Learning how to learn

Introduction

Learning how to learn is a process in which we all engage throughout our lives, although often we do not realise that we are, in fact, learning how to learn. Most of the time we concentrate on what we are learning rather than how we are learning it. In this course, we aim to make the process of learning much more explicit by inviting you to apply the various ideas and activities to your own current or recent study as a way of increasing your awareness of your own learning. Most learning has to be an active process - and this is particularly true of learning how to learn. Therefore, you will find that this course contains a number of activities for you to complete, which require you to make notes and keep records. You can either write these down in a notebook, or use word processor, whichever you feel most comfortable with.

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Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• think about and understand personal ways of learning

• apply the ideas and activities in this course to existing learning experiences

• learn reflectively.

1 Getting started

1.1 Examples

Each activity is followed by a discussion and examples of the responses of two students. Both students are studying Open University courses that will eventually count towards a degree. These are nine month distance learning courses.

Course material is delivered to students by post, email or online. Their assignments are submitted by post or email, marked either by a computer or a tutor, and returned. Open University students are provided with a tutor, regular tutorials and guidance on completing assignments. They are also provided with online conferencing facilities to communicate with their tutor or with other students.

Both students have been provided with assignment booklets, which provide advice on completing their assignments. They also refer to Study Skills series of books, which are published by the Open University. The series includes books providing study skills advice in particular subject disciplines, as well as general study skills advice.

Tim is studying an introductory Humanities course and Sue is a biology student.

1.2 What do we mean by learning how to learn?

Can you begin to see the difference between thinking about what you were learning and how you were learning; between the content of your study and the process of doing it? Only when you begin to examine the process are you likely to consider whether there might be other more effective ways of studying. We are certainly not suggesting that you engage in this activity every time you study, but being aware of the two dimensions of study and being able to analyse both of them is an important part of learning how to learn.

You will notice that the focus here is on learning - your learning. It may be that the example you chose to examine was an occasion when you were being taught to do something. In this course we do not look at the teaching side of the experience, although that does not mean it is unimportant. Here the emphasis is on you and your learning in any learning situation, and this places a considerable responsibility on you to think through the process. It also encourages you to understand more of what happens to you when you learn. As well as enhancing your learning, this can increase your control over your own learning; you may find this is an approach that is new to you, but do give it a try.

2 Thinking about your learning

2.1 Introduction

In encouraging you to think explicitly about how you learn, as well as about what you learn, we are drawing on research about learning which has shown that this approach can actually improve your performance. Certainly it can and will make you a more efficient and effective learner. Before we start to explore the process, let us consider two general points about learning.

1. There is no single method of learning that guarantees success. How you learn best depends on many different factors, some of which we will explore in this course. One of the main reasons for producing the course is to help you find out which approach to learning is most effective for you in a range of different contexts. In each context, different tasks will require different approaches.

2. What works best for you will not necessarily be the same as the approach used by other students, even those studying the same course. We are all unique as learners, although there are some patterns that emerge in any group of students. It is important to explore a whole range of approaches because that will enable you to find out what works best for you. By all means, do share ideas, techniques, tips and hints with other students and do try some that seem to work well for your colleagues, but if they do not work for you, modify or reject their suggestions. And that goes for the ideas in this course as well.

The most important aspect of learning how to learn is that you really do need to actively think about your learning. Let us continue thinking about your learning by moving from the analysis of a single learning activity to a wider view of you as a learner. Two main things will probably affect your approach to learning:

• your motivation (the reasons why you are engaged in a particular course of study)
• your previous history as a learner, both in a formal setting (such as at school or on another course) and informally, through unstructured or unexpected learning experiences.

Pause for a moment and consider each of these two points in turn.

2.2 Your motivation

2.3 Your learning history

Whatever your responses to these two activities, it is likely that you will have some emotional feelings about why you remembered and recorded them. Emotions and feelings are often part of our learning. We all have a learning history that has both positive and negative experiences. Maybe the reason your learning did not go too well was nothing to do with the topic or the activity, but simply that - like Tim - you had had a difficult day and found it impossible to concentrate. All learning has an affective component (to do with feelings) as well as a cognitive one (to do with thinking). Recognising this - and resolving any tensions in our feelings about learning - is an important part of learning how to learn.

