Ineffective Learning Strategies Research Articles

Biographical aspects of self-regulated learning during repeatedly failing in upper-secondary exit examination

The exit examination from upper-secondary school represents an essential part of the educational trajectory. However, the transition to the labour market or higher education can be complicated by failure. The qualitative study deals with repeatedly unsuccessful students who have struggled to pass the Czech exit exam called the Matura examination. The research focused on how students approach exam attempts in terms of preparation and their reflection on the impact of failing. The study uses the self-regulated learning model to understand these aspects. The data used in this study consisted of 44 biographical narrative interviews with 27 informants aged 18 to 21 years, followed two years after their first attempt at the exit examination. Results show that students adopt ineffective learning and motivational strategies during the preparation phase before the exam. However, after the second attempt failure, which is associated with social pressure and negative emotions such as shame, they tend to change the way of preparation.

Language Lab Software

This research paper presents research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of Language Lab Software, discussing the challenges faced by students in the language learning process and proposing a solution-oriented approach to optimize traditional methods. Through a case study, various software options are evaluated, considering factors such as features, scalability, user-friendliness, and cost. The research aims to provide valuable insights and recommendations for students to enhance their language skills and knowledge. First-year diploma recipients are required to take an English course. Language is the most widely used medium for self-expression. Learning practical English can provide several problems for first-year college students. These are a few of the most typical ones: Confidence and Anxiety: Students may hesitate or remain silent out of fear of making mistakes or out of concern that their English skills will be evaluated. Insufficient self-assurance when speaking in front of others: For some people, English classes might act as a spotlight, which heightens their fear of public speaking. Language Skills: Since college-level English demands a wider vocabulary, having a limited vocabulary can make it difficult to communicate effectively. Grammar difficulties: Although pupils might understand grammar on a fundamental level, It can be difficult to use it in conversation effectively and naturally. Problems with pronunciation: Certain English sounds may not be recognizable to you, and accents can make it difficult to be understood. Learning Environment and Habits: It might be challenging to locate opportunities for extracurricular English practice, particularly if friends or classmates aren't comfortable speaking the language. Ineffective learning strategies: It's possible that students didn't have good practices for practicing grammar in real-world situations or for picking up new vocabulary. Lack of motivation: Students may find it difficult to muster the will to put in the work if they don't have a compelling purpose to get better in English

Do Chosen Learning Strategies Predict Academic Performance in First-Year DPT Anatomy Students?

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of anatomy final course grades from first-year physical therapist students' characteristics and chosen learning strategies, as indicated on the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Identifying factors that contribute to success in content intensive classes may aid in coaching successful learning strategies as students transition from undergraduate coursework to Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs. Previous studies show that first-year graduate students use ineffective learning strategies that are insufficient for graduate-level study. The MSLQ correlates with academic performance at several educational levels. To date, only one study has examined the correlation of MSLQ with physical therapist students' academic performance for an anatomy course. Thirty-nine first-year physical therapist students participated in the study (27 from a hybrid program, 12 from a traditional program). This study analyzed MSLQ scores for the total instrument, each domain, and each subscale using regression analyses to determine predictors of final anatomy grades. The subscales of Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety had significant predictive value for anatomy grades (R2 = 0.455, F = 5.203, P = .029). Test Anxiety had an inverse relationship to anatomy grades, meaning lower test anxiety scores correlated with higher anatomy grades. The combination of Self-Efficacy, Test Anxiety, and Critical Thinking subscales resulted in a significant prediction of anatomy grades (R2 = 0.603, F = 6.659, P = .014). This study found moderate correlations between MSLQ Motivation subscales and final grades in DPT anatomy classes. Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety subscales had the strongest correlations and were significantly predictive of anatomy grades. Faculty may benefit from using inventories like the MSLQ for first-year physical therapist students to identify motivational characteristics associated with success and to remediate students' learning strategies to prevent academic failure.

Jedi Mindset: Discussing Effective Learning Strategies with Students

Abstract Students' ability to retrieve acquired knowledge long-term is critical for every discipline, especially Immunology. The research on learning shows undergraduate students use ineffective learning strategies, misjudging passive vs active ways of learning. Moreover, first generation graduates may be at a disadvantage as they have less opportunity to learn from family member experience. Sixty percent of students who attend medical, dental or graduate school continue to use ineffective strategies, e.g., re-reading. Our goal was to develop a bookclub for our incoming graduate students to discuss effective learning strategies, and assess student’s willingness to switch to more effective learning strategies as well as evaluate the benefit of the bookclub. We held three consecutive weekly sessions before courses started to discuss the book by Dr. Saundra McGuire entitled, “Teach yourself how to learn”. Incoming graduate students read a few chapters for each session and answered questions about their reading. A discussion was facilitated with senior students, who shared their experience about the program and provided advice. Short podcasts from the UCLA Lasting Learning website were viewed to revisit the important points. Students recognized that re-reading is not effective and were willing to modify their study habits and continued to use effective learning strategies the following semester. In addition, students agreed that the bookclub was beneficial and provided tools to help them succeed in their coursework, and emphasized the positive impact of senior students’ participation. Our study suggested that a bookclub about effective learning strategies is beneficial and can help incoming graduate students reach their full potential.

