2020 Transformative Learning Conference

Applying Transformative Learning in Teaching

Over the years in the classroom, experience has revealed that many of my students maintain a disconnect between earning high grades and the lack of understanding the process of learning. Meaningful students are likely to seek help from instructors for any suggestions that are intended to help with study habits and improve grades. What students may in fact be saying is that “I don’t know what learning really is”.

Recently, an opportunity presented itself after students in my class took their first laboratory exam in introductory microbiology that generated a low D class average. I offered students five points extra credit to each student that would try to use at least one the simple learning strategies from Dr. McGuire’s 2015 book “Teach students how to learn”. At the conclusion of the semester, students were instructed to summarize their own thoughts as to which strategies made a difference and specifically how the strategy helped them.

Attendees of this presentation will be asked to list various suggestions that they have shared with students to improve their study habits. These suggestions shared with students will be discussed prior to a short presentation covering Dr. McGuire’s ten learning strategies. Using Bloom’s learning objectives, attendees will have the opportunity to logically order the ten learning strategies from lowest (remembering) to the highest level of thought and learning (creating). The presentation concludes by sharing with the audience which learning strategies that my students actually found most useful and why my students felt the way they did.