Changes In Strategy Use Research Articles

Does testing potentiate new learning because it enables learners to use better strategies?

Testing can potentiate new learning, which is often called the forward testing effect. One potential explanation for this benefit is that testing might enable participants to use more effective learning strategies subsequently. We investigated this possibility by asking participants to report their encoding strategies in a multi-list foreign language learning paradigm with four preregistered experiments and one non-preregistered pilot experiment. In Experiments 1-3, participants learned three lists of Chinese-English pairs; one group took a test after every list (i.e., test condition) and the other group took a test only for the criterial List 3 (i.e., restudy condition). In addition, participants completed a transfer test and a study strategy survey. Although we found a forward testing effect in all experiments, participants in the test and restudy conditions did not report differences in strategies. In Experiments 4 and 5, we used a within-subject design so that we could correlate changes in strategy use with the magnitude of the forward testing effect on an individual level. Interestingly, individual differences in strategy change were moderately associated with the magnitude of the forward testing effect, but even here, strategy change did not mediate the effect of testing on performance. Overall, our data showed that, at least for foreign language learning of Chinese characters, interim testing did not enhance new learning by altering participants' subsequent encoding strategies. Moreover, our data showed that interim testing did not promote the transfer of Chinese language learning to novel characters. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Incorporating Metacognitive Strategy Training Into Semantic Treatment Promotes Restitutive and Substitutive Gains in Naming: A Single-Subject Investigation.

This study tested the effectiveness of a modified semantic feature analysis (SFA) treatment protocol that incorporated metacognitive strategy training (MST). Regarding its restitutive component, SFA most reliably results in improved word retrieval for treated items and untreated, semantically related items, but evidence of response generalization is often small/inconsistent. Regarding its substitutive component, SFA is thought to facilitate successful communication via habituation of the SFA circumlocution strategy. However, repeated practice with SFA's strategy in the absence of direct MST may not result in independent strategy use and/or generalization. Furthermore, people with aphasia's independent use of the SFA strategy in moments of anomia is presently underreported. To address these limitations, we incorporated MST into SFA and directly measured substitutive outcomes. Four people with aphasia participated in 24 treatment sessions of SFA + MST in a single-subject, A-B experimental design with repeated measurements. We measured word retrieval accuracy, strategy use, and explicit strategy knowledge. We calculated effect sizes to measure changes in word retrieval accuracy and strategy use and used visual inspection to assess gains in explicit strategy knowledge from pre- to posttreatment and retention. Participants achieved marginally small to medium effects in word retrieval accuracy for treated; untreated, semantically related; and untreated, semantically unrelated items and marginally small to large effects in independent strategy use. Explicit strategy knowledge was variable. Across participants, SFA + MST yielded positive changes in word retrieval accuracy or strategy use, or both. Positive changes in word retrieval accuracy were comparable to other SFA studies. Positive changes in strategy use demonstrate preliminary evidence of this treatment's ability to yield restitutive and substitutive gains. Overall, this study offers preliminary evidence of SFA + MST's effectiveness and highlights the importance of directly measuring SFA's substitutive outcomes, which showed that people with aphasia can respond to this treatment in multiple successful ways-not just improved target word production.

The impact of effective study strategy use in an introductory anatomy and physiology class

Introductory courses in biology often act as a gateway for students seeking careers in healthcare and science-related fields. As such, they provide a prime entry point for innovations seeking to enhance students’ learning of foundational content. Extant innovations and interventions have been found to positively impact students’ study strategy use with concomitant impacts on course exams and grades. These innovations, however, often have associated time and other costs, which may ultimately limit more widespread use. Our study builds on prior findings by exploring the extent to which students evidence increased use of effective study strategies after engaging in a brief (i.e., 15-min), online module requiring no financial cost for students or time commitment from instructors, and whether changes in students’ use of effective study strategies are associated with changes in exam performance. The present study employed a brief, online module designed to support undergraduate students’ (n = 98) use of effective study strategies in an introductory human anatomy and physiology course. Through a pretest-posttest design, students described the strategies they used to study and completed four cognitive and metacognitive subscales before and after engaging in a brief, online module designed to teach them about effective study strategies. Results were somewhat mixed: students evidenced a modest, statistically significant increase in the number of strategies used and changes in strategy use were associated with changes in exam score only for some measures. Notably, this relationship was not moderated by GPA, suggesting that the strength of the relationship between changes in strategy use and changes in exam scores were not different depending on students’ levels of prior academic performance. Taken together, the innovation was associated with increases in students’ exam scores, irrespective of GPA, but future research should explore the refinement and extension of the innovation to explore ways that increase efficacy and impact while still balancing sustainable implementation to account for challenges associated with instructor supervision and training, financial costs, and students’ time.

