Effective learning strategies in higher education:
Why aren’t they used more often and what can we do about that?
A recent meta-analysis by Schneider and Preckel (2017) provides a rank-order of variables related to study success in higher education and the second most important instructional variable is stimulating meaningful learning. This implies amongst others that students should be encouraged to use effective learning strategies (e.g., Kang, 2016; Karpicke, 2012; Kornell & Bjork, 2007; Putnam, Sungkhasettee, & Roediger, 2016). However, both empirical evidence (e.g., Karpicke, Butler & Roediger, 2009) as well as teacher observations indicate that many students are unaware of - or hold misconceptions about - effective learning strategies and that they often use suboptimal learning strategies during their independent study. This lack of awareness and use of effective learning strategies is often considered to be an important factor underlying problems associated with study success. In this keynote, Peter will provide a brief introduction on what effective learning strategies are and why they are effective. Furthermore, and more importantly, he will focus on why students in higher education often fail to use effective learning strategies and what might be done to remedy this problem.
Relevant links to personal information:
https://www.eur.nl/people/peter-verkoeijen