Learning How to Learn: Facilitating Meta-learning as part of Subject Teaching

Abstract

Do we too often assume that many of the methods and practises we use in tertiary learning environments are self-evident and easily accepted by students? Signature pedagogies belonging to individual subject areas are likely to present a host of unfamiliar academic conventions and expectations, especially for entry-level students. Learning how to learn can be a useful way to make aspects of a particular learning context more explicit to students. Facilitating students to develop skills in learning how to learn is captured by the concept of meta-learning. Contextualised at a subject learning level meta-learning can help students become increasingly aware of their personal conceptions of a subject, and of their conceptions of themselves as learners in a particular learning context. With this improved self-knowledge they may be better equipped to make conscious changes in their approaches to learning and to become more self-reliant in their learning. As part of a recent teaching and learning research project I have developed a strategy that aims to consciously incorporate meta-learning into subject learning in art and design. This strategy represents an alternative to existing diagnostic approaches. A pilot study was conducted to test the effectiveness of the method. Students found the inquiry map and the conceptual base upon which it was developed useful for engaging in meta-learning activity. Why is this topic important? In the last 20 years researchers have focused on meta-cognition (knowing about knowing) as the heart of learning and view it as a phenomenon more influenced by the demands of particular learning environments than by predispositions of personality (Rhem 1995). The particular disciplinary/subject context has been found to be a significant factor in any attempt to integrate meta-learning (a sub-concept within meta-cognition) into the learning experience. Research has shown that teaching meta-learning strategies in a subject context has improved understanding for students of physics (see White & Fredericksen 1998) and written composition (see Scardamalia et al. 1984). Responsibility for this aspect of a students’ development lies at a subject learning level. Educators need to develop effective strategies for incorporating meta-learning into their teaching in ways that respond to the particular features and demands of their subject area. The integration of meta-learning has important implications for curriculum design, student-centered teaching and learning, and personal development. Meta-learning is also a concept closely associated with self-regulation, self-motivation and independence as a learner, making it of particular interest to the higher education teaching and learning context. Facilitating students to engage in meta-cognitive thinking about learning supports one of our most valued graduate attributes: that our students become self-reliant and independent learners.