Perception changes over time on the usefulness of language learning strategies

This longitudinal study describes and analyses the shifts in students’ perceptions on the usefulness of language learning strategies (LLS) when learning Spanish as a foreign language, and explains the roles that these learning strategies play at various moments in time during students’ language learning journey at the undergraduate level. The richness of this investigation lies in the examination of the changing roles and the perceived usefulness of these strategies over a period of 3 years by using a mixed-method approach. Its main contribution is twofold. On the one hand, it offers practical insights within the linguistic field of language acquisition that can be applied to the learning of foreign languages by students with no previous knowledge of them. On the other hand, its longitudinal design not only goes beyond the traditional quantitative approach that offers a limited snapshot view, but also captures changes in strategy use over time while providing details on why strategies were or were not used in the new language at different proficiency levels. The study found some strategies that were initially perceived as useful and helpful at the beginning of the journey were later perceived as neutral, useless or obstructive by the same group of students who had become more proficient in the foreign language. And, conversely, other strategies that were initially perceived as neutral, unhelpful or frustrating, were later perceived as necessary to improve language proficiency, useful and stimulating by the same cohort of students. In this respect, it was found that the perceived role played by these strategies alternated between essential roles to catalytic roles, imperceptible roles, retarding roles and preventing roles, and vice versa.Contribution: The main contribution of this study is that it shows that students’ perceptions on the usefulness of certain LLS over time are influenced by their level of proficiency. This in turn influences, and is influenced by, language attitudes and language learning policy, which fall under the scope of this journal.

Family and Caregiver Characteristics Contribute to Caregiver Change in Use of Strategies and Growth in Child Spoken Language in a Parent-Implemented Language Intervention in Fragile X Syndrome.

This study examined relationships among family characteristics, caregiver change in use of strategies, and child growth in spoken language over the course of a parent-implemented language intervention (PILI) that was developed to address some of the challenges associated with the fragile X syndrome (FXS) phenotype. Participants were 43 parent-child dyads from two different PILI studies, both of which taught parents various language facilitation strategies to support child language. Before starting the intervention, parents reported on their mental health, parenting stress, and parenting competence. This study focused on potential barriers to treatment gains by examining correlations between the measures of parent well-being and (a) parent change in use of intervention strategies taught in the PILI and (b) changes in child language outcomes from preto post-intervention. Parents in this study had elevated mental health symptoms across several domains and increased rates of parenting stress. Furthermore, although PILI resulted in treatment gains for both parents and children, a variety of parent mental health symptoms were found to be significantly and negatively associated with change in use of strategies and growth in child language over the course of the intervention. Some inconsistent findings also emerged regarding the relationships between parenting stress and competence and change in parent strategy use and growth in child language. This study provides preliminary evidence that parents who are experiencing significant mental health challenges may have a more difficult time participating fully in PILIs and that there may be subsequent effects on child outcomes. Future PILIs could benefit from addressing parent well-being as a substantial part of the intervention program.

