“WHY DON’T THEY GET IT?”: HELPING STUDENTS LEARN THROUGH METACOGNITION Barbara Jacoby, Ph.D. University of Maryland - College Park ACPA 2014

“45% of Students Don’t Learn Much in College” Huffington Post, August 24, 2013

“Too Little Critical Thinking in College” Chicago Tribune, March 25, 2012

“Are College Students Actually Learning Anything?” Chronicle of Higher Education, January 18, 2011

Metacognition is: higher-order thinking about how we learn as well as how effectively or well we are learning.

Metacognition is: planning how to approach a given learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating progress toward the completion of a task.

Critical Reflection is “the active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends.” --John Dewey, “How We Think,” 1916

Reflection What is an example of something your students just didn’t “get” Why do you think they didn’t get it?

How Do Students “Mislearn”? “Amnesia”: They forget. “Fantasia”: They think they know.”

How do Students “Mislearn”? “Inertia”: They don’t use ideas. “Stagnatia”: Their thinking stagnates for lack of challenge.

Strategies: Amnesia Sticky Teaching simplified, well organized key points clearly identified “stick” new material to what they know uses the element of surprise

Strategies: Fantasia Use scaffolding. Sequence presentation of material. Assess learning before it is needed. Go from simplest to most complex. Let them know what’s important. Provide structures for learning.

Strategies: Inertia Engage students in experiential learning… inside and outside the classroom

Strategies: Stagnatia Meet students where they are. Engage them in critical reflection. Scaffold reflections. Build a “consciousness bridge.”

Reflection Why are you a student affairs professional?

Metacognitive Reflection Why does it matter to know why?

“Teaching is leading students into a situation from which they can only escape by thinking.”

References and Resources Arum, R., and Roksa, J. Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Baxter Magolda, M. B. “Teaching to Promote Holistic Learning and Development.” In M. B. Baxter Magolda (ed.), Teaching to Promote Intellectual and Personal Maturity: Incorporating Students’ Worldviews and Identities into the Learning Process, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 82, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Dewey, J. How We Think. Buffalo, N. Y.: Dover, jacoby, B. Service-Learning Essentials: Questions, Answers, and Lessons Learned. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, in press.

King, P. M. & Kitchener, K. S. Developing Reflective Judgment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Kolb, D. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Jacoby, B. Service-Learning Essentials: Questions, Answers, and Lessons Learned. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, in press. (Includes thorough discussion of critical reflection.) Shulman, L. S. “Taking Learning Seriously.” Change, 1999, 31(4), Sweller, J. “Cognitive Load Theory, Learning Difficulty, and Instructional Design.” Learning and Instruction, 4(4),1994,

Presenter: Barbara Jacoby, Ph.D. Faculty Associate for Leadership & Community Service-Learning Adele H. Stamp Student Union University of Maryland