Full Transcript for Self-Regulated Learning and Study Strategies for College Students

I'm going to answer that question with a little background. 00:04:13.294 --> 00:04:21.886 So, I feel like I went to grad school because I've always been interested in this question of why do some students, some learners, perform better than others? 00:04:21.886 --> 00:04:24.764 Like what is it that they are doing or not doing? 00:04:24.764 --> 00:04:33.855 And I did a master's thesis on the elaboration learning strategy, and while that was very interesting, it was one strategy and it was very focused. 00:04:33.855 --> 00:04:48.579 And one night, it was literally Friday night, in Pattee Library at Penn State, when I was at graduate school, I found this special issue of the Educational Psychologist, and it was all on self-regulated learning, an entire issue. 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:50.999 And I literally ran out of the library. 00:04:50.999 --> 00:05:02.009 I first of all, made copies using dimes of the entire -- like I used every coin I have -- of the entire issue, put it in a binder, and I literally ran out of the library like, this is it. 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:04.387 This is the area that I want to study. 00:05:04.387 --> 00:05:16.815 And the reason, in my mind, is because self-regulated learning is encompassing, and it doesn't just look at cognitive learning strategies, and it doesn't just look at motivation, it looks at the synergy of both of them. 00:05:16.815 --> 00:05:20.653 And we all probably know college students who are very smart on paper. 00:05:20.653 --> 00:05:22.988 They have a 35, 36 ACT. 00:05:22.988 --> 00:05:32.790 But if you have no motivation and you watch Netflix all day or whatever it is, you play video games, whatever it is you do, but you're not motivated for school work, you're not going to succeed academically. 00:05:32.790 --> 00:05:39.713 On the flip side, we all know students that maybe they're, cognitively they don't score super high, but they are so motivated. 00:05:39.713 --> 00:05:42.007 They go in and visit the professor all the time. 00:05:42.007 --> 00:05:44.634 They have an incredible drive. 00:05:44.634 --> 00:05:46.596 That you need both. 00:05:46.596 --> 00:05:47.971 You need a combination of both. 00:05:47.971 --> 00:05:50.141 And that's what self-regulated learning is. 00:05:50.141 --> 00:05:59.358 So, like, staying busy and keeping yourself, like, on a strict kind of schedule, does that kind of go into that motivation and helping students excel? 00:05:59.358 --> 00:06:00.401 I absolutely think that. 00:06:00.401 --> 00:06:03.112 I'm a big to-do list, big planner person. 00:06:03.112 --> 00:06:08.576 I feel like a lot of students sometimes have executive functioning issues, and that's what that is. 00:06:08.576 --> 00:06:11.286 Like, how do you plan your day? 00:06:11.286 --> 00:06:11.286 How do you stay on task? 00:06:11.286 --> 00:06:14.165 Yes, 17 friends might text you and say, “hey, do you want to go here? 00:06:14.165 --> 00:06:14.831 Do you want to go there? 00:06:14.831 --> 00:06:17.834 Do you want to do that?” But you kind of need a balance. 00:06:17.834 --> 00:06:19.754 Okay, that makes sense. 00:06:19.754 --> 00:06:23.800 How do self-regulating learning and motivation work together? 00:06:24.132 --> 00:06:27.720 So, I feel like motivation is a big part of self-regulated learning. 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:32.682 So you need the cognitive strategies and somewhat social strategies to survive. 00:06:32.682 --> 00:06:34.394 But you need motivation too. 00:06:34.394 --> 00:06:38.564 I feel like it's all complexly kind of interwoven. 00:06:38.814 --> 00:06:42.192 Okay, that goes along with what you were saying so that does make sense. 00:06:42.192 --> 00:06:47.365 What are some common misconceptions students have about effective study strategies? 