The Impact of Reading Strategy Instruction on Reading Comprehension, Strategy Use, Motivation, and Self-Efficacy in Chinese University EFL Students

This study investigated the effect of explicit reading strategy instruction on reading comprehension, reading strategy use, reading motivation, and reading self-efficacy in Chinese university EFL learners. A total of 117 first-year university students were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Students in the experimental group received a 16-week reading strategy training embedded into their English reading classes. The data were collected through five major instruments: a reading comprehension test, a reading strategy questionnaire, a reading motivation questionnaire, a reading self-efficacy questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview. Independent-samples t-test results showed that there was a significant difference in reading comprehension between the experimental group and the control group after the reading strategy instruction, suggesting that students who received reading strategy instruction made significant improvement in their reading comprehension. ANCOVA analysis of pre- and post-questionnaires results showed that there were no significant changes in reading strategy use, reading motivation, and reading self-efficacy at the end of the strategy instruction. Furthermore, interview data, showed that experimental group students held very positive attitudes toward the reading strategy training. Interview results further suggested that lack of significant changes in strategy use, motivation, and self-efficacy at the end of strategy training could be explained by a dynamic interplay of individual and contextual factors.

Development of decision making based on internal and external information: A hierarchical Bayesian approach

AbstractIn decision making, people may rely on their own information as well as on information from external sources, such as family members, peers, or experts. The current study investigated how these types of information are used by comparing four decision strategies: 1) an internal strategy that relies solely on own information; 2) an external strategy that relies solely on the information from an external source; 3) a sequential strategy that relies on information from an external source only after own information is deemed inadequate; 4) an integrative strategy that relies on an integration of both types of information. Of specific interest were individual and developmental differences in strategy use. Strategy use was examined via Bayesian hierarchical mixture model analysis. A visual decision task was administered to children and young adolescents (N=305, ages 9–14). Individual differences but no age-related changes were observed in either decision accuracy or strategy use. The internal strategy was dominant across ages, followed by the integrative and sequential strategy, respectively, while the external strategy was extremely rare. This suggests a reluctance to rely entirely on information provided by external sources. We conclude that there are individual differences but not developmental changes in strategy use pertaining to perceptual decision-making in 9- through 14-year-olds. Generalizability of these findings is discussed with regard to different forms of social influence and varying perceptions of the external source. This study provides stepping stones in better understanding and modeling decision making processes in the presence of both internal and external information.

Longitudinal changes in young children's strategy use for emotion regulation.

The development of strategies that support autonomous self-regulation of emotion is key for early childhood emotion regulation. Children are thought to transition from predominant reliance on more automatic or interpersonal strategies to reliance on more effortful, autonomous strategies as they develop cognitive skills that can be recruited for self-regulation. However, there are few longitudinal studies documenting age-related changes in different forms and dimensions of strategies. The current study tested predicted age-related changes in strategy use in a task requiring children to wait for something they want. Specifically, we examined the longitudinal trajectories of 3 strategies commonly observed in delayed reward tasks: self-soothing, seeking attention about the demands of waiting (bids), and distracting oneself. We followed a sample of 120 children (54% male, 93.3% white, from semirural and rural economically strained households) from ages 24 months to 5 years who participated in a waiting task each year. Using growth curve modeling, we found declines in self-soothing, rises and then declines in bidding, and increases in distraction from 24 months to 5 years. Next, we investigated whether strategy use trajectories predicted adult ratings of children's emotion regulation during the task, that is, whether children appeared calm and acted appropriately while waiting. Growth in duration and dominance of distraction use predicted judgments that children were well-regulated by age 5 years, whereas growth in dominance of bidding use negatively predicted being rated as well-regulated. We discuss implications for the understanding of strategy development and future directions, including understanding strategy effectiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Modeling Strategy Switches in Multi-attribute Decision Making

We develop and demonstrate a method for inferring changes in strategy use, applicable to decision making in multi-attribute choice. The method is an extension of one developed by Lee, Gluck, and Walsh (Decision 6:335–368, 2019) and continues to rely on a Bayesian approach for inferring strategy switches based on spike-and-slab priors. The extensions improve the existing method in two ways. The first is by using a hierarchical approach to make inferences about the underlying propensity to switch strategies simultaneously at both the individual and group levels. The second is by making inferences about the probability different strategies are used, including the transition probabilities between strategies when switches are made. We demonstrate the method by applying it to data sets from five previous experiments, involving a range of experimental designs and sets of strategies of interest. We conclude by discussing the potential of the method to contribute to addressing basic questions in human decision making involving the nature of adaptation, learning, and self-regulation.

