests, completing assignments etc)?
  2. What strategies could they learn that would improve their skills in this area?
  3. How could you model, demonstrate, or otherwise integrate these strategies into your teaching practice?

Note making

Note taking is an essential skill for understanding and retaining learning material. Faculty can support students in improving their note-taking skills by modeling or providing the following:

  • Skeletal notes. Give students skeletal notes containing the lecture’s main ideas interspersed with spaces for note taking.
  • Lecture cues. Provide students with cues signaling important ideas either on the chalkboard, on transparencies, orally, or in Blackboard.
  • Note-taking frameworks/Advanced organizers. Give students templates for different types of note taking, such as outlines, visual organizers, and the Cornell Method

Studying and taking tests

Taking tests is an integral part of any postsecondary experience. It is also a very difficult and stressful thing for many students. Below are a few strategies for test preparation.

  • Explain to students the format of the test, the topics covered, and how they can prepare.
  • Ask students to identify what they believe will be hard for them to learn and brainstorm how they can work to learn it. This will encourage active participation in the learning process and will help students determine what to focus on while studying.
  • Practice test-preparation strategies with students(i.e. mind mapping for visual learners or acronyms; mnemonics for auditory learners; explaining concepts to a peer; writing notes in their own words)
  • Teach students study skills specific to your discipline.

Effective and efficient reading

The ability to read effectively is critical to success in any subject area. Engaging students in active reading practices can aide comprehension and retention.

  • Introduce the K-W-L (What I Know, What I Want to Know, What I’ve Learned) method. Before reading, have students brainstorm everything they know about a topic. Then, have them list questions they have about the topic (what they want to know). After reading, check what students have learned and if they can answer the questions they generated. Consider identifying new areas for exploration.
  • Generate a list of controversial questions or statements related to reading topics. Have students skim the chapter topics and compile some controversial questions or statements. This will engage them in the subject matter and generate authentic discussion related to the topics.
  • Implement the use of graphic organizers for student reading. These tools can help students to visually organize what they are reading and extract the main ideas. Graphic organizers are especially useful as a reviewing tool.