Proposal Title
Use of Learning Task Inventories (LTIs) to Promote Self-Monitoring and Self-Regulation in Introductory Organic Chemistry
Session Type
Presentation
Room
P&A Rm 106
Start Date
July 2015
Keywords
metacognition, self-monitoring, self-regulation, organic chemistry, learning tasks, grade estimates
Primary Threads
Teaching and Learning Science
Abstract
At WCSE 2013, I presented research on the use of Learning Task Inventories (LTIs) to help students develop or improve metacognitive skills. LTIs are chapter-by-chapter lists of learning tasks that students are expected to master by the end of the course. Through SurveyMonkey®, students were asked to rate themselves on their ability to perform learning tasks then they completed a 5-question multiple choice test on selected learning tasks for which they received full feedback. Our results showed that students who completed more LTIs achieved higher exam grades. However, anonymous survey results indicated that many students did not fully recognize the benefit of completing LTIs. We hypothesized that the LTIs helped students to self-monitor, i.e., assess what they know and don’t know, but did little to prompt students to self-regulate, i.e., change behaviors and alter study strategies to fill in gaps in knowledge.
To assist students in more effectively utilizing LTIs for self-monitoring and self-regulation purposes, we placed the LTIs in the context of John Anderson’s PQR4 (Preview/Predict, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review) model and conducted “mini-interventions”. One intervention (IV1) involved providing students with learning task lists at the beginning of each week and asking students every week how they used them. The other intervention (IV2) involved asking students to estimate their test grades before and after writing each of three tests.
Preliminary results from IV1 indicate that the number of learning task lists accessed at the beginning of each week predicts LTI use at the end of each week (p< .001), and the number of LTIs completed predicts final course grades (p < .05). Preliminary results from IV2 indicate that students’ abilities to estimate grades immediately following tests improved over time (p < 0.001). This presentation will summarize the effects of these mini-interventions on students’ self-reported self-monitoring and self-regulation skills. This is important because university students who are capable of more accurate self-monitoring and self-assessment usually outperform less accurate students. In addition, self-regulation improves performance in a number of ways, including better use of attentional resources, better use of existing strategies, and a greater awareness of comprehension breakdowns (Schraw, G. Instructional Science 1998, 26, 112-125)
Elements of Engagement
To give attendees a taste of Anderson's PQR4 model, they will be asked to (a) read through a list of learning tasks for the presentation at the beginning (i.e., preview) and (b) indicate if they can or cannot perform selected learning tasks by holding up colored cards at the end of the presentation (i.e., reflect).
Use of Learning Task Inventories (LTIs) to Promote Self-Monitoring and Self-Regulation in Introductory Organic Chemistry
P&A Rm 106
At WCSE 2013, I presented research on the use of Learning Task Inventories (LTIs) to help students develop or improve metacognitive skills. LTIs are chapter-by-chapter lists of learning tasks that students are expected to master by the end of the course. Through SurveyMonkey®, students were asked to rate themselves on their ability to perform learning tasks then they completed a 5-question multiple choice test on selected learning tasks for which they received full feedback. Our results showed that students who completed more LTIs achieved higher exam grades. However, anonymous survey results indicated that many students did not fully recognize the benefit of completing LTIs. We hypothesized that the LTIs helped students to self-monitor, i.e., assess what they know and don’t know, but did little to prompt students to self-regulate, i.e., change behaviors and alter study strategies to fill in gaps in knowledge.
To assist students in more effectively utilizing LTIs for self-monitoring and self-regulation purposes, we placed the LTIs in the context of John Anderson’s PQR4 (Preview/Predict, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review) model and conducted “mini-interventions”. One intervention (IV1) involved providing students with learning task lists at the beginning of each week and asking students every week how they used them. The other intervention (IV2) involved asking students to estimate their test grades before and after writing each of three tests.
Preliminary results from IV1 indicate that the number of learning task lists accessed at the beginning of each week predicts LTI use at the end of each week (p< .001), and the number of LTIs completed predicts final course grades (p < .05). Preliminary results from IV2 indicate that students’ abilities to estimate grades immediately following tests improved over time (p < 0.001). This presentation will summarize the effects of these mini-interventions on students’ self-reported self-monitoring and self-regulation skills. This is important because university students who are capable of more accurate self-monitoring and self-assessment usually outperform less accurate students. In addition, self-regulation improves performance in a number of ways, including better use of attentional resources, better use of existing strategies, and a greater awareness of comprehension breakdowns (Schraw, G. Instructional Science 1998, 26, 112-125)