00:06:47.365 --> 00:07:12.682 So, I do an assignment for my undergrad that's called “all about me.” And, so, it basically says, “talk about your strategies that you use in high school and then talk about your strategies you needed to develop and use in college.” And I'm not exaggerating when I say that about 50% of my students say, “I was a good student in high school, or I barely cracked a book,” but the next sentence is always “and then I got to Auburn University and I got blown away.” It's different. 00:07:12.682 --> 00:07:14.475 It's much more rigorous. 00:07:14.475 --> 00:07:19.771 And, I feel like a lot of them come in with a one size fits all model. 00:07:19.771 --> 00:07:21.232 Like, “this got me through high school. 00:07:21.232 --> 00:07:24.235 This is going to be great at Auburn,” and that doesn't always work. 00:07:24.235 --> 00:07:35.579 And I always tell, I have two students at Auburn like my own kids that are at Auburn, and I always tell them the first test in every class is actually the hardest because you have to go in and see how does that teacher test? 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:37.665 What strategies do you need to use? 00:07:37.665 --> 00:07:42.420 Like every, every professor tests differently and I feel like there's a learning curve. 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:53.221 So, I think so many students have kind of a one size fits all approach and that doesn't necessarily work, especially from the jump from high school to college, where it gets a lot more difficult. 00:07:53.221 --> 00:07:58.978 I feel like the second answer to that is everyone has different strategies. 00:07:58.978 --> 00:08:01.355 So what works for you might not work for me at all. 00:08:01.355 --> 00:08:05.442 Like what are some of your favorite strategies if you have an exam, for example? 00:08:05.442 --> 00:08:16.661 Usually - I'm math education, so like practice, practice, practice just over and over again, but then also making sure I'm having that conceptual understanding of the knowledge. 00:08:16.661 --> 00:08:20.333 So, going back through my textbook, making sure I'm understanding what I'm doing. 00:08:20.333 --> 00:08:24.170 But also, I was in that same boat like coming to college. 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:29.884

Like I did not study much in high school, I got through it and then coming to college, I was like, okay, I got to figure something else out. 00:08:30.259 --> 00:08:30.468 Yeah. 00:08:30.468 --> 00:08:36.014 And so just each class I had just figuring out a different way to do things. 00:08:36.014 --> 00:08:39.184 But for math, it is mostly just practice over and over again. 00:08:39.476 --> 00:08:47.275 And I loved your answer, that you really try to figure things out conceptually, and I feel like that's the next step that a lot of students don't get to. 00:08:47.275 --> 00:08:51.113 They do a lot of Quizlet, they do a lot of rote memorization. 00:08:51.113 --> 00:08:59.163 But that next step where you really have to figure it out conceptually, I feel like that's a challenging step for a lot of students. 00:08:59.163 --> 00:09:03.375 I agree, because I feel like in school we're taught to just memorize, memorize. 00:09:03.375 --> 00:09:06.671 But understanding it conceptually is important. 00:09:07.296 --> 00:09:08.755 Absolutely. 00:09:08.755 --> 00:09:14.220 Are there differences in how first year students versus seniors approach self regulation? 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:16.221 I definitely think so. 00:09:16.221 --> 00:09:18.390 I think, you know, college is a learning curve. 00:09:18.390 --> 00:09:23.395 And again, if you come in using the strategies that you used in high school, I think you're only going to get so far. 00:09:23.395 --> 00:09:32.028 But also there's some research that the frontal lobe of our brain is not fully developed until about 23 to 25. 00:09:32.028 --> 00:09:37.701 And I actually just talked about this in my class yesterday, and most of my students are 19, 20, 21. 00:09:37.701 --> 00:09:42.456 And that is your reasoning, your problem-solving, your good decision-making. 00:09:42.456 --> 00:09:45.208 And the brain is developing through college. 00:09:45.208 --> 00:09:47.003 So there's absolutely some development. 