2.4 Organising your study - keeping a learning diary

If you have found this approach to learning interests you, you might like to take the analysis a stage further. To do Activity 4, you need to be studying a course so that you are engaged in learning on a regular basis. To examine your learning patterns, try keeping a 'learning diary' over a short period of time - at least a week - or maybe during the period that you are studying a particular section of your course.

At this point it might be worth considering how you developed your approach to study. Are you using methods you used in other learning situations? Have you ever thought about how you work or do you just 'get on with it'? Have you used any books on how to study or discussed study methods with other students or with your tutor?

Many of us use methods that we have developed from a range of experiences and sources - some of which are likely to be more effective than others. Being aware of how we learn enables us to make choices about the most appropriate way to tackle any learning task more efficiently and effectively. This does not imply that you have to be organised and regimented in your study programme - it means just thinking about what works best for you. If you feel comfortable with a relaxed and unpredictable approach that suits you and your lifestyle, that's fine. But if that approach is not working too well, at least you should be considering the possibility of changing it.

3 Learning through assessment

3.1 Introduction to applying your learning

In this part of the course we invite you to apply some of the ideas we have introduced in a more structured way. One of the easiest ways to really understand learning how to learn as a process, rather than as a series of individual activities, is to apply it to a section of the course you are currently studying. Choose a section that is complete in itself - for example, a block of the course - and that leads to an assignment. We suggest that you read through the whole of this section and its associated activities, and then decide how you might apply it to your own work on your current course.

When you want to try this out for yourself, you will need to allocate some of your (study) time to completing each activity in this section. Even if you have a very tight schedule, it will be time well spent. Some students have found that working through this process affects their approach to study in a way that both enhances their performance in the short term, and has lasting effects on their learning.

One idea is to use a separate notebook (or put together a document on your computer) to record your responses to the activities. Alternatively, if you choose to include your responses in with your normal study notes, use a different coloured pen (or font if you word process your notes). This will enable you to distinguish your learning about how to learn from what you are learning while still seeing how the two interact.

If you know another student who is studying the same course, why not suggest you share your responses to the activities? You could do this by meeting (at tutorials or elsewhere), by post or phone, or by email. Finally, it is a good idea to tell your tutor that you are going to try the activities - part of learning how to learn is developing a good learning dialogue with your tutor.

As on previous pages, the activities over the following sections will include responses from both Tim and Sue. Time was working on the course, and Sue was working on the final assignment for her biology course

NB: Because of the way the responses are presented on the web, the user is presented with both in succession, rather than in a format that allows easy comparison.

3.2 A summary of the phases and activities of learning how to learn

We can represent the process of learning how to learn in a diagram with four phases (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The four main phases of learning how to learn

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This image shows a mapping diagram, which consists of four boxes connected to each other in a rectangular formation. The top box represents 'Preparing'. This links to a box on the right, which represents 'Exploring'. This in turn links to a box at the bottom, which represents 'Implemating'. The 'Implemating' box links to the final box, placed on the left of the diagram, which represents 'Reviewing'. The 'Reviewing' box links back to the first box, which represents 'Preparing'.

Figure 1: The four main phases of learning how to learn

Preparing for a section of study and an accompanying assignment is an essential part of the process. In this phase, you are encouraged to pause and think ahead about how and when you will tackle both studying the material and the assessment task itself.

Exploring is the phase when most of your studying is done, by both working through the course and preparing for the assignment.

Implementing covers the actual doing of your assignment - producing the assignment in a form that can be sent to your tutor.

Reviewing is the phase when your work is returned. Lessons from this phase may well help you in the next circuit as you prepare for another section of study and the next assignment.

So what should you actually do in each of these phases? Each can be divided into two activities (Figure 2), and we will look at them in turn in the following sections.

