Reading Comprehension Question # 4: CONCEPT LEARING AND ATTAINMENT IN AN ACADEMIC STRATEGIES CLASS During this spring semester, I have

e been given the opportunity to teach a college orientation class for incoming students attending Tulsa Community College. The class is called Academic Strategies and its purpose is to orient students to TCC campuses and college services while helping them analyze and apply study techniques and behavior patterns essential to college success. Since this is my students first semester in college, they do not understand how to navigate the system of post-secondary education. Additionally, these students do not understand the basic differences between high-school and college; neither are they aware of what to do and where to go when they need help. After thoroughly reading the first half of chapter 7, I realized that I have been using the three-stage model for changing student beliefs proposed by Nussbaum and Novick (1982). The three stages are as follows: Reveal and understand student preconceptions students lack of knowledge about the college system and the different strategies that should be used while in a highereducational setting. Create conceptual conflict with those conceptions as a classroom facilitator, I have to develop different activities to help students acquire the skills they need to survive inside and outside of college. Assignments are created based on an assessment that is conducted during the first day of class. Facilitate the development of new or revised schemas about the phenomena under consideration Schunk (2012) states that learning benefits from hands-on instruction and links to aspects of students lives (p. 299). If my students struggle

while setting short and long-term goals, then I find a variety of resources to help them master this skill. If student do not know how to set goals, then time management and test preparation become a barrier as they navigate the world of post-secondary education. I always keep in mind that enhancing interest in topics also can improve the quality of student learning (Schunk, 2012).

Taking into consideration the precepts of pedagogical content and using my years of experience as an Academic Counselor at the community college level, I have worked collaboratively with other faculty members at Tulsa Community College to help students learn strategies for academic success by allowing them to: 1. Use personal and social strategies to succeed in and enjoy the college experience and to become involved in college and community activities. In my class students are required to register with a student organization of their preference, and are also required to come up with a marketing strategy to create awareness of this organization at the campus of their attendance. 2. Identify and apply college and academic terminology. Students do not realize that the way colleges and universities are operated differ significantly from that of high schools. My students are required to use their different levels of thinking to familiarize themselves with college terminology within 2 weeks. Such terminology includes: Dean, Campus Provost, Academic Suspension, Student Code of Conduct, Financial Aid Probation, Critical Thinking, and Diversity, among others. There is a booklet that is made available to students with key words to facilitate their learning process concrete and identity levels of concept attainment.

3. Construct short-term and long-term goals, balancing personal skills, interests, personality, and values. Evidence suggests that student drop-out rates are higher during freshman and sophomore years. Drop-out rates are higher during the first two years of college because students do not have clearly defined goals. In addition, students do not realize that they are adults and they need to take control of their time by prioritizing tasks. This college orientation class emphasizes the importance of setting goals and staying motivated as a starting point of academic success. 4. Construct and monitor weekly/monthly time plans to balance work, school, family, and social activities. Many incoming students do not know how to manage multiple responsibilities at the same time. During weeks 3 and 4 in a regular 16-week semester, I show my students how to create a to-do list and how to maintain an organized daily planner 5. Locate and apply college resources and support systems and incorporate these into the learning process (MyTCC Portal, Blackboard, Career Center, Advisement, Financial Aid, Learning Resource Center, Computer Labs, and Support Labs). I take my students on a campus tour and I also invite representatives from each Student Services Department to talk about what their mission and goal is at TCC. By doing so, I help my students connect to their college resources.

Starting in week 4, during a regular 16-week semester, my class sessions include direct teaching, whole group discussion, lab work, small group work, formal workshops (guest speakers), and individual conferences with a professor. Students are expected to master

independent study in the following areas classificatory and formal levels of concept attainment: Note taking techniques across the disciplines an Educational Specialist from TCCs Reading Lab conducts a presentation about the effectiveness of outlines and the Cornell Method for note-taking. Test-taking strategies for objective tests, essay exams, and oral examinations. Techniques for improving memory and concentration a Counselor from the Nursing Division conducts a workshop with strategies that help students sharpen their cognitive abilities. Critical and creative thinking skills to identify and solve academic and social problems. Application of basic paragraph and essay organizational.

Reference: Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

DISCUSSION FORUM: COGNITIVE LEARNING PROCESSES Discussion Question: Schunk (2012) states that conditional knowledge helps students select and employ declarative and procedural knowledge to fit task goals. To decide to reach a chapter carefully and then do it, students should believe that careful reading is appropriate for the task at hand; that is, this strategy has functional value because it will allow them to comprehend the material. Learners who do not possess conditional knowledge about when and why skimming is valuable will employ it at inappropriate times. If they believe it is valuable for all reading tasks, they may indiscriminately employ it unless otherwise directed. If they believe it has no value, they may never use it unless directed (p. 285). With this information at hand: 1. How can we help our students use conditional knowledge efficiently? For this particular question, lets assume that efficiency is reached when there is a balance between cognitive structures and environment (equilibration). 2. What strategies facilitate the understanding of conditional knowledge and its value?

Reference: Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

SAMPLE RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POST

Adam,

I can relate to your experiences in a counseling setting as I usually deal with a diverse student population diagnosed with severe disabilities. In most cases, I employ more than one function of modeling described by the Social Cognitive Theory. As an academic counselor and classroom facilitator, I serve as a response facilitator. Schunk states that people learn many skills and behaviors that they do not perform because they lack motivation to do so. For Schunk (2012), response facilitation refers to modeled actions that serve as social prompts for observers to behave accordingly (p. 216). I have evidenced that many times students possess the required skills (declarative and procedural knowledge) but they do not believe in their capabilities to categorize and achieve multiple goals.

Continuing with this same line of thought, your ideas regarding the impact that motivation has on learning are very applicable to Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development, particularly when he explains how equilibration is a crucial factor in developmental processes. I perceive cognitive development as a process of change. For it to occur, disequilibrium or cognitive conflict must exist. Thus, an event must occur that produces a disturbance in the childs cognitive structure so that the childs beliefs do not match the observed reality (dissatisfaction with ones current conceptions of change). Equilibration seeks to resolve the conflict through assimilation and accommodation (new concepts) (Schunk, p. 238, 2012). Schunk explains that learning occurs, then, when children experience cognitive conflicts and engage in assimilation or accommodation to control or alter internal structures []. Information must be partially understood (assimilated) before it can promote structural change (accommodation) (Schunk, 2012, p. 238).

Reference: Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

TOPICS TO CONSIDER FOR FUTURE DISCUSSIO FORUMS: Distinguish between general and specific skills, and discuss how they work to gather in the acquisition of competence Novice-to-expert Understand why conditional knowledge is important for learning, and the variables affecting metacognition Views of problem solving and the role of general strategies (heuristics)