00:09:47.003 --> 00:09:51.591 People think, “oh, we're not kids anymore,” but there's still a lot of development that occurs in college. 00:09:51.591 --> 00:09:59.097 There's also some research that when freshmen come to college, they're very black and white thinkers, like, what is the answer to this? 00:09:59.097 --> 00:10:10.860 And I have to look at my students in education and say, sometimes the best answer I can give you is, “it depends.” And there's some research on epistemological beliefs, and it talks about how freshmen are very black white thinkers. 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:19.951 Like they think there's an answer, they want an answer and, developmentally as they go through college, they realize that there's a lot of gray area out there. 00:10:19.951 --> 00:10:26.458 And I teach, educational psychology, especially in education and psychology, it's a lot of gray area. 00:10:26.458 --> 00:10:35.009 So, you know, if they're like, “so how do I help Johnny in the classroom?” The answer is, “it depends.” Is it, is he, what grade is he? 00:10:35.009 --> 00:10:36.927 First? Second? Third? Fourth? Fifth? 00:10:36.927 --> 00:10:40.847 Is he in a language classroom or is he in a math classroom? 00:10:40.847 --> 00:10:42.390 That's going to affect your strategies. 00:10:42.390 --> 00:10:44.309 Does he have any learning challenges? 00:10:44.309 --> 00:10:46.269 That's going to affect your strategies. 00:10:46.269 --> 00:10:49.105 So, just asking how we can help Johnny to learn? 00:10:49.105 --> 00:10:50.399 It depends. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:51.817 What's his teacher like? 00:10:51.817 --> 00:10:53.610 Does he have any behavioral issues? 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:56.364 What type of classroom does he perform best in? 00:10:56.364 --> 00:11:02.160 So I just feel like, thinking of college students progresses as they go from freshmen to seniors. 00:11:02.160 --> 00:11:12.587 And according to epistemological beliefs, they go from black and white, there is one right answer thinking to, okay, like this is a complex area, and I think that's really fun to witness. 00:11:12.754 --> 00:11:15.924 What is that that opens their mind to the gray area? 00:11:15.924 --> 00:11:22.056 Is it just doing things over and over again and kind of finally seeing the gray area or what goes into that? 00:11:22.597 --> 00:11:23.932 So I think that's a good question. 00:11:23.932 --> 00:11:31.190 And I definitely, after Covid, have seen students - where I’ll give an assignment in class and they just slam it out and they just want to get it done. 00:11:31.190 --> 00:11:35.695 And I think intrinsic motivation is part of that. 00:11:35.695 --> 00:11:38.197 Like we want them to become engaged in the task. 00:11:38.197 --> 00:11:41.408 It's not all about just checking a box and getting the assignment done. 00:11:41.408 --> 00:11:48.331 And, I think we really want them to kind of expand their mind and to see different perspectives. 00:11:48.331 --> 00:11:52.711 And there's just not always one right answer to questions, especially in education. 00:11:52.711 --> 00:11:55.589 Usually the answer is very complex. 00:11:55.589 --> 00:11:59.802 What role do faculty and advisors play in supporting these skills? 00:12:00.135 --> 00:12:03.639 Creating a learner centered environment I think is very helpful. 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:07.017 So, you know, when I was in college, it was a very teacher-centered environment. 00:12:07.017 --> 00:12:11.147 The old professor stood at the podium and talked, and we took notes. 00:12:11.147 --> 00:12:15.942 But students today want to be more active, and I think that's really good. 00:12:15.942 --> 00:12:21.865 And I try to pose a lot of questions like, like yesterday we learned about Jean Piaget in my class. 00:12:21.865 --> 00:12:28.913 And so I did a PowerPoint, did a little overview, tried to have some discussion, but then we broke into groups and we walked through the tasks. 00:12:28.913 --> 00:12:32.418 And so many students have never actually done the Piagetian tasks.