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT: STUDENTS’ RESPONSES TO AND PERCEPTIONS OF TRAINING TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES

This article reports on a small-scale action research study aimed at exploring the impact of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) awareness-raising and training sessions on two groups of Spanish as a Foreign Language beginners. The exploration focused on identifying changes to strategy use and students’ experience of strategy effectiveness after a series of VLS awareness-raising and training sessions that took place on a Spanish beginners’ course. In addition, feedback on the sessions was sought from the students. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires and interviews. Responses from the participants were coded using an adaptation of VLS from Schmitt, N. (1997) classification: additional VLS that emerged from the data was also added. Emergent themes from the questionnaires and interviews were analyzed and included in the findings. The results revealed changes in strategy use and suggest that students benefited from the VLS awareness-raising and training sessions. Furthermore, the results provide insights into factors that affect strategy effectiveness and students’ perceptions of what made strategies particularly effective for them when learning Spanish.

The development of computational estimation in the transition from informal to formal mathematics education

The transition from informal to formal mathematics is an important episode in children’s mathematical development. The current study investigated how young children’s computational estimation performance and strategy use develops in this transitional period. The computational estimation performance of 350 children was assessed before the start of formal schooling (i.e., third grade of kindergarten) and again after the start of formal schooling (i.e., first grade of primary school) by means of a computational estimation addition task with manipulatives. Both children’s answer construction and their counting behavior while constructing the answer were observed during task administration. Results showed an age-related increase in children’s estimation accuracy as well as in their proportion of exact answers. Age-related changes in strategy use were also observed. Children demonstrated an increase in their counting behavior while constructing the answer, but no changes in the way the answer was constructed. In both grades, the answer was most often constructed by laying down all manipulatives immediately in one group. These results suggested that children can follow two pathways to solve the estimation problems: (1) relying on the visual representation of the addends without using counting and (2) using the verbal labels provided by the experimenters while using counting. More use of counting in first grade positively influenced children’s estimation accuracy in this grade, suggesting that these children strive for more precision compared to children who do not count.

Inquiry-Based Learning and Conceptual Change in Balance Beam Understanding.

Inquiry-based learning has the potential to foster conceptual change, but whether it can induce an advancement in strategy use is not yet known. Such an advancement seems plausible, because conceptual change can be reflected in the use of new strategies. Whether inquiry-based learning leads to advancement in strategy use can be tested with strategy-based tests, such as the balance beam test. Distinct strategies have been proposed and identified for this test. Therefore, the present study compared response patterns on the balance beam test before and after an inquiry-based lesson. The experimental condition completed a digital inquiry-based lesson about the balance beam (n = 113), and the control condition completed a similar inquiry-based lesson but investigated a different topic (n = 44). The participants were aged 8–13 years old and were unfamiliar with the law of moments. The balance beam test (pretest and posttest) consisted of 25 items. Overall accuracy in solving balance beam problems improved after the inquiry-based lesson in the balance beam (BB) condition but not in the control condition. Classes, identified with latent transition analysis (LTA), appeared to be globally in line with previously identified strategies in the balance beam test. Condition was entered as a covariate in the LTA to identify which changes in strategy use could be attributed to the experimental intervention. First, changes from pretest to posttest were found, which supported that a change in strategy use occurred in some children. Second, there were more improvements in the BB condition, and these improvements indicated larger gains compared to the control condition. This means that in science education, it is important to map out prior knowledge and its effect on learning paths. Overall, results suggested that conceptual change could be measured as a change in strategy use and modeled with LTA to reveal that 26% of the children showed conceptual change after a single inquiry-based lesson.

Intraindividual strategy shifts in Raven's matrices, and their dependence on working memory capacity and need for cognition.

