Effective College Learning Jodi Patrick Holschuh * Sherrie L. Nist

What are the characteristics of active learners?

What role does memory play in learning?

How do the two major theories of learning differ?

What are the four key factors that influence learning?

How can you use your senses to be a more effective learner?

What does it mean to be an active learner?

Just as you cannot become fit and healthy by watching others exercise and eat right, you cannot learn by simply sitting and listening to a lecture!

If you don’t participant in learning, you won’t become mentally fit, nor will you maximize your performance in the classroom.

To define active learning, let’s examine the differences between active and passive learning by looking at eight characteristics of active learners and contrasting them with the characteristics of passive learners.

1. Read with the Purpose of Understanding and Remembering.

Passive learners read over a text and may remember very little afterwards, whereas…

…active learners set goals before they read and check their understanding as they read.

2. Reflect on Information and Think Critically.

Passive learners read the text and listen to lectures, and even understand most of what is read and heard, but they do not actively think about it, whereas…

2. Reflect on Information and Think Critically.

…active learners reflect constantly, making connections between the new ideas, identifying concepts they do not understand very well, and evaluating the importance of what they read.

3. Listen Actively by Taking Comprehensive Notes in an Organized Fashion.

Passive learners engage in activities other than listening and note taking in their lecture classes, whereas…

3. Listen Actively by Taking Comprehensive Notes in an Organized Fashion.

…active learners listen actively to the professor for the entire class period and write down as much information as possible.

4. Know that Learning Involves More Than Simply Putting in Time.

Passive learners simply put time into studying without evaluating how they can study most effectively, whereas…

…active learners recognize that the quality of the time spent learning is what really counts.

5. Get Assistance When They Experience Problems.

Passive learners do not reflect and think critically, so that they don’t realize that they need help, or may seek it when it is too late, whereas…

5. Get Assistance When They Experience Problems.

…active learners constantly monitor their understanding, know when their comprehension breaks down, and ask for help before they become lost.

6. Accept Much of the Responsibility for Learning.

Passive learners may blame others for their lack of motivation, poor performance, time-management problems, and other difficulties they might experience, whereas…

…active learners understand that the responsibility for learning must come from within.

7. Question Information.

Passive learners accept both the printed page and the words of their professors as “truth,” whereas…

…active learners question information they read and hear, especially when it fails to fit with what they already know.

8. Understand the Role that Memorization Plays in Learning.

Passive learners assume that learning and memorization are synonymous, whereas…

…active learners go beyond memorization – they analyze, synthesize, and elaborate to make sense of information.

…in short, approach learning differently because they define learning differently.

Because researchers can’t actually “see” memory, no one knows for sure exactly how memory operates.

But scientists do know that certain sections of the brain are responsible for certain types of memories, and offer two main theories for how memory works.

According to the Parts Theory, there are three different types (or parts) of memories:

› The Sensory Store

› Short-Term Memory (STM)

› Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The Sensory Store

…serves as a kind of filter that sorts through all the information that bombard your senses.

Ex. If you are looking up a number in the telephone book, you don’t look at or remember every name and number. You scan a specific page until you find the name and number you seek.

The Sensory Store

…can never be “filled up,” but it can get overloaded.

Ex. You are trying to study for your history exam but your roommate has the TV on, your next door neighbor is listening to loud music, a fire truck goes by with its siren blaring, and you hear dogs barking in a distance.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

…takes over when the sensory store identifies information you need to remember.

STM holds selected information for a brief period of time —less than thirty seconds, unless you do something to retain it.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

It can only hold a small number of items, anywhere from 5 to 9 pieces of information.

Ex. Remembering a seven-digit phone number long enough to dial it, but forgetting it immediately afterwards.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

The amount of time STM can hold info can be increased by:

› Rehearsing the information by saying it or writing it down.

› “chunking” the information to reduce the number of pieces you have to remember.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

…takes over when you need to know the information for longer than a minute.

LTM has an unlimited capacity – it never gets “filled up” – so even older people can remember things that happened when they were small children.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

In order to get information into LTM (like information that you need to learn for an exam) you must rehearse that information.

If you write it, repeat it several times, listen to it over and over again, and/or talk it through with someone, you will be able to remember it for an indefinite period of time.

Think for a minute about how the Parts Theory of memory applies when you are taking a test…

› Your sensory store must filter out all the distractions as you read the questions such as the hum of the air conditioner, the noise from the hallway, or the person behind you with a persistent cough.

Think for a minute about how the Parts Theory of memory applies when you are taking a test…

› Your STM must hold the question while you think about the correct answer.

› You retrieve the information you need from your LTM in order to answer the question.

According to the Levels of Processing Theory the degree to which you can remember and retrieve information depends on the “level” or depth to which you have processed the information.