00:12:32.418 --> 00:12:34.461 So I had them set up around the classroom. 00:12:34.461 --> 00:12:39.924 They got into groups and they poured water into beakers and graduated cylinders and rolled out clay and did all the things. 00:12:39.924 --> 00:12:51.812 So I think a hands on, learner-centered approaches where it's more of a discussion and students read ahead of time and we talk about the reading more than teacher-centered, lecture based instruction. 00:12:52.020 --> 00:12:53.188 I agree with that. 00:12:53.188 --> 00:12:54.774 All my, like, discussion-based classrooms. 00:12:54.774 --> 00:13:02.865 I enjoy going to those like I look forward to, like seeing the people in my class and seeing what the teacher has to challenge me that day. 00:13:02.865 --> 00:13:05.201 But I totally agree. 00:13:05.201 --> 00:13:10.456 How can technology, like apps or online tools, support self regulating learning? 00:13:10.873 --> 00:13:23.302 Well, it's that's an interesting question because I have a friend, for example, that teaches at a community college, and she says everyone assumes if they sign up for this online class of this community college, it's going to be really easy. 00:13:23.302 --> 00:13:26.263 And she's like, I try to tell students it's actually harder. 00:13:26.263 --> 00:13:33.604 And I think that's such a good point because I think, more technology kind of fosters self-regulated learning. 00:13:33.604 --> 00:13:36.856 But at the same time, I think it necessitates a lot of self-regulated learning. 00:13:36.856 --> 00:13:42.822 So if you are not a really self-regulated learner, I think it's actually going to be challenging. 00:13:42.822 --> 00:13:45.282 So just kind of having that balance. 00:13:45.282 --> 00:13:47.408 Yeah, it's very helpful. 00:13:47.408 --> 00:13:50.620 But it also - it's helpful in developing self-regulated learning. 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:55.292 But it also necessitates a degree of self-regulated learning to use it well, if that makes sense. 00:13:56.335 --> 00:14:01.381 What challenges do students face when trying to become more self-regulated learners? 00:14:02.216 --> 00:14:11.975 I think what's interesting is this is something that we don't really teach K through 12, and we could teach more, and we also could teach it more in our college classes. 00:14:11.975 --> 00:14:23.236 So I haven't done this in a little while, but one time I taught a summer class and it was basic educational psychology, but we had five tests in there, and I made them use a different strategy for each test. 00:14:23.236 --> 00:14:29.701 So I had them write out all the notes from the class and all the notes that they thought were important from the textbook, and make a big study guide. 00:14:29.701 --> 00:14:30.995 I had them use notecards. 00:14:30.995 --> 00:14:41.839 I had them get in groups and learn concepts like I taught all different strategies throughout the class, and I feel like students need strategy, instruction and teachers at all levels. 00:14:41.839 --> 00:14:50.264 K through college need to kind of model that more, because I feel like sometimes we expect students to figure it out, but it's hard to just figure out. 00:14:50.264 --> 00:14:52.099 I think we could teach that a little more. 00:14:52.099 --> 00:14:54.768 I completely agree, like learning how to learn. 00:14:54.768 --> 00:14:58.522 I would have loved to have known that before going to college. 00:14:58.522 --> 00:15:03.110 Is there any that you saw that worked well above the others, or? 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:04.193 I think it was interesting too. 00:15:05.696 --> 00:15:14.538 So I told my students, my goal is to kind of teach you a bunch of different strategies, and when you take subsequent courses, I want you to choose what works best for you. 00:15:14.538 --> 00:15:17.166 So I think different people learn differently. 00:15:17.166 --> 00:15:20.753 And, some students are very social learners. 00:15:20.753 --> 00:15:21.921 They like to learn in groups. 00:15:21.921 --> 00:15:28.635 I have other students - when I do a group project, they're like, “oh no, can I just do this alone?” And I say, no, because we need to learn collaboratively. 00:15:28.635 --> 00:15:30.011 But I do respect that. 00:15:30.011 --> 00:15:32.264 Some people like to learn more independently. 00:15:32.264 --> 00:15:35.558 I think we're going to see more research on time of day. 00:15:35.558 --> 00:15:37.019 Some people are morning people. 