Welcome

Promoting Self-Regulated Learning Skills in Undergraduate Students Using a Group-Based Training Programme Catherine Mahon Úna Crowley National University of Ireland, Maynooth –

Being Prepared for Learning in Higher Education How can we help students to acquire the skills needed to become more effective learners?

The Learning Transition Second level education Higher education Explicit instruction Self-regulated learning Performance ReflectionForethought See Pintrich (2000); Zimmerman (2000).

Self-Regulated Learning Links between academic achievement and use of self-regulation (e.g., Kitsantas, Winsler, & Huie, 2008). Many components of self-regulated learning can be acquired (e.g., Hofer & Yu, 2003; Tuckman & Kennedy, 2011). A question of time? Supplementary supports alongside structured programmes.

The Critical First Year Continued emphasis on the importance of early interventions. Non-presence rates highest in the first year of undergraduate study at 15% (Higher Education Authority, 2010). In 2012, 86% of incoming first year NUI Maynooth students stated that the provision of academic supports was very important.

Aims of Current Research Explore ways to help students who may be struggling academically. Develop and test a new programme to promote skills related to self-regulated learning: Specific learning techniques Reflection* Track academic performance (pre- and post- sessions). Refine the programme based on initial evaluations.

The INSTALL Project Narrative Mediation Path (Freda, Esposito, Martino, & Monteagudo, 2012). Encourage reflective thinking skills in students at risk of academic underachievement through use of narrative stimuli: Metaphors and proverbs Vignettes Writing Role play Components modified to local context.

Method Participants (cycle one) Seventeen undergraduate NUI Maynooth students. Median age = 19 years (range, 18 to 22 years). Academic performance Eight participants previously did not pass one examination at the initial attempt. Nine participants ‘self-selecting’. “I think that I would benefit from completing a programme about learning to learn.” All participants agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.

What Learning Strategies Do The Students Currently Engage In? Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire [MSLQ] (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991). Organisation Help seeking I make simple charts, diagrams, or tables, to help me organise course material. I ask the instructor to clarify concepts I don’t understand well. Not at all true of me Very true of me 1 7

Influence of Pre-Training Data on Session Content MSLQ “When reading for this course I make up questions to help focus my reading.” 12 participants (not at all true of them). “When studying for this course, I often try to explain the material to a classmate or friend.” 11 participants (not at all true of them). “I ask the instructor to clarify concepts I don’t understand well.” Four participants scored ≥ 4.

“Sometimes it is hard to balance everything; lectures, assignments, reading and the social side.” “Trying to manage my time well and organise myself so I can get everything done.” “Bad experiences have come from not knowing enough information …” “Making friends impacted greatly, found it difficult, and therefore chose not to attend.” “Being unsure of what to learn and where to start.” “Sometimes lecturers can seem uninterested in their students so speaking to them about problems related to their lecture is difficult.”

“Being slightly overwhelmed at all the differences (from secondary school) at first did affect my performance.” “Not enjoying my subjects I feel that if I was enjoying them more I would work harder at them.” “Studying!!! Always found it difficult to find a study technique.”

“What kind of difficulties have you encountered at university?” Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire Interviews Overview of procedure Additional questionnaires – usefulness of training, changes in learning strategies Recruiting participants Measuring pre-training use of learning strategies Group training sessions Measuring post-training use of learning strategies and evaluation of programme Follow-up measures of academic performance Training cycle one Refining the training Training cycle two

Group Sessions Learning to learn Memory Study strategies Time management Goal setting Motivation Components of learning Organisation, elaboration, mnemonics Reading texts, question generating, peer learning Planning and schedules Forming goals, implementation, review Links to goal setting, beliefs, self-efficacy Proverbs ‘if at first you don’t succeed …’ SessionsSession FocusNarrative Stimuli* Writing Vignettes of university scenarios Role play

Mean score RehearsalOrganisation Elaboration Critical thinking Metacognition Time & study environment Effort Peer learning Help seeking Not at all true of me Very true of me MSLQ results Pre-sessions Post-sessions * p <.05 ** p <.01 * **

Programme Evaluation

First year relevance. Social benefits associated with group training. Subject-specific learning strategies. Additional sessions. “It gave me an opportunity to meet other students and to discuss issues without feeling I was stating the obvious.” “Would like more information given on how to structure an answer for arts subjects (e.g., essay style answers).” “The programme covered relevant materials that are useful for studying and I would recommend it to friends who don’t know how to study at all for college.” “More follow-up sessions on how you can continue to apply the programme.”

Discussion and Future Directions Limitations Short time frame for sessions. Small sample size. Lack of a control group. Subjectivity versus objectivity. Monitoring academic progress and use of learning strategies over a longer period of time. When? Why? Why not? Influence of student characteristics (e.g., prior knowledge).

Acknowledgements This research has been funded by the European Commission (Erasmus Multilateral Projects No LLP-1-IT-ERASMUS-ESIN). This presentation reflects the views only of the presenters and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.