Figure 2: The eight activities of learning how to learn

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Figure 1, with added detail. Each initial box is now part of a wider rectangle containing two more elements placed within initial box. Top: two boxes placed with ‘Preparing’. The first is ‘Analysing the task’, followed by Making a plan‘’. Right: two boxes placed with ‘Exploring’. Following ‘Making a plan’, the first represents ‘Studying the materials’. This is followed by a box representing ‘Monitoring your progress’. Bottom: two boxes are placed with ‘Implementing’. Linking from ‘Monitoring your progress’, the first box represents ‘Monitoring your performance’. This is followed by a box representing ‘Making a self-assessment’. Left: two boxes are placed with ‘Reviewing’. The first links from ‘Making a self-assessment’ and represents ‘Learning from feedback’. The second represents ‘Reviewing the process’. This final box links back to the first box, ‘Analysing the task’.

Figure 2: The eight activities of learning how to learn

4 The preparation phase

4.1 Preparing

In the preparation phase you should pause before starting a new section of work and think about it as a whole. What needs to be covered? What are the various components of this block of work? What are the learning objectives or outcomes? What will you need to know and be able to do at the end of it? What is required in the assignment?

There are two main activities during this phase, both directly related to your course work and assignment:

• analysing the task
• making a plan.

4.2 Analysing the task

This involves you in analysing both the learning task, (e.g. working through the text, other readings, calculations, experiments) as well as the assessed task (e.g. the assignment). It is important to work out from the start just what this part of the course requires you to do as well as to know.

4.3 Making a plan

How you respond to this suggestion will depend on what sort of person you are. Many of us are great planners with timetables and lists for every part of our lives; others just get on with the priorities and everything else follows in due course. Planning is no guarantee everything will get done or that deadlines will be met, but the process of making a plan makes you focus on what the task entails and gives direction and purpose to your study. Studying does demand that most students need to plan their work and there is evidence that target setting and appropriate planning can enhance performance.

Plans can be as general or as specific as necessary depending on your purpose and preference. Remember to take into account any awareness you have of your preferred ways of working - your learning skills, styles and strategies. The aim is to help you begin to understand what approach to learning really works best for you, in the context of the course you are currently studying and your personal circumstances.

An action plan can be just a list of things to do, a chart giving deadlines, a diagram showing how the various parts of your plan interact, or a set of post-its on a sheet of card that you move around when each task is done. If you break down the overall task into a series of smaller targets, you can chart your progress in more detail. It's useful to have a way of recording your progress as well as a way of listing any sources of help that you need. You can even customise one of the more sophisticated electronic planners - if that is your preferred way of working. But do remember that your original plan may well have to be modified as you work towards your final target.

5 The exploration phase

5.1 Exploring

This is the phase when you will be studying your course material, using and developing your learning skills. The two activities of this phase are:

• studying the materials
• monitoring your progress.

5.2 Studying the materials

This is the period when you will be working on your course materials in preparation for the assignment. This may include working through written or electronic texts, any other associated reading or media components, possibly attending a tutorial, accessing any other information that you need and making notes or records of it. Some courses give you a lot of direct guidance on how to work through the course materials; others present you with a range of options and routes. Some courses, particularly those at higher levels, leave you to make the decisions about how to tackle your study. Take advantage of any advice offered but as you become more aware of how best you learn, you will be able to take increasing responsibility for your own learning.

As you study and prepare for the assignment, you may need to use skills or techniques in which you are less confident, possibly those identified during the preparing phase. If so, try to consciously work on the skills that need developing rather than struggling through course material, ignoring areas or activities you find difficult.

This is a good time to complete a skills audit.

Activity 7

Take a break from your work and have a look at the instructions for your next assignment. Make sure you read any student notes very thoroughly and take note of any advice your tutor provides. Really analyse the task(s) involved and identify the skills you will need to complete the assignment successfully. Then draw up and complete a form like the one shown in Figure 3 or, if you prefer, devise one that suits you and the task.

