A Strategic Learning Course
at University of Texas, Austin
by Claire Ellen Weinstein, Ph.D.

The strategic learning course under my direction at the University of Texas, Austin, is a 3-credit class for students who enter the University of Texas under special circumstances or who experience academic difficulty after entry. The course is based upon my Model of Strategic Learning which involves four major components:

• Skills to learn successfully such as using cognitive learning strategies, identifying important information for further study and preparing for tests.

• Will or wanting to use these skills and processes. This component includes goal setting and using, motivation and generating positive attitudes and beliefs about learning.

• Self-Regulation to take responsibility for managing one’s own studying and learning. This component includes time management and dealing with procrastination, controlling stress and concentration.

• Knowledge of the Academic Environment in which studies are taking place. This component includes knowing about teachers’ expectations and types of resources available to help reach academic goals.

Throughout the course, students are taught declarative and procedural knowledge about strategic and self-regulated learning with the objective of developing conditional knowledge to determine when and under what conditions to apply a given skill or strategy. The course uses direct instruction, modeling, and guided practice with feedback. To help facilitate transfer, the content is always related back to the Model of Strategic Learning, a variety of tasks from many content areas are used, and students must apply what they are learning to other classes they are taking.

The course begins with every student taking the LASSI. This helps the students identify their individual learning strengths and weaknesses and also introduces the content that will be studied. LASSI results, combined with results from a reading comprehension measure, help instructors to individualize many assignments and determine priorities over the course of the semester. These measures are used only for diagnostic/prescriptive purposes and have no effect on course grades.

The topics covered in the course include, but are not limited to, the following areas: goals, attitudes, motivation, identifying important ideas, knowledge acquisition strategies, pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies, time management, procrastination, attention, concentration; note-taking and listening skills, development and use of study aids, comprehension monitoring, preparing for and taking tests, the relationship between understanding and long-term memory, and dealing with academic stress.

Much of the work expected of students outside of class is accomplished using the online instructional program, Becoming a Strategic Learner, LASSI Instructional Modules. These ten modules were specifically written to address student weaknesses in the areas where instructional interventions are most likely to bring about significant student improvement. Each module is associated with a scale on the LASSI and provides instruction, activities and feedback to the students. By using these online modules in place of a traditional text, the instructors can focus on individual needs. This frees up class time for guided practice and feedback on the material in the modules — selected activities from the online modules are often completed in class individually or in groups. This allows instructors to integrate the content of the modules with their own class discussions. In addition, a variety of study skills for reading, listening and other academic tasks are also presented and practiced in class.

During the final week of the class, students complete the post-assessment measures, including the LASSI, and can see where their weaknesses have been strengthened or eliminated. Students also receive feedback about areas where further improvements might be gained through the university’s learning skills center or other special help programs.

Students taking our course at the University of Texas at Austin have consistently demonstrated improvements in academic achievement and highly significant differences in retention to graduation compared to students not taking the course or statistically-matched control students.

ce.weinstein@mail.utexas.edu