1. Stephen L. Chew Samford University slchew@samford.edu
Making Students More Effective Learners by Challenging their Misconceptions about Learning
Stephen L. Chew
Samford University
New American Colleges & Universities
Westminster College
June 22, 2012

2. Goals of the Presentation
Discuss the level of college readiness of incoming freshmen
Discuss what students need to know about how people learn and the development of a program to help students become more effective learners based on cognitive principles
Correct misconceptions about learning
Provide a cognitive framework for effective study
Discuss what faculty should know about how people learn and what they can do to help students learn more effectively
Discuss cognitive basis of effective pedagogy

3. Teacher Beliefs about How People Learn
Teaching requires a mental model of how people learn.
Most teachers cannot articulate their model of learning, but they have one.
Determines which teaching methods are selected, how they are implemented and assessed, and how to adjust if there are problems.
If the model is accurate, the teacher will be effective
If it is flawed or simplistic, the teacher will be less effective

4. Student Beliefs about How People Learn
Students also base their study behavior based on their models of how people (specifically themselves) learn.
Determines whether or not they go to class, if and how well complete assignments, how they study material, and when material is mastered.
The better the model, the better the student learns
If the model is flawed or simplistic, it will undermine student learning

5. A typical incoming college student…
Has graduated from high school with an average GPA of 3.00 (NAEP, 2009)
Has probably passed a high school exit or graduation exam
Has been tested for scholastic achievement or aptitude many times
Probably taken an entrance exam and was admitted to college

6. % of Students Deemed Ready for College by ACT (2011)

7. A typical college freshman is
Inadequately prepared for college work
Unaware of the fact because it is contrary to their successful high school experience
Likely overconfident in their preparation and abilities for college-level work
Few students enter college believing they will struggle

8. As a consequence
Many students will struggle academically in their first year of college
Culture of access vs. culture of completion
Overconfidence may hinder their recognition and willingness to try to make the necessary changes
Even when willing to change, they do not know what changes to make (or not make)
Some percentage of these students will not succeed in college even though they have the ability to do so
A larger percentage will perform poorly as they adjust to college level study

9. The Primary Goal of Teaching
Either
To present information that students are solely responsible for learning
In which case student adjustment to college level work is not the teacher’s problem
The teacher cannot or should not influence learning Or
To develop a sophisticated, useful, and generative level of understanding of various academic topics on the part of the students
In which case student adjustment to college level work is the teacher’s problem
Teachers share responsibility for student learning

10. How to help students make a successful transition to college
Remediation
Teach them to adjust through college transition courses, advising, study skills centers, and other resources
Personal and social adjustment; study “tips”, and time management
Teach them how to be more effective learners by correcting misconceptions and teaching them cognitive principles of learning

11. Evolution of a Presentation
Given many workshops for teachers on how to teach effectively using cognitive research on how people learn
In 2006, I was asked to give a presentation to Samford’s entire freshman class on how to study effectively in college based on cognitive research
Focus on what students need to know about how people learn in order to make them better learners

12. It’s not that simple
Student expect to be lectured to about how hard college is going to be and how hard they will have to work.
Student overconfidence
“I’m a college professor and you better study hard because college is tough!”
“Look to your left…”
“I’m a scary, old guy who will make you work hard for no apparent reason.”
Such a lecture would be useless

13. The Challenges Overcome the negative preconceptions
“I want you to succeed, and I have information that will help you meet the academic challenge.”
Overcome student misconceptions about learning, e.g. mistaken beliefs and “magic bullets”
Present cognitive principles and research to help students become more effective learners
Make the presentation engaging, accessible, and memorable
Do it in 45 minutes

14. Goals of the Presentation
Give students a coherent, research-based framework that would allow them to become effective learners in any situation
More than disconnected study tips, e.g. don’t cram at the last minute; space out learning; serial position; study in same place you will be tested
Show them how to apply the framework to their study
Make it obvious to students this was useful information they should care about
It is worth the investment of time

15. How to Study Long and Hard and Still Fail… Or How to Get the Most Out of Your Studying
Beliefs about Learning that Make You Stupid (common misconceptions)
Metacognition and its consequences
So how accurate are your beliefs about how people learn? (A quiz)
A demonstration of Levels of Processing
Operationalizing Levels of Processing
Applying Levels to studying, note taking, and highlighting and reading

16. Giving the Presentation (about 5 weeks into Fall Semester)

17. Beliefs about Learning that Make You Stupid
Learning is fast
Being good at a subject is a matter of inborn talent rather than hard work,
Knowledge is composed of isolated facts
I’m really good at multi-tasking, especially during class or studying

18. Metacognition
A student’s awareness of his or her level of understanding of a topic
Metacognition distinguishes between stronger and weaker students
One of the major tasks for a freshman is developing good metacognition
In high school, students spent years developing a metacognitive sense that is likely inadequate or even counterproductive for college.