What experiences constitute failures? High school students' reflections on their struggles in STEM classes.

Inculcating the capacity to adapt successfully to failures is essential for talent development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Despite its importance, this capacity to learn from failure is among the least understood processes in the field of talent development. This study aims to investigate how students conceptualize and react to failures and whether there is a correlation between students' conceptualizations of failure, emotional reactions to it, and academic performance. We invited 150 high-achieving high school students to share, interpret, and label their most memorable struggles in their STEM classes. Most of their struggles focused on the learning process itself, such as poor understanding of the subject matter, insufficient motivation or effort, or adopting ineffective learning strategies. Poor performance outcomes, such as poor test scores and bad grades, were not mentioned as frequently as the learning process. Students who labeled their struggle experiences as failures tended to focus more on performance outcomes, whereas students who labeled their struggle experiences as neither failures nor successes focused more on the learning process. Higher-achieving students were also less likely to label their struggles as failures than less-high achievers. Implications for classroom instruction are discussed with a particular focus on talent development in STEM fields.

Jedi Mindset: Discussing Effective Learning Strategies with Students

Abstract Students' ability to retrieve acquired knowledge long-term is critical for every discipline. The research on learning shows undergraduate students use ineffective learning strategies, misjudging passive vs active ways of learning, and prioritizing grade over long-term learning, while they could achieve both by switching to effective learning strategies. Moreover, first generation graduates may be at a disadvantage as they have less opportunity to learn from family member experience. Sixty percent of students who attend medical, dental or graduate school continue to use ineffective strategies, e.g., re-reading. Our goal was to discuss learning strategies with our incoming graduate students to encourage them to switch to effective ones. We held four consecutive weekly sessions before courses started to discuss the book by Dr. Saundra McGuire entitled, “Teach yourself how to learn”. Incoming graduate students read a few chapters for each session and discussed what they had read with facilitators and senior students, who shared their own experience about the program and provided advice. The final session revisited the various concepts with short podcasts highlighting the different points. A majority of our students were willing to modify their study habits and will be surveyed regularly to assess whether they continue to use effective learning strategies. More importantly, students who switched to effective learning strategies understood concepts better and scored higher on exams, including comprehensive exams. Our study suggests that regularly discussing effective learning strategies with graduate students is easy to implement, and may be beneficial to their understanding of material, performance and long-term retrieval. Supported by None

Effects of Prior Knowledge on Comprehending Text About Learning Strategies

Good knowledge and skills in using different learning strategies is important for learning with understanding and even more critical during distance learning. Findings indicate that students tend to use and value ineffective learning strategies, thus there is need to educate students. This study aimed to analyze the possibility of using refutation text on learning strategies that students can study independently. The study examined how reported use of learning strategies and preexisting beliefs about the effectiveness of rehearsal and comprehension-oriented strategies relate to the comprehension of text about learning strategies, and how text comprehension is related to later use of strategies and the completion of learning tasks. Participants included 2,706 students from primary school (Grades 3 and 4) and 3,782 students from the end of middle school (Grade 9) across Estonia. Students’ learning strategies and learning outcomes were assessed via a web-based word list memorization task with follow-up questions. Students were asked to read a written text that was specifically developed to explain the advantages of abstract grouping. Text comprehension was assessed using multiple-choice questions. SEM models were used to answer the research questions. At both school levels, valuing comprehension-oriented learning strategies enhanced text comprehension, suggesting that prior beliefs are important to fully understand written text. In addition, student beliefs and text comprehension also increased use of more advanced strategies. However, students who used comprehension-oriented strategies showed ambiguous improvements in word memorization performance. These findings emphasize that reading about complex topics may be a starting point for learning, but should be followed up with additional discussions, examples, demonstrations, and practice.