Figure 3: A form for completing a skills audit

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This image shows a graph, which can be filled in by a student. It is set out in columns. The first column is titled ‘skill’. This is followed by a series of narrow columns under the title ‘Estimate of my current level of skill’. Beneath the title, each column is headed by a number, beginning with ‘1 low’, then ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, and finally ‘5 high’. A wider column follows this, titled ‘How do I know?’. This is followed by another series of narrow columns under the title ‘Priority for improvement’. Beneath the title, each column is headed by a number, beginning with ‘1 low’, then ‘2’, ‘3’, and finally ‘4 high’. The final column is wider and titled ‘What might I do about it?’.

Figure 3: A form for completing a skills audit

Discussion

Here is Tim's skills audit for the assignment he was planning. As you can see, he has identified a number of skills that the assignment requires and in most of these he feels fairly confident. But there is some material in this part of the course that is new to him and he knows he has problems with it. He decides to really work on the relevant skills because they are important for the assignment.

Skill	Estimate of my current level of skill					How do I know?	Priority for improvement				What might I do about it?
	1 low	2	3	4	5 high		1 low	2	3	4 high
Reading			X			Coping OK but still find that part difficult in terms of maintaining concentration.			X		Look in the Arts Good Study Guide. Ask people on the FirstClass Conference what they do.
Note-taking				X		I can understand them when I start to plan my assignment.		X			I'll just keep practising pattern notes.
Gathering information for assignments		X				It takes ages - I end up going over all my notes plus the whole block again.				X	Bob has same problem. Look in Arts Good Study Guide again. Ask tutor - she said we shouldn't hesitate to phone if we have problems.
Assignment plan		X				Also takes ages - sifting through all that info.				X	As above - I must speed up a bit.
First draft				X		Once I've got the plan I seem to be reasonably OK. It doesn't take that long and I get positive comments from my tutor on my structure.		X			If l can speed up the above then I expect this will take less time.
Being analytical	X					Tutor says on PT3 my marks will improve dramatically once I get away from so much description.				X	Compare my last essay with Bob's. Ask self-help group if anyone's willing to let me look at their assignment when it's been marked.
											Look in Arts Good Study Guide. Edit draft carefully.
Answering the question			X			Tutor wrote on PT3 that lack of analysis means that I don't fully answer the question.				X	Doing above should help with this.
Organising my time			X			Fit study in OK but underestimate time things take.			X		Hope above will help sort this problem. It all seems to be linked.

Sue has a very clear idea of where she needs to develop her skills and makes this a priority for her next assignment. Here is her skills audit.

Skill	Estimate of my current level of skill					How do 1 know?	Priority for improvement				What might I do about it?
	1 low	2	3	4	5 high		1 low	2	3	4 high
understanding key facts and concepts			*			it often takes me a long time and I sometimes miss key points that are crucial			*		try other ways of going through the material; perhaps go to a learning skills workshop
clear writing				*		tutor tells me on assignments		*			keep at it
concise writing				*		tutor tells me on assignments		*			keep at it
coherent writing				*		tutor tells me on assignments		*			keep at it
interpreting data from tables			*			get put off if there are lots of numbers			*		practice, perhaps ask for session in tutorials
interpreting data from charts			*			I sometimes need to draw in lines to help me interpret histograms and bar charts			*		practice, perhaps ask for session in tutorials
interpreting data from graphs			*			if there are several lines on one graph I sometimes take ages to interpret them			*		practice, perhaps ask for session in tutorials
integration of material from different parts of the course		*				there's so much in the course it takes ages to go through it all in case I've missed something relevant				*	discuss with other students over phone or at tutorials
interpretation of new data in relation to material in the course	*					final part of tiered questions seems to test this and I find them the most difficult parts of assignments				*	ask tutor for help if stuck in understanding; ask for practice at tutorials; ask tutor for extra feedback on assignments