19. Relationship between Estimated and Actual Grades: Psyc 101

20. The irony of poor metacognition
Students who have the poorest metacognition have no clue how weak their understanding of a concept is.
Part of being incompetent is not understanding just how incompetent you are.
So the students who most need to listen closely to this talk, are the ones who don’t believe they need to.

21. So how accurate are your beliefs about how people learn?

22. Which of the following is the MOST important ingredient for successful learning?
The intention and desire to learn
Paying close attention to the material as you study
Learning in a way that matches your personal Learning Style?
The time you spend studying
What you think about while studying

23. Read the instructions for the demonstration to yourselves and do your best to follow them.

24. Levels of Processing
Shallow processing focuses on spelling, appearance and sound.
Rote memorization of facts
Flashcards with isolated facts
Deep processing focuses on subjective meaning.
Relating new information to prior knowledge or other information
Making information personally meaningful

25. Rate each word Do you find the word Pleasant?
Does the word contain an E or G?
Deep processing: You are
relating the words to your
own meaningful experiences.
Shallow processing: You are
focusing on spelling.
Orienting Task Demonstration
Between Groups:
Divide the class into two groups. Have Group one prepare a two column answer sheet labeled unpleasant and pleasant. Have the other group label theirs E/G yes or no. Read the list at about 2 seconds/word. Then give a recall task. This works intentionally or incidentally.
1. Evening 13. Cold
2. Country 14. Love
3. Salt 15. Bargain
4. Easy 16. War
5. Peace 17. Hate
6. Morning 18. Wet
7. Pretty 19. Rich
8. Expensive 20. Nurse
9. Poor 21. Pepper
10. Doctor 22. Hard
11. City 23. Ugly
12. Dry 24. Hot
Now turn your paper over and write down as many words as you can recall.
Use a show of hands to see how many words each person recalled. Also, ask if people noticed that the words were composed of associates. This finding is very robust, and does not depend on incidental learning.
These are orienting tasks that cause you
to think in deep or shallow ways,
regardless of your intention 25

26. Four different conditions
Be forewarned
you will be
asked to
recall all
the words
Front
Deep Warned
about Recall
Deep
Not Warned
Shallow
Shallow Warned
Right
Left

27. Study Conditions Front Deep Warned about Recall Deep Not Warned
If motivation to learn
matters, the front tables
should recall best
3. If both deep processing
and motivation matter, the
front right should recall best
Deep Warned
about Recall
Deep
Not Warned
Shallow
Shallow Warned
Right
Front
Left
2. If deep processing
matters, The two right
sections should recall best

28. Intention vs. Level of Processing

29. Which of the following is the MOST important ingredient for successful learning?
The intention and desire to learn
Paying close attention to the material as you study
Learning in a way that matches your personal Learning Style?
The time you spend studying
What you think about while studying

30. Implications for Learning
Intention and motivation to learn are not important
Attention and amount of study is necessary, but not sufficient for learning
Learning strategy has a huge impact on learning
Shallow processing undermines learning, even when intention and motivation are high
Deep level of processing is critical for learning
elaborative, distinctive, personal, appropriate

31. Implications for Students
Many students have highly practiced poor learning strategies
Studying more won’t help them
Increase overconfidence without learning
They need to unlearn highly practiced old strategies and develop new, more effective ones
Consider study skills in terms of orienting tasks and level or processing
Studying, note taking, reading, writing, listening

32. These findings are strongly counterintuitive
All study is effective, only amount and intensity matter
The more I study, the more I learn
The more motivated I am to learn, the more I will learn
Motivation automatically improves study effectiveness
Not all study is the same; some is useless no matter how long you do it and some is counterproductive
Motivation is no guarantee of effective study skills
Learning is hard work, but not all hard work leads to learning

33. Implications for Faculty
Pedagogy have a significant impact on learning
It isn’t all the same
Consider pedagogy in terms of orienting tasks and level of processing
Design assignments, problem sets, questions, examples to induce deep processing
What does this activity make students think about?
A badly designed assignment isn’t just useless, it can undermine learning

34. Achieving Deep Processing while Studying
As you study, follow these principles:
Elaboration: How does this concept relate to other concepts?
Distinctiveness: How is this concept different from other concepts?
Personal: How can I relate this information to my personal experience?
Appropriate to Retrieval and Application: How am I expected to use or apply this concept?
These properties lead to development of connected understanding

35. The aftermath The presentation was a huge success
Rated most useful and interesting of freshman activities
Faculty liked it as well as students
I’ve presented it annually, refining it each year
After two years, I was asked to give a follow up presentation for “at risk” students
But just how successful was it?
2009 Assessment

36. Method The assessment employed a two pronged approach:
Study 1 involved three sections of Foundations, a course intended to help freshmen adjust to college
For these sections, I attended their class, gave a pretest, gave my presentation, gave an immediate posttest, then gave a follow-up survey two weeks later.
Study 2 involved other Foundations sections.
I asked instructors to give a pretest before the presentation, the students attended my presentation, then I gave a follow-up survey several weeks after the presentation.