Cognitive Challenges to Effective Teaching and Learning: Perspectives of Senior High School Teachers

This study investigated cognitive challenges to effective teaching in Senior High Schools in Gomoa East District. The study was quantitative research that adopted the descriptive cross-sectional survey design. In total, 110 SHS teachers were selected for the study. Data were collected through a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Descriptive (Mean and Standard Deviation) and inferential statistics (MANOVA) was used to analyse the data that were obtained. The study’s result showed that the cognitive challenges to effective teaching are student mental mindset, metacognition, and self-regulation, student fear and mistrust, insufficient prior knowledge, misconceptions, ineffective learning strategies, transfer of learning, constraints of selective attention and constraints of mental effort and working memory. Also, it was found that there was no statistically significant difference in the perceptions of teachers about the cognitive challenges to effective teaching based on their sex, teaching experience and school proprietorship.It was recommended that irrespective of the teaching methods SHS teachers might choose to use, they should consider each of the challenges because each one can affect learning.

Training College Students to Use Learning Strategies: A Framework and Pilot Course

The use of effective study strategies is important for academic achievement, yet research indicates that students often use relatively ineffective learning strategies. Though potent strategies to promote durable learning exist, there is a lack of theoretical and empirical work on how to train students to self-regulate use of these strategies successfully. We summarize a novel framework to do so: the knowledge, belief, commitment, and planning ( KBCP) framework. The assumptions are that learners must develop knowledge about a strategy and how to use it, believe that the strategy is effective for the individual learner, commit to the strategy, and create an action plan for carrying it out. We then describe an example of the KBCP framework as applied to a college course on teaching students effective learning strategies and self-regulation of these strategies in their college coursework. Lectures on specific learning strategies conveyed knowledge about the strategies, in-class demonstrations illustrated their efficacy (to support belief), and assignments required students to develop a plan for applying them to their courses and to implement the plan (to ensure commitment). Discussion focuses on the implications of including training in how to use learning strategies in psychology courses and curricula, and on the possible extension of such training to the teaching of other psychology content.

Stimulating the intention to change learning strategies: The role of narratives

Practice testing and distributed practice are effective in enhancing learning outcomes and long-term retention. Yet, many students use ineffective learning strategies instead and are reluctant to change them because they hold erroneous beliefs about practice testing and distributed practice. This intervention study examined whether narratives, compared to traditional didactic communication, can change learning strategy-beliefs, stimulate intentions to change ineffective strategy use, and raise awareness of desirable difficulties (i.e., difficulties produced by strategies that slow down the acquisition process but enhance long-term retention and transfer). Narratives and didactic communication did not differ in their change of erroneous beliefs and stimulate intentions to change, but narratives led to a higher awareness of the importance of desirable difficulties for learning.

The cognitive challenges of effective teaching

The authors describe a research-based conceptual framework of how students learn that can guide the design, implementation, and troubleshooting of teaching practice. The framework consists of nine interacting cognitive challenges that teachers need to address to enhance student learning. These challenges include student mental mindset, metacognition and self-regulation, student fear and mistrust, prior knowledge, misconceptions, ineffective learning strategies, transfer of learning, constraints of selective attention, and the constraints of mental effort and working memory. The challenges are described with recommendations on how to address each one. What is effective for one situation may not be effective in others, and no single teaching method will always be optimal for all teachers, students, topics, and educational contexts. The teacher’s task is to manage this complex interaction successfully.

Metacognitive illusion or self-regulated learning? Assessing engineering students\u2019 learning strategies against the backdrop of recent advances in cognitive science

Knowing how students approach learning in higher education contexts is key to promote learning strategies that are effective in the long run. Previous research has concluded that students often use ineffective learning strategies but believe them to be effective—a phenomenon known as metacognitive illusion. In a bid to broaden the perspective on students’ use of learning strategies, this study draws on the notion of self-regulated learning as a theoretical lens. A questionnaire, comprising both open-ended and closed-ended questions, was developed to gather data from 416 engineering students. The questionnaire was geared towards (1) mapping what learning strategies students use in a real-world setting, in real courses, (2) probing their metacognitive awareness of the effectiveness of various learning strategies and (3) investigating why students choose certain learning strategies. We also compared which learning strategies the engineering students chose across programs and types of courses. The findings reveal a complex picture of why students sometimes use seemingly ineffective learning strategies, and we conclude that this is not always due to metacognitive illusion. It is instead often linked to attempts to regulate behaviour, motivation and/or learning context, sometimes in response to the context. This study adds to the current HE research investigating students’ abilities to reflect on, assess and take control of their learning in an effective way, confirming that students need explicit guidance.