Strategic behavior plays a key role in fluid intelligence tasks like Raven's matrices. Some participants solve items using the strategy of mentally constructing the answer (constructive matching), which is effective but costly for complex problems; other participants rely on the less accurate strategy of discarding potential answers (response elimination). While this process is relatively well-known, past research hints that intraindividual changes in strategy use may also take place as the task becomes increasingly difficult; however, intraindividual variability in Raven's matrices is poorly understood. The present study aimed to (a) test the hypothesis that participants dynamically shift between strategies during the course of Raven's matrices, as predicted by the literature, and (b) investigate the possibility that these shifts are moderated by individual differences in both ability and motivation. Two samples of 100 participants each completed Raven's advanced progressive matrices, and measures of working memory and need for cognition. The results confirmed that participants tended to turn to the less costly response elimination strategy as the difficulty of the task increased; this variability in strategy use predicted 78% of item-to-item variance in accuracy. Working memory capacity and need for cognition predicted strategy use, and working memory capacity additionally moderated the shift toward response elimination, so that only participants with both high working memory capacity and high need for cognition continued using constructive matching in the later part of the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender Variables in Strategy Use for Korean EFL Learners

This study investigates correlations between gender and strategy use and, more specifically, the prioritization for metacognitive strategy use in Korean EFL learners using the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL, Oxford, 1990). An entry SILL survey was given at the beginning of a semester for an EFL discussion class in Korea and an exit SILL survey was given at the end of the semester to determine if there were any significant changes in strategy use in either gender group. The study found that significant shifts in the use of metacognitive and affective strategies were demonstrated by females, while only minor metacognitive strategy shifts were found in the male groups. Implications are made towards the development of language learning classrooms which are designed for specific types of language learners based on their preferences in strategy usage.

Relating Children’s Early Elementary Classroom Experiences to Later Skilled Remembering and Study Skills

ABSTRACTAs children transition from the early to later grades of elementary school, they become increasingly skilled at employing a variety of techniques – such as rehearsal and organizational strategies – for remembering information. Developmental changes in strategy use have been well documented, but little is known about the extent to which these “simple” techniques give way to more complex strategies, such as the study skills that are important in academically–based tasks in later elementary school. Moreover, although school experiences have been shown to be important in the development of young children’s deliberate memory skills, less is known about how the school context sets the stage for the use of more sophisticated strategies and study skills. In this article, we make use of data from a longitudinal study of children’s memory skills to describe associations among measures of children’s basic memory strategy use in the first and second grades and their implementation of more complex strategies and study skills in the fourth grade. We also highlight linkages between first-grade teachers’ use of “Cognitive Processing Language” (CPL) during instruction and children’s performance in the first, second, and fourth grades. This project reflects an ongoing collaboration among researchers, teachers, and school administrators, and we end with a discussion of the benefits – for both basic understanding and educational practice – that can result from such an endeavor.

Abrupt strategy change underlies gradual performance change: Bayesian hierarchical models of component and aggregate strategy use.

While researchers have often sought to understand the learning curve in terms of multiple component processes, few studies have measured and mathematically modeled these processes on a complex task. In particular, there remains a need to reconcile how abrupt changes in strategy use can co-occur with gradual changes in task completion time. Thus, the current study aimed to assess the degree to which strategy change was abrupt or gradual, and whether strategy aggregation could partially explain gradual performance change. It also aimed to show how Bayesian methods could be used to model the effect of practice on strategy use. To achieve these aims, 162 participants completed 15 blocks of practice on a complex computer-based task-the Wynton-Anglim booking (WAB) task. The task allowed for multiple component strategies (i.e., memory retrieval, information reduction, and insight) that could also be aggregated to a global measure of strategy use. Bayesian hierarchical models were used to compare abrupt and gradual functions of component and aggregate strategy use. Task completion time was well-modeled by a power function, and global strategy use explained substantial variance in performance. Change in component strategy use tended to be abrupt, whereas change in global strategy use was gradual and well-modeled by a power function. Thus, differential timing of component strategy shifts leads to gradual changes in overall strategy efficiency, and this provides one reason for why smooth learning curves can co-occur with abrupt changes in strategy use. (PsycINFO Database Record

Evaluating the Effect of Labeled Benchmarks on Children's Number Line Estimation Performance and Strategy Use.