37. Results
Students rated the presentation highly for interest and value in helping them study (Figure 1)
In both studies, the presentation had a significant impact on student understanding that the key factor in learning is deep processing (Figures 2 & 3)
But 43% of students maintained a misconception and correct understanding lowered slightly over time.
The presentation seemed particularly effective in reducing rote memorization as a study strategy and increasing deep processing. (Figure 4)
“As I study, my main strategy is to memorize the key facts and the definitions of key terms.” (F(1, 61)=12.49, p=.001)
“As I study, I try to think about how I might use this information either on an exam or in my future experience.” (F(1, 67)=4.43, p=0.039

38. Fig. 1: Presentation Assessment (Study 2)

39. Fig. 2: Rated Most Important (Study 1)

40. Fig 3: Rated Most Important (Study 2)

41. Fig. 4: Impact on Study Strategies

42. Conclusions
The presentation is interesting and effective at significantly altering student understanding of learning and their practice.
The presentation is particularly effective at decreasing rote memorization and increasing deep processing strategies
A significant portion of students still maintain misconceptions about learning and the positive impact may lessen with time.
To address these issues, I created videotaped modules of the presentation for students to review when needed.

43. Development of Video Series
Have the same helpful tone as presentation
Contain the same information as my two presentations
Serve as a resource for students and teachers on how to study effectively
Be as flexible as possible for different uses, such as online learning
Five brief modules
Be worth the time invested in terms of information learned
6-8 minutes each

44. Creating the Videos
I examined the videos on studying that already exist
Most are either testimonials or selling products
A depressing, often boring, mix of some correct information, misconceptions, and simple tips
Nathan Troost—Ace Videographer
Visual sense of what works and what is interesting
A psych minor and former student of mine
A good editor for me
All five filmed in four hours one summer morning

45. Video Series: How to Get the Most Out of Studying http://www. samford

46. How to Get the Most Out of Studying
Video 1: Beliefs That Make You Fail…Or Succeed
Video 2: What Students Should Understand About How People Learn
Video 3: Cognitive Principles for Optimizing Learning
Video 4: Putting the Principles for Optimizing Learning into Practice
Video 5: I Blew the Exam, Now What?

47. Videos posted in August, 2011
Very well received: In use by many faculty; posted as a resource by many study and counseling centers; used in many college transition courses
Now being closed captioned
Faculty love them; Advanced students wish they had had them as freshmen; but freshmen reaction is mixed
It isn’t what they want or expect to hear
Misconceptions are hard to change
Just watching them is probably not sufficient

48. Viewing Pattern

49. What might explain this pattern?
When we tell students to watch them, we mean “Watch them all (maybe more than once), learn from them, work to incorporate the information into your study habits.”
What students think:
“I watched the first one and I figured that was enough.”
“Just watching should be enough to improve my grades.
Watching videos is passive, and they should be entertaining
“I already know or do this stuff.” (When they really don’t)

50. What Students Want vs. What the Videos Offer
How to make good grades
A concrete, foolproof, (easy) method
Simple tweaks to what I’m already doing
Immediate results
A guarantee that hard work will result in a good grade
How to learn more effectively
A framework for effective study
A radical change requiring much effort
No magic bullet
You can work hard and still fail

51. Using the videos effectively
Just assigning them is good, but especially for weaker students, need to ensure watching and engagement
Need to scaffold content
Huge discrepancy between video content and student beliefs
Information dense
Ideas are counterintuitive and contrary to popular misconceptions discuss how to apply.
Need reminding
It is a resource that will save teacher time, but will not replace the teacher.