Online Study-Aids to Stimulate Effective Learning in an Undergraduate Psychological Assessment Course

Many students use ineffective learning strategies. They tend to start too late and learn in a superficial way, without integrating different parts of the study materials. To help students in Psychological Assessment in Youth overcome these problems, we designed online study-aids to spread their learning over the semester (distributed practice) and provide them with self-test questions (practice testing). Study-aids covered the last week’s course readings and consisted of 10 to 15 questions presented in several stimulating closed formats (e.g., connecting one theory with another, or filling out norm scores in a bell curve). Participation was voluntary and promoted using an incentive system. The study-aids were evaluated in two cohorts of students (2018: N = 94; 2019: N = 84). Participation was good: 79% of the students completed the study-aids (range 69–85%). Satisfaction was high: most students indicated that the study-aids supported their studies well (89%). Exam performance improved significantly upon introduction of the study-aids (comparison cohort 2017: N = 69), although more so for the midterm exam ( r = 0.47) than for the final exam ( r = 0.17). These findings suggest that online study-aids can stimulate effective learning by helping students distribute and self-test their learning.

Academic coaching of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic has required many medical schools to adapt existing on-site medical education activities to delivery via online platforms. The sudden switch to a new, unfamiliar model of learning led to additional challenges for students. We observed that students requiring academic support often had ineffective learning strategies, poor motivation, and suboptimal communication skills, all of which were magnified by home-based learning. We therefore established a virtual academic coaching programme to engage these students and to address specific challenges that arose from an adapted educational programme.

The Effects of an Inductive Reasoning Learning Strategy Assisted by the GeoGebra Software on Students’ Motivation for the Functional Graph II Topic

Motivation is an aspect heavily emphasized in a mathematics class to produce a quality human capital. However, students' motivation towards mathematics is still low while students' performance in mathematics is declining. The students' lack of motivation toward mathematics could be attributed to ineffective learning strategies in mathematics classrooms. In addition, many previous studies have only focused on an inductive reasoning strategy and the separate use of GeoGebra. Therefore, this study aims to identify the effects of learning through an inductive reasoning strategy assisted by GeoGebra on students' motivation for the Functional Graph II topic. The research design was quasi-experimental which involved 94 Form 4 students from a secondary school in Johor. The research sample was divided into three groups: (1) Study Group 1 (an inductive reasoning strategy assisted by GeoGebra); (2) Study Group 2 (an inductive reasoning strategy without GeoGebra); and (3) Control Group (a conventional strategy). The research instruments consisted of a motivational questionnaire set and an inductive reasoning strategy assisted by GeoGebra and without GeoGebra. The inductive reasoning strategy was guided by the Marzano's Inductive Reasoning Model consisting of an observation process on specific examples and patterns that determined if a generalization was true. The MANOVA test results show that the overall motivation level for Study Group 1 is high in terms of attention and relevance. With regard to confidence, the results indicate that Control Group and Study Group 1 show the same motivation level. As for satisfaction, the motivation level for Control Group is the highest compared to other groups. In conclusion, learning through an inductive reasoning strategy assisted by GeoGebra can increase the students' motivation in mathematics specifically for the Functional Graph II topic.

Awareness and usage of evidence-based learning strategies among health professions students and faculty

Introduction: Learning is essential and life-long for faculty and students. Often students and teachers use ineffective learning strategies and are not aware of evidence-based strategies.Methods: A multicenter, international, cross-sectional, online survey-based assessment of awareness of evidence-based learning strategies among health professions students (n = 679) and faculty (n = 205).Results: Students endorsed many study habits which violate evidence-based principles, including studying whatever is due soonest (389/679, 57%), failing to return to course material once a course has ended (465/679, 68%), and re-reading underlined or highlighted notes (298.679, 44%). While the majority of faculty surveyed (125/157, 80%) reported recommending effective study strategies for their students, most students (558/679, 82%) said they did not study the way they do because of instruction from faculty. The majority of faculty (142/156, 91%) and students (347/661, 53%) believe students have different learning styles.Discussion: The results of this study demonstrate health professions students continue to use many ineffective study strategies, and both students and faculty hold misconceptions about evidence-based learning. While planning a curriculum, medical educators should focus on teaching students how to learn and use higher order thinking procedures in addition to teaching content.