5.3 Monitoring your progress

Of all the components in the learning how to learn process, this is probably the most difficult. As you study, you need to make a conscious effort to monitor your progress while working on the course, always with the main task in view. This is where a flexible plan devised in the preparation phase can be revised, particularly if you meet a difficult patch. Knowing when help is needed and where to go for it is important, especially if you discover that your learning skills need improving. Sources of help may be formally provided in the course materials, through your tutor or from an administrator. Check if there are any skills workshops or supplementary materials available (see Further reading and Other sources of help sections). Some courses offer help online - make sure you know what is available and make use of it. Other sources of help may be informal - other students, self-help groups, friends or colleagues. Major areas of difficulty, perhaps identified as you work through one part of the course or prepare an assignment, may have to be tackled at another time; ask your tutor what help is available.

All this is part of monitoring your progress as a learner and a student on a particular course. Try to take the time to review your progress, especially if your course has built in a 'pause for thought' or a review section. The emphasis of your monitoring should be on 'What am I learning?' as well as 'How am I learning it?'

6 The implementation phase

6.1 Implementing

This is the phase when you complete your assignment. In some courses and for some assignments, the exploring and implementing phases may merge or overlap; in other courses, considerable exploration is needed before the actual assignment can be done. If there are several parts to your assignment, part of your planning might be to move back and forth between exploring and implementing - studying for and then completing part of the question, then returning for more study before tackling the rest of the assignment. Again, find a pattern that best suits you and the task. The two activities in the implementing phase are:

• monitoring your performance
• making a self-assessment.

6.2 Monitoring your performance

As you move into actually doing the assignment, the emphasis on consciously trying to monitor how you are performing continues to be important. This involves checking your work while you are working on the task rather than waiting until you have almost completed it before you look back at what you have done. You may wonder why we place so much emphasis on monitoring what you are doing. The reason is that if you check regularly what and how you are doing and are aware of your progress and performance, you are less likely to lose sight of the task and more likely to make appropriate changes as you work. For example, part of monitoring your performance as you complete an assignment is to make sure you check and re-check any guidelines or criteria given any student notes or guidance you’ve received. Even though you may have done this as part of your initial preparation and planning, it is very easy to lose sight of the question as you immerse yourself in study and then rush into producing the assignment.

Advice in student notes and grading criteria are sometimes ignored by students who then cannot understand why their grades are disappointing. Sometimes students drift away from the question, forgetting any advice they may have read, so this is something you should focus on both before starting and while working on the task. If you are given the marking criteria against which you will be scored but find them difficult to understand, don't be afraid to ask your tutor for clarification so that you will know how to use the criteria to enhance your work.

6.3 Making a self-assessment

The ability to self-assess your work is a critical skill for you to develop if you want to improve your performance. If you can assess your own work accurately and identify the gap between what is required and what you are producing, you are more likely to be able to close the gap. But making an accurate and honest self-assessment is not an easy skill to develop, even though it is crucial in learning how to learn. Some courses do ask you to self-assess your work and submit your comments as part of the assignment. If this is required by your course, take it seriously and think carefully about what you have produced. This is where you should definitely use the marking criteria if they are provided and your tutor will give you appropriate feedback on your comments. If your course does not require this, you could put together a self-assessment form for yourself, which your tutor may agree to have a look at for you. It’s worth spending time on this as it will develop your own ability to self-assess.

Click 'document' to open and print figure 4 as blank template.

Document

Activity 10

When you are ready to send your assignment to your tutor, spend a few minutes completing a form like the one in Figure 4. If your tutor has not provided a form like this, you can reproduce it yourself by completing Part A and attaching a note asking your tutor to respond. You can attach Part B as a separate sheet or write the headings on the back of Part A.