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:38.519 Some people learn better at night. 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.274 I think some sometimes it's about finding what works best for you. 00:15:42.274 --> 00:15:48.072 I can barely spell my name at 8:00 in the morning, and it's not a hard name, but like, I work really well at 10 p.m. 00:15:48.072 --> 00:15:50.365 til 2 a.m., like, that's when my brain is on fire. 00:15:50.365 --> 00:15:54.160 So creative, like research kind of work, that's when I need to do that. 00:15:54.244 --> 00:15:54.912 Okay. 00:15:54.912 --> 00:15:58.331 So, I think figuring that out about yourself is really helpful. 00:15:58.499 --> 00:16:00.417 Okay. That makes sense. 00:16:00.417 --> 00:16:05.714 For students listening today, what’s one practical tip they can start using immediately? 00:16:05.839 --> 00:16:09.802 Phil Winne had some research on this years ago, but self-regulated learning. 00:16:09.802 --> 00:16:11.220 He has a four step plan. 00:16:11.220 --> 00:16:16.975 So the first thing is planning, like actually start with your goals and then make a plan. 00:16:16.975 --> 00:16:18.644 How are you going to meet your goals? 00:16:18.644 --> 00:16:21.772 And then what strategies do you need to use to meet your goals? 00:16:21.772 --> 00:16:31.365 And so what I mean by that is maybe you're taking a math ed class, and it sounds like working problems and practicing problems over and over is a very effective strategy in there. 00:16:31.365 --> 00:16:33.993 But this semester, let's say you also have a language class. 00:16:33.993 --> 00:16:38.746 That's a lot of reading, a lot of highlighting, maybe taking notes, maybe summarizing. 00:16:38.746 --> 00:16:41.417 Two completely different strategy sets. 00:16:41.417 --> 00:16:46.547 So you start out with your goals for each class and then make a plan for each class. 00:16:46.547 --> 00:16:49.466 And then, you know, what strategies are you going to use? 00:16:49.466 --> 00:17:05.732 And then the last step, obviously, you implement your strategies and then you evaluate your strategies and this is why I tell my students, I think the first test of every class in some ways is the hardest because you go in, you're like, “okay, I did all of this and I ended up with a 74, and that was not my goal. 00:17:05.732 --> 00:17:17.702 I wanted to do better,” so try to figure out, “okay, well, I didn't realize the professor was going to focus mostly on the book,” or “I didn't realize the professor was going to draw the test mostly from the class.” You know, there's a learning curve in there. 00:17:17.702 --> 00:17:24.292 So then reevaluate your strategies and, you know, try to figure out what works best for each class. 00:17:24.292 --> 00:17:25.752 Well, okay. 00:17:25.752 --> 00:17:31.258 This has been such an insightful Auburn ED Talk and so helpful for me as an Auburn student, Dr. 00:17:31.258 --> 00:17:32.217 Salisbury-Glennon. 00:17:32.217 --> 00:17:38.515 Before we wrap up, what's one key takeaway you hope listeners remember about self-regulated learning and motivation? 00:17:39.348 --> 00:17:51.528 So I think to be very intentional, and I know that's a very overused word, but I find that, telling students that if you make a goal for every single class, like just something like, what's your grade in this class? 00:17:51.528 --> 00:17:53.071 And then make a plan. 00:17:53.071 --> 00:18:00.703 And, you know, I tell students, take a big calendar for the semester and literally put down all of your tests, all of your assignments. 00:18:00.703 --> 00:18:02.789 There are a lot of students that don't even do that. 00:18:02.789 --> 00:18:05.416 There's kind of like, “oh, I have a test this Wednesday. It's Monday. 00:18:05.416 --> 00:18:09.171 I better figure that out.” So just a lot of planning. 00:18:09.171 --> 00:18:17.386 A lot of, you know, figuring out what strategy works better in each class because the one size fits all model doesn't necessarily work. 00:18:17.930 --> 00:18:19.431 Thank you so much again Dr. 00:18:19.431 --> 00:18:25.645 Salisbury-Glennon for joining us on Auburn ED Talks where great minds keep the conversation rolling and thanks to everyone listening. 00:18:25.645 --> 00:18:32.236 Be sure to subscribe for more conversations that inspire, inform and ignite your passion for education and innovation. 00:18:32.236 --> 00:18:33.528 War Eagle!