Introduction to Learning Strategies By Peggy Marcy, a professor at California
State University, San Bernardino In this video I want to look at learning strategies
and some types of learning strategies.
The first question I have for you is what is the difference between a learning strategy
and a teaching technique?
In my opinion, the difference comes down to explanation and conscious awareness by the
student.
For example, usually during breaks in my class I play some music.
I like jazz or classical music to be playing lightly in the background.
I do this because I know that music is huge in setting the right atmosphere in class.
It lowers affective filters and it wakes up the brain.
This is a technique I use.
Sometimes, half way through the quarter, I will explain to the students why I am playing
the music and talk to them about using the right kind of music in the background while
they are studying or during study breaks.
Then it becomes a learning strategy.
That is a mild application of a learning strategy.
Once, I spent a couple class periods helping students understand this learning strategy.
First we read a research article about how listening to music by Mozart has been shown
to improve math and science scores on tests.
Then, our class administered a simple intelligence test to another class.
Half of the class listened to Mozart first and half didn't.
My students were surprised to find that those who listened to Mozart did actually score
several points higher on their tests.
That was an attempt to help my students learn how to apply music as an affective strategy
to their own lives.
So, how can we define a learning strategy.
I like the one in Dr. Diaz-Rico's textbook "Strategies for Teaching English Learners."
She says that a strategy is any idea that the learner can use to increase their learning.
I would add that they consciously and purposefully use the idea to improve their learning.
Now, let's consider the difference between a learning style and a learning strategy.
The biggest difference is that a learning style is something the student does without
conscious awareness of it.
Learning styles usually are used to talk about how a student likes to learn, such as through
physical movement or by listening or by reading, and so on.
Learning styles don't need to be taught to students except that they can be made aware
of what their learning style is and how they can take advantage of that.
These days, teachers are usually asked to adjust their lessons to fit the variety of
learning styles in their class instead of expecting the student to always adjust to
what is being taught.
Teachers can either find out specific learning styles of their students and teach to those,
or they can incorporate a variety of learning styles and hope that they meet the learners'
needs.
Let's briefly look at four main categories of learning strategies.
Cognitive strategies are fairly direct.
They involve practice, analyzing, inductive inference, deductive reasoning, clarification
and memorization.
Teachers using these strategies are helping students learn how to think in general.
Sometimes these are grouped together and called higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).
Metacognitive strategies are more indirect.
They involve learning how to learn.
They are very similar to cognitive strategies and the actual classification difference is
probably not too important in the real classroom.
Some metacognitive strategies include learning how to plan your learning, how to evaluate
your learning, prioritizing, setting goals, and self-management.
Sometimes these strategies are referred to as "study skills."
Affective strategies are also indirect.
They involve controlling your emotions in a way that will improve learning.
Some affective strategies are learning how to lower your anxiety in general as well as
specifically before tests or presentations, understanding the need to encourage yourself,
and recognizing how you are feeling, how that is affecting your learning, and how you might
change how you are feeling.
These are also known as "intrapersonal skills."
Social strategies are closely related to affective strategies because our relationships with
classmates affects our emotions.
Social strategies involve learning how to better relate with other people and learn
with and from others.
Some social strategies include asking effective questions, turn-taking, extending conversations,
learning to cooperate, and being able to empathize with others.
These can be referred to as "interpersonal skills."
Many teachers use the social technique of putting students in pairs.
You might consider going a step further and teach them the social strategy of how to successfully
relate in those pairs.
In summary, we explained that strategies require conscious and purposeful use by the learner,
learning styles are unconscious preferences for learning, and four major categories of
strategies are cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and social.