Figure 4: A form for your assessment of your assignment

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This image shows a form in two parts. Part A provides spaces for the following sections to be completed: ‘Name’, ‘Assignment Number’, ‘1: One or two things that I think I have done well or tried to do well’, ‘2: One or two things that were difficult and I’m not too happy about’, ‘3: My assessment of this piece of work’, 4: I would especially like feedback on the following areas – a: course related, b: skills related’, ‘5: Other comments or information I feel it is important that my tutor should know’. At the bottom of this section there is an instruction to ‘Please send this form with your assignment. Complete the reverse side when it is returned’. Part B contains the following sections to be completed: ‘6. My tutor’s comments on this assignment’, ‘7: My response to those comments’, ‘6: Two things I am going to try to do next time’. Question 8 contains two spaces for comments ‘a’ and ‘b’. At the bottom of the form there is an instruction reading ‘Now file this form with the assignment and refer to it when you start work on your next one. Then keep it to help with revision.

Figure 4: A form for your assessment of your assignment

Discussion

If you take it seriously, completing the form is an important learning experience, so give yourself time to think about and complete each section. Trying to identify what you think you have done well is difficult but important. Use the form as part of a dialogue with your tutor who will then respond with feedback and advice. Building up this kind of dialogue will help you to learn from your assignments more effectively.

Here is Tim's form.

Name Tim Sullivan	Assignment number 2
1 One or two things that I think I have done well or tried to do well:
I think I have structured this well.
I checked through and made sure that everything was related to the topic.
2 One or two things that were difficult and I'm not too happy about:
I'm still unsure about my analytical skills - I find it difficult to do this particularly with the literature.
3 My assessment of this piece of work:
I've read back through it and now I'm starting to worry that there's too much on one part of the question and not enough on the other. I can't spend any more time on it but the balance doesn't seem right.
4 I would especially like feedback on the following areas:
(a) Course related
Analysing.
(b) Skills related
I haven't spent enough time on getting the balance between the different parts of the question right. I'm spending ages on gathering the material and sorting it out - trying to get it down to something manageable.
5 Any other comments or anything that you feel it is important that your tutor should know:
I've got a promotion at work - I really need to try to cut down on the time I'm taking.
Please send this form with your assignment. Complete Part B when it is returned.

Here is Sue's form.

Name: Sue Napier	Assignment number 7
1 One or two things that I think I have done well or tried to do well:
Q1 essay. Found it really interesting. Think I've structured it well and tried to include evidence for the points I've made.
2 One or two things that were difficult and I'm not too happy about:
Q1 essay. Found it difficult to keep within the word limit so I may have missed out important points in doing so.
Q2 part (d) difficult and I'm not sure I've got it right.
3 My assessment of this piece of work:
A bit rushed as I'm thinking of revision and the exam now.
4 I would especially like feedback on the following areas:
(a) Course related
Do I need to remember all the names and dates of studies for the exam?
(b) Skills related
Am I on the right lines in Q2 (d) interpreting new data in relation to what is in book 6?
5 Any other comments or anything that you feel it is important that your tutor should know?
My youngest is off school at the moment so study time is limited.
Please send this form with your assignment. Complete Part B when it is returned.

7 The reviewing phase

7.1 Reviewing

This phase takes place after a period of study and an assignment have been completed. It is when you focus on reviewing your performance on your assignment as well as the whole cycle of study you have just completed. The two activities of this phase are:

• learning from feedback
• reviewing the whole process.

7.2 Learning from feedback

This is actually quite a difficult thing for any student to do. It is most effective when your assignment is returned, but by then you may have moved on to the next part of the course. Even so, you do need to make time to re-visit your assignment when it is returned and take note of your tutor's comments. It is the one time when your tutor is able to give feedback and advice to you as an individual student so it is well worth taking time to really absorb their comments. Try to separate those that are about what you have included in your assignment from those about how you have presented it. Assignments that give you a clear indication of the criteria used in grading may enable you to learn more effectively from the assessment process, but some tutors explain their own criteria and you should note this carefully.

Even if you have now moved to a new topic, your tutor's comments may aid your revision of the topic. More importantly, there may also be immediate advice that you could act on and incorporate into your next and any future assignments, thus enhancing your grades. For students, a great deal of learning takes place through completing assignments and getting feedback from their tutor. This, like self-assessment, is a crucial part of the process of learning how to learn.

