Category: Metacognition

  • Learning to Learn Online: An Open Educational Resource (OER) for Students and Instructors

    Learning to Learn Online: An Open Educational Resource (OER) for Students and Instructors

    For months now, members of the CIEL have been shouldering questions about how to help students be effective online learners. Now, thanks to some student authors and the power of Pressbooks, the world of higher education is privy to a timely resource that provides tips for students (and instructors!) as they continue to transition to…

  • Learning to Learn: Student Study Strategies for Success!

    Learning to Learn: Student Study Strategies for Success!

    The start of the school year is always an exciting time for learning. It is also an excellent time to share learning strategies with students (and faculty) to assist them in being better learners. The past month I’ve visited many classrooms and done a number of program orientation sessions on metacognition and effective learning strategies.…

  • Student Panel Highlights on the topic of “What Helps Me Learn”

    Student Panel Highlights on the topic of “What Helps Me Learn”

    In our August 2014 New Faculty Orientation we invited a group of diverse students representing various faculties to discuss their academic experiences around what helps them learn at VIU.  We have compiled a series of very brief clips (30 seconds-3 minutes) of these students talking about what helps them learn best in a variety of categories.  The clips below are…

  • Goal Setting, Planning (and Monitoring) Skills Part 2:  How To Avoid Becoming A One Trick Pony

    Goal Setting, Planning (and Monitoring) Skills Part 2: How To Avoid Becoming A One Trick Pony

    By Sharon Kelly, Teaching Faculty Member and Degree Advisor, Faculty of Management/Educational Counsellor, Student Affairs, VIU Pardon the mini essay tone of this blog post: I think I wrote this as much for me as for you! Goal setting and planning skills are used for everything from planning an event, to planning finances, to planning…

  • The Post-Assessment Reflection (PAR)

    The Post-Assessment Reflection (PAR)

    by Jessie Key, Teaching Faculty Member, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, VIU As an instructor, it is really frustrating and disappointing when students receive back a marked assessment (Quiz, Test, Report etc.), look at the grade and then shove it directly into the back of their backpack; never to see the light…

  • Walking a Mile in Their Shoes: Reflections on Learning

    Walking a Mile in Their Shoes: Reflections on Learning

    by Doris Carey, Faculty Member, Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation, VIU When designing a course, writing a syllabus, preparing assignments and deciding on assessment strategies, I try to remember how I felt about my instructors’ design decisions when I was a student. I can’t think of many times that I felt comfortable in a…

  • The difficulty with Difficulty, or Why we should quit whining and embrace The Struggle

    The difficulty with Difficulty, or Why we should quit whining and embrace The Struggle

    by Sandra Johnstone, Teaching Faculty, Faculty of Science and Technology, VIU “Appropriate difficulty” I participated in a CIEL discussion group recently where the topic was “Effective Teaching”. We had been provided with materials that detailed surveys of university instructors and university students to articulate their perceptions of effective teaching. The conversations that emerged during our…

  • Teaching Metacognition: Learning in Mutable

    By Sharon Kelly, Teaching Faculty Member and Degree Advisor, Faculty of Management/Educational Counsellor, Student Affairs, VIU I believe in people’s ability to grow, change and develop over time – it was something my mother taught me.  This great potential for growth is why I love working as an educator and why I also love the…

  • Metacognitive Teaching Strategies: Ways to Help Students Learn about Learning

    This past week I hosted a community of practice group for teaching faculty members on the topic of metacognition. They were asked to skim/read over a variety of articles/videos/web summaries (see bit.ly/17fHXHD for the resources). We then made a list of the various ways we could incorporate metacognitive activities into our classrooms. Here is a…

  • Metacognition: Valuable Resources on Thinking about Thinking

      I am fascinated by the field of metacognition. I am fascinated by this notion of ‘learning how to learn’ because I don’t think I really understood learning until I became a teacher. I know I didn’t understand the learning process and I know I didn’t truly know how to reflect and monitor my learning…