| Learning strategies of summarizing, generating questions, clarifying, and predicting promote learning among college students, especially when practiced in a social learning format. Educational background, experience, motivation, time on task, and understanding of how to use learning strategies affect who will use them, and when and how they do so. The problem is that students in challenging freshman-level science courses have diverse levels of preparation and understanding of how to learn difficult content, and college instructors do not have manageable, effective ways to induce students to use strategies proven to promote learning. In this study, approximately half of 587 students in an historically difficult freshman-level chemistry course were encouraged to work in small groups on homework assignments structured to promote use of proven learning strategies. In addition, stratified cluster samples of students in the treatment and non-treatment groups were given pre- and posttests on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, and instructors and students were interviewed. Measures of students' learning outcomes, including test scores, course grades, and the percentage of students who passed the course, were statistically analyzed for differences in learning outcomes between the two groups.; Analysis showed no difference in mean test scores or mean course grades between groups. However with gender included, statistically significant differences were found among students in the non-treatment group so that women earned higher scores in homework and labs while men earned 9.65% fewer A and B grades, 6.16% more C and D grades, and 3.49% more F and W grades than women in their group or students in the treatment group. Gender differences did not occur among treatment group students and mid-range students in the treatment group earned 6.5% more B grades, 5.2% fewer C grades, and a 2.3% higher pass rate than the non-treatment group. There was no apparent increase in students' use of learning strategies or metacognitive awareness of them. Discussion includes limiting factors in the research and potential uses for homework in supporting inexpensive and administratively manageable promotion of learning strategies. The researcher recommends adding a modeling component and improved feedback to learners to help students assimilate learning strategies. |