Material that is processed at a “shallow” level cannot be remembered very well or for very long…

According to the Levels of Processing Theory the degree to which you can remember and retrieve information depends on the “level” or depth to which you have processed the information.

…but information that is processed at a “deep” level is remembered considerably better.

We don’t need to process all information at a deep level – in those instances when we only need to remember information temporarily it would be a waste of time!

In those instances we use maintenance rehearsal – rehearsing the information just enough to process it shallowly to use briefly and then “forget.”

If you need to remember the information days later – like for an exam! – then you need to engage in elaborative rehearsal.

Elaborative rehearsal means processing the information more deeply by making it meaningful and rehearsing it to the point where it is at your fingertips.

So to remember a phone number long enough to call the health center to get an appointment, you would engage in maintenance rehearsal…

…but to remember material for an essay exam in history you use elaborative rehearsal to make it easier to remember in order to have access to the information at test time!

Both the Parts and the Levels of Processing theories have a key commonality:

Remembering and learning information requires you to be actively involved!

Cognitive psychologists believe there are four key factors that influence learning:

1. Your own characteristics as a learner2. The tasks your professors ask you to

do3. The texts with which you interact4. The strategies you select

As a student, you bring a variety of unique characteristics to each learning situation.

Motivation.

Being open to learning new things and expanding your interests will help you to be more successful!

As a student, you bring a variety of unique characteristics to each learning situation.

Background knowledge.

The more you already know about a topic, the easier it is to learn.

As a student, you bring a variety of unique characteristics to each learning situation.

Ability to Concentrate.

If you frequently leave class or finish reading a chapter feeling that you got little or nothing out of it, learning may be difficult.

As a student, you bring a variety of unique characteristics to each learning situation.

Beliefs About Knowledge and Learning.

Your beliefs about the nature of knowledge and about how learning happens powerfully influence the way you approach learning.

Tasks are what your professors ask you to do.

Tasks include:

› Daily tasks like reading your textbooks, and…

› Larger tasks like preparing for various kinds of tests or writing papers.

Most professors are pretty clear about what the tasks are.

But some aren’t so clear in defining course tasks, or give conflicting messages about what is expected.

In these cases you must try to get your professor to be as clear as possible about the tasks you must undertake.

Your texts are any source of information with which you must interact.

Texts include not just textbooks, but also:

› Periodicals and magazines› Web pages and other “hypertext”› Films and videos› Your lecture notes

The strategies you use are the one factor out of the four that is most under your control.

Thus they should be selected based on the other three factors: your characteristics as a learner, the tasks you have to do, and the texts used.

Strategies for active learning have several features in common:

1. You can use all of these strategies on your own.

Because studying is mostly a solitary activity, it is important to be able to use strategies without guidance from someone else.

Strategies for active learning have several features in common:

2. These strategies involve underlying processes that research has consistently shown lead to better performance.

For example, effective learning strategies have a self-testing component, which helps you monitor your learning by ensuring you understand the information.

Strategies for active learning have several features in common:

3. The strategies require participation on your part in the form of critical thinking and reasoning.

They will help you to think beyond the text and to analyze, synthesize, and apply information, not just memorize it!

Strategies for active learning have several features in common:

4. The strategies are flexible.

You can modify them according to your own learning preferences, the tasks, and the texts.

We use the term learning styles when we refer to how students learn best.

Researchers who study this issue suggest that there are three main kinds of learning styles.

1. Visual learners tend to learn best by watching or seeing.

› Visual learners prefer to be shown how to do things and often learn best through diagrams or by using imagery.

› Visual learners also tend use imagery and written rehearsal strategies, particularly concept maps, diagrams, flow charts, etc.

2. Auditory learners tend to learn best by listening or speaking.

› Auditory learners prefer to listen to lectures or talk information over with a peer.

› Auditory learners tend to rehearse information by saying it over, either to themselves or out loud.

3. Kinesthetic learners learn best by touching or movement.

› Kinesthetic learners generally learn best through writing or even typing things out.

› Kinesthetic learners may rehearse information by writing it several times or by taking a “hands-on” approach to their learning.

These categories can oversimplify the complex task of college learning.

Not all learning styles can be used in every course.

Ex. You cannot easily use a kinesthetic, “hands-on” approach to learn in philosophy course!

Therefore you need to tap as many of these learning methods as possible if you are to be successful in college!

Rather than relying on one particular learning style, which may actually impede your learning, you should use strategies that incorporate them all.

This is “learning through your senses”!

Many students prepare the same way for all of their classes, regardless of the type of tasks they’ll face.

But it’s best not to be a “one-trick pony”! Use all your senses – read your text, listen actively to the lectures, and take a good set of notes!

It’s okay to prefer one mode of learning over another – you should always take advantage of your strengths!

But nevertheless most tasks in college make it necessary to approach learning in college by using multiple senses.