52. Some suggestions Assign one at a time and discuss in class
Use study questions, assignments, or formative assessments to ensure deep processing
Revisit them after the first exam
Use as a resource in working with struggling students
I’m open to suggestions

53. So shouldn’t we design pedagogies that make students use deep processing all the time? (What faculty need to know about learning)

54. What are the critical factors in student learning?
Engagement
Active learning
Struggle
Many faculty believe student struggle leads to better learning

55. Cognitive Load Theory (e.g. van Merrienboer & Sweller, 2005)
Mental effort is the amount of concentration that a person has available to devote to tasks
Mental effort is always a limited resource
Cognitive Load is the total amount of mental effort a task requires to complete it
A person can do multiple tasks at once as long as the total cognitive load does not exceed available mental effort
If cognitive load exceeds available mental effort, then performance suffers

56. Student mental effort must meet the demands of instructional mental load
Students possess
prior knowledge,
learning strategies
and mental effort
Cognitive Load
Extraneous Load
(Minimize)
Teachers
design
instruction
Germane Load
(Optimize)
Available
Mental
Effort
Intrinsic Load
(Manage)
Tasks and concepts
possess difficulty

57. Name the days of the week out loud and in order as fast as you can

58. About this Activity Were you engaged?
Were you engaged in active problem solving?
Were you working hard and struggling?
What was the 4th day in the list?

59. Name the Days of the Week as Quickly as You Can
In Alphabetical Order
Friday
Monday
Saturday
Sunday
Thursday
Tuesday
Wednesday

60. Implications of Cognitive Load Theory
If the cognitive load demanded of students exceeds their available mental effort, then learning will not occur
If the cognitive load demanded of students takes up most or all of available cognitive effort, then there will not be enough mental effort available for learning or schema formation
Deeper level of processing causes greater cognitive load
Teachers must monitor, manage and minimize cognitive load to allow schema development as well as design activities to promote schema development

61. Cognitive Load of Various Tasks (adapted from Piolat, Olive & Kellogg, 2004)

62. About Engagement, Active Learning, and Struggle
Engagement, being “active”, and mental struggle do not always lead to effective learning
Neither does deep processing if cognitive load is too great
Teachers must balance deep processing and cognitive load
Teaching is an interaction of competing forces

63. The Complexity of Teaching
The number of teaching methods is large and diverse
No teaching method is without limitations and pitfalls
Teaching is a contextual interaction; Teaching effectiveness involves the dynamic interaction of multiple factors:
the outcomes that are desired by
the characteristics of the students by
the characteristics of the instructor by
the curriculum and content
No single best way to teach

64. An Effective Teacher
Must monitor, manage, and manipulate multiple, conflicting factors, many of which are outside the teacher’s control, to achieve desired learning outcomes
Must be knowledgeable about multiple teaching methods, select appropriately among them to achieve desired goals, and make adjustments during teaching.

65. Teaching As a Contextual Outcome of Multiple Agents (TACOMA) Model
Characteristics of the Teacher
In-the-Moment
Reflection
Pre-event
Reflection
Topic, Content, and
Learning Goals
Monitor,
Manage,
Manipulate
Manipulate
Monitor
Manipulate
Teaching
Strategies
Learning
Strategies
Characteristics
of the Learner
Form of
Assessment
Level of Student
Understanding
Post-event Reflection
Student-Teacher Rapport
and Classroom Atmosphere

66. Take Home Message
Described misconceptions that students and faculty have that undermine their learning
Described a live and video presentation for making students more effective learners based on cognitive research
Attempted to give you a more sophisticated understanding of how people learn to improve teaching effectiveness
Levels of Processing and orienting tasks
Cognitive Load
Must keep them in balance
Teaching is a complex interaction of factors that the teacher must manipulate, manage, and monitor
No single best teaching method
Requires constant monitoring and adjustments

67. Final Thought
Whether F2F or online, learning only occurs in one place, inside the student’s head.
It takes effective pedagogy for that to take place
Effective pedagogy depends on cognitive principles.

68. Stephen L. Chew slchew@samford.edu
Thank You! Questions?
Stephen L. Chew

69. Discussion Questions
What steps does your college or university currently take to make students better learners? What changes could be made to improve this process?
What kinds of misconceptions about learning do you see in both students and faculty? How do they undermine learning and how can they be addressed and corrected?
How can faculty use the information presented about depth of processing and cognitive load to design pedagogy that makes it easier for students to learn and retain information?

70. For Further Reading
How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, Marie K. Norman (2010). Jossey-Bass.
The College Fear Factor: How Students and Professors Misunderstand One Another. Rebecca D. Cox (2011), Harvard University Press.
Efficiency in Learning: Evidence-Based Guidelines to Manage Cognitive Load. Ruth C. Clark, Frank Nguyen, John Sweller (2005). Pfeiffer.
Effective College and University Teaching: Strategies and Tactics for the New Professoriate. William F. Buskist, Victor A. Benassi (2011). Sage Publications, Inc
What the Best College Teachers Do. Ken Bain (2004). Harvard University Press.