Data Mining for Discovering Effective Time-Series Transition of Learning Strategies on Mutual Viewing-Based Learning

We aim to develop a real-time feedback system of learning strategies during lesson time to improve academic achievement. It has been known that mutual viewing-based learning is an effective educational method. However, even though mutual viewing is an effective lesson style, there are effective or ineffective learning strategies in the learners’ individual activities. In general, the method of evaluating learning strategies is a questionnaire survey. However, the questionnaire cannot measure the learning strategies in real time. Thus, it is difficult to detect the students who use ineffective learning strategies during lesson time in real time. Recently, a system that can measure the learning strategies in real time has been developed. Using this system, it is possible to detect students who use ineffective learning strategies during lesson time on the mutual viewing-based learning. From this point of view, we aim to develop a recommendation system for real-time learning strategies for teachers and students to achieve a highly educational effect. For this purpose, we must know the features of effective or ineffective learning strategies via a system that can measure learning strategies. In this paper, we report the discovery of features of effective or ineffective learning strategies based on the data-mining approach using thek-means method, transition diagram, and random forest. We classified the time-series learning strategies over 40 min into 216 strategies and surveyed the improvement probability of academic achievement via a random-forest-based classification model. By embedding our results into the system, we may be able to automatically detect students who use ineffective learning strategies and recommend effective learning strategies.

First comparative approach to touchscreen-based visual object-location paired-associates learning in humans (Homo sapiens) and a nonhuman primate (Microcebus murinus).

A recent study suggests that a specific, touchscreen-based task on visual object-location paired-associates learning (PAL), the so-called Different PAL (dPAL) task, allows effective translation from animal models to humans. Here, we adapted the task to a nonhuman primate (NHP), the gray mouse lemur, and provide first evidence for the successful comparative application of the task to humans and NHPs. Young human adults reach the learning criterion after considerably less sessions (one order of magnitude) than young, adult NHPs, which is likely due to faster and voluntary rejection of ineffective learning strategies in humans and almost immediate rule generalization. At criterion, however, all human subjects solved the task by either applying a visuospatial rule or, more rarely, by memorizing all possible stimulus combinations and responding correctly based on global visual information. An error-profile analysis in humans and NHPs suggests that successful learning in NHPs is comparably based either on the formation of visuospatial associative links or on more reflexive, visually guided stimulus-response learning. The classification in the NHPs is further supported by an analysis of the individual response latencies, which are considerably higher in NHPs classified as spatial learners. Our results, therefore, support the high translational potential of the standardized, touchscreen-based dPAL task by providing first empirical and comparable evidence for two different cognitive processes underlying dPAL performance in primates. (PsycINFO Database Record

Adding dispositions to create pedagogy-based Learning Analytics

This empirical study aims to demonstrate how Dispositional Learning Analytics (DLA) can provide a strong connection between Learning Analytics (LA) and pedagogy. Where LA based models typically do well in predicting course performance or student drop-out, they lack actionable data in order to easily connect model predictions with educational interventions. Using a showcase based on learning processes of 1080 students in a blended introductory quantitative course, we analysed the use of worked-out examples by students. Our method is to combine demographic and trace data from learning-management systems with self-reports of several contemporary social-cognitive theories. Students differ not only in the intensity of using worked-out examples but also in how they positioned that usage in their learning cycle. These differences could be described both in terms of differences measured by LA trace variables and by differences in students’ learning dispositions. We conjecture that using learning dispositions with trace data has significant advantages for understanding student’s learning behaviours. Rather than focusing on low user engagement, lessons learned from LA applications should focus on potential causes of suboptimal learning, such as applying ineffective learning strategies.

Exploring men's preferred strategies for learning about testicular disorders inclusive of testicular cancer: A qualitative descriptive study.

Men's awareness of testicular disorders is lacking and their intention to seek help for testicular symptoms is sub-optimal. Studies conducted to explore and raise men's awareness of testicular disorders did not address their preferred learning strategies and failed to include men who are at risk for health inequities. The aim of this study was to explore, in-depth, the preferred strategies for learning about testicular disorders inclusive of testicular cancer among men who self-identify as heterosexual, gay, or bisexual. Maximum variation and snowball sampling were used to recruit 29 men aged 18-47 years. Participation was sought from community and youth organizations and a university in the Republic of Ireland. Semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups were conducted. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive analysis of manifest content was used. Seventeen informants self-identified as heterosexual, 11 as gay, and one as bisexual. Four main categories emerged, namely: strategies to enhance awareness (television, internet, campaigns, print media), educational dos and don'ts (tailoring effective messages, drawbacks of national initiatives, ineffective learning strategies), implications of raising awareness (risks and benefits of increasing awareness), and learning among gay and bisexual men (learning needs and strategies). Future studies promoting awareness of testicular disorders should take into account men's preferred learning strategies. National campaigns should be delivered frequently and altered occasionally in order to achieve a top-up effect. Clinicians are encouraged to educate young men about the seriousness of testicular symptoms and the importance of seeking timely medical attention for any abnormalities.