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Modeling and Guided Practice

Key Learning Strategies │ Modeling and Guided Practice │ Student Peer Support

In order for learning strategies to be really incorporated and utilized by students, they have to be modeled by the instructor and peer support staff. Intentional communication of key learning strategies throughout the semester is key in getting student buy-in. Examples of how to do this include:

  • Discussing goals and learning outcomes of a particular assignment or activity
  • Reminding students of study cycle and other good study habits before upcoming exam or quiz
  • Tying in material previously covered with new material
  • Giving concrete examples of other students' successful study strategies
  • Asking students to share as a team what strategies work best for them
Since students in introductory courses are usually not adept at metacognition (nor do they understand its importance), guided practice on how to reflect on one’s own learning becomes an integral part of the classroom environment. One of the most successful tools for this is the utilization of the Exam Wrapper. This allows students to predict their performance immediately after a quiz or exam and then carefully identify the areas they struggled with, as well as tools to improve performance once they receive the graded quiz/exam. A discussion from the instructor about corrective feedback, how correcting an answer that was wrong in the first-place actually helps us learn better, can be very valuable in combination with the Exam Wrapper.
 
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