Some authors argue that age-related improvements in number line estimation (NLE) performance result from changes in strategy use. More specifically, children’s strategy use develops from only using the origin of the number line, to using the origin and the endpoint, to eventually also relying on the midpoint of the number line. Recently, Peeters et al. (unpublished) investigated whether the provision of additional unlabeled benchmarks at 25, 50, and 75% of the number line, positively affects third and fifth graders’ NLE performance and benchmark-based strategy use. It was found that only the older children benefitted from the presence of these benchmarks at the quartiles of the number line (i.e., 25 and 75%), as they made more use of these benchmarks, leading to more accurate estimates. A possible explanation for this lack of improvement in third graders might be their inability to correctly link the presented benchmarks with their corresponding numerical values. In the present study, we investigated whether labeling these benchmarks with their corresponding numerical values, would have a positive effect on younger children’s NLE performance and quartile-based strategy use as well. Third and sixth graders were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) a control condition with an empty number line bounded by 0 at the origin and 1,000 at the endpoint, (b) an unlabeled condition with three additional external benchmarks without numerical labels at 25, 50, and 75% of the number line, and (c) a labeled condition in which these benchmarks were labeled with 250, 500, and 750, respectively. Results indicated that labeling the benchmarks has a positive effect on third graders’ NLE performance and quartile-based strategy use, whereas sixth graders already benefited from the mere provision of unlabeled benchmarks. These findings imply that children’s benchmark-based strategy use can be stimulated by adding additional externally provided benchmarks on the number line, but that, depending on children’s age and familiarity with the number range, these additional external benchmarks might need to be labeled.

Anger in response to challenge: children’s emotion socialization predicts approach versus avoidance

Negative emotion is typically associated with avoidance behavior; however, recent advances in the adult literature show that unlike some emotions (sadness, shame), anger predicts both approach and avoidance. Here we propose that socialization to suppress anger will play a role in whether children who express anger respond to a performance challenge with approach or avoidance. Children (N = 79; M age = 11.4 years) reported perceptions of parental use of positive conditional regard (PCR) to socialize anger suppression and worked on four unsolvable puzzles. We measured change in verbalized puzzle-solving strategies during failure, and coded emotion expression on the final puzzle. We examined whether negative emotion type (shame/sadness vs. anger) and PCR for anger predicted change in strategy use, and whether the association between level of PCR for anger and approach-avoidance (change in strategy use) depended on type of negative emotion expressed. Neither emotion expression nor level of PCR anger predicted strategy use; however, type of negative emotion moderated the association between PCR anger and change in strategy use, controlling for NCR anger. For children who displayed anger, low PCR was associated with increased strategy use, and high PCR was associated with decreased strategy use. We discuss the role of emotion socialization in shaping approach and avoidance motivation.

Working memory capacity and recall from long-term memory: Examining the influences of encoding strategies, study time allocation, search efficiency, and monitoring abilities.

The relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and recall from long-term memory (LTM) was examined in the current study. Participants performed multiple measures of delayed free recall varying in presentation duration and self-reported their strategy usage after each task. Participants also performed multiple measures of WMC. The results suggested that WMC and LTM recall were related, and part of this relation was due to effective strategy use. However, adaptive changes in strategy use and study time allocation were not related to WMC. Examining multiple variables with structural equation modeling suggested that the relation between WMC and LTM recall was due to variation in effective strategy use, search efficiency, and monitoring abilities. Furthermore, all variables were shown to account for individual differences in LTM recall. These results suggest that the relation between WMC and recall from LTM is due to multiple strategic factors operating at both encoding and retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record

Visualizing Changes in Strategy Use across Attempts via State Diagrams: A Case Study

Game log data have great potential to provide actionable information about the in-game behavior of players. However, these low-level behavioral data are notoriously difficult to analyze due to the challenges associated with extracting meaning from sparse data stored at such a small grain size. This paper describes a three-step solution that uses cluster analysis to determine which strategies players use to solve levels in the game, sequence mining to identify changes in strategy across multiple attempts at the same level, and state transition diagrams to visualize the strategy sequences identified by the sequence mining. In the educational video game used in this case study, cluster analysis successfully identified 15 different in-game strategies. The sequence mining found an average of 40 different sequences of strategy use per level, which the state transition diagrams successfully displayed in an interpretable way.