“Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills.” (p. 65) That definition is offered by Barry Zimmerman, one of the foremost researchers on self-regulated learning. It appears in a succinct five-page article that offers a very readable overview of research in this area.

Here’s a strategy that helps students look at more than the grade when an exam is returned. An exam wrapper (I like the name) is a handout attached to the exam that students complete as part of the exam debrief process. The wrapper directs students “to review and analyze their performance (and the instructor’s feedback) with an eye toward adapting their future learning.” (p. 251)

One of the things about blogging that I really like is how blogs feed off each other. Here’s a great example: several entries back I shared some of the principles of effective instruction offered by Ronald J. Markert, a medical educator. One of those principles, “Good teachers do not talk as much as their less effective colleagues do—Good teachers talk less because their students are talking more,” reminded my friend and colleague Ricky Cox of a favorite quote by Deborah Meier, “Teaching is listening, learning is talking.” Ricky posted both quotes on a blog he hosts for faculty at Murray State University: http://msuctlt.blogspot.com/.

Picking up where we left off on the previous post, so how do teachers intentionally teach for transformative learning? And how do they do that, given the fact that a teacher cannot make (as in require or force) students have a learning experience that changes what they believe, how they think, or how they act? Like all learning, it’s about creating conditions that are conducive to transformative learning.

I’m immersed in writing one of 34 chapters commissioned for a handbook on transformative learning. My chapter explores the relationship between learner-centered teaching and transformative learning. I am convinced the two are related, but I’ve never spent time trying to sort out the nature of that relationship. It’s a good project—I’m learning a lot, although I seem to be uncovering more questions than answers.

It’s good to remember how frustrating learning can be. It’s even better when you experience the frustration firsthand.

Last year I received a grant to support bringing guest scholars to my class. The idea was to find students with some expertise relevant to my courses and invite them to present in class, thereby giving the class a perspective on the material that I couldn’t provide. The grant enabled me to pay the guest scholars a stipend for their work. I had both the guest scholars and students complete questionnaires after these visits to class.

Here’s a list of some practical suggestions taken from a neat, “miniature guide for those who teach on how to improve student learning.” (reference below) The guide was prepared by Richard Paul and Linda Elder, both well-known experts on critical thinking.

When graded papers get a quick glance before being shoved into a backpack or deposited into the trash can on the way out of class, it’s often hard for teachers to summon the motivation to write lots of comments on papers. That’s why I was pleased to find evidence in two studies that students do value written comments on their work.