Learning from feedback is probably the most critical activity in the process of learning how to learn. Continuous assessment is not just a mechanism for judging your performance as a student, it is also meant to be part of the process of learning. But it can only contribute to learning how to learn if you, the learner, engage with this part of the process.

7.3 Review the whole process

Before you file away your assignment and return to your current study, spend a little time reviewing the whole process of preparing, exploring, implementing and reviewing your assignment. Review what you did and how you did it in each of the four phases. Trying to identify just one thing that went well and one thing that you could have done differently can help you in your future study. Remember that your review should focus on the process of the preparation for, and production of, your assignment (i.e. how you might do it differently) and not just the product itself (i.e. how you might do it better).

Here are some comments from Tim.

As you read through the description of the process with its four phases and associated activities, you probably felt that you might like to try some of them but that attempting to complete the whole process could be too demanding. That's fine - now you have a choice. You can decide to invest some time and effort in learning how to learn and therefore give the whole process a try as you start the next part of your course and prepare for the associated assignment. Or, you may choose to focus on one phase of the process and try the activities suggested just for that phase - perhaps preparing or reviewing. Possibly, you may decide that you want to really develop one or two components that seem particularly important for you. This may be because the activity is something you rarely do - like planning - and yet feel that it might make a difference to your work. Or, you may have found some of the suggestions really interesting and decide to try them out for yourself - perhaps focussing on monitoring your progress and performance or attempting to self-assess your own assignments, and then trying to apply any relevant feedback from your tutor.

8 Learning from revision and examinations

8.1 Introduction

Once you have got a general understanding of the process of learning how to learn, and have tried applying it to an assignment, you may be able to see how the same approach can be applied to revision, exams or any other form of assessment at the end of your course. This section looks at how the four phases (preparing, exploring, implementing and reviewing) relate to revision and exams. You may want to remind yourself of the overall process by looking again at Figure 2.

You might prefer to skim through this section at this stage and return to it as your exam gets closer. However, the skills and the strategies that you need to use during revision and in exams may be very different from those you use during your study of other course components, so do leave time to practise them. Again, you may decide to focus on one particular phase of the process as revision time approaches.

8.2 Preparing

Both activities in this phase - analysing the task and making a plan - are critically important when it comes to preparing for an exam. Start by gathering together everything you have been sent that relates to the exam or end-of-course assessment for your current course. Also collect any advice you have had in the past about exam preparation. But the really important thing at this stage is to try and obtain a specimen exam paper or any detailed instructions relating to your end-of-course assessment. Use this information to analyse the task. While you are looking at these documents, think through what it is that you are expected to do and look back at any previous experiences you have had that might be relevant to the task. This is particularly important in preparing for an exam. Activity 12 is designed to help you if your course has an examination.

8.3 Exploring

Although this sounds as though it may not seem very appropriate in the context of revision and exams, it is critically important that you re-explore the course as you do your revision or prepare your end-of-course assessment. Studying the materials is important as many exams and end-of-course assessments require you to step back and review the course as a whole as well as consider the component parts. This is where you may need different skills and strategies; so, try different ways of recording and remembering information.

Keep an eye on your schedule and monitor your progress as you work through your revision. If you are facing an exam, make sure you practise answering questions from the sample or back papers. If you are completing an end-of-course assessment, keep checking the requirements, the instructions and advice you have been given. Some end-of-course assessments ask you to do tasks that are quite different from earlier assignments.

8.4 Implementing

As with assignments, this is the phase when you actually do the task - sit the exam or produce the final version of your end-of-course assessment. This is where monitoring your performance is really important. For most students, the crucial thing in an exam is usually to monitor the timing. Unlike the production of an assignment, an exam is a timed test; so, you need to pace yourself appropriately. Most end-of-course assessments have no time constraints although you may find the deadline very tight. Again, monitor your performance carefully. But timing is not the only thing to monitor - check that you are answering the question asked; that your calculations are accurate, and so on.

You may remember that the second component of the implementing phase was to make a self-assessment. This may sound a strange thing to suggest in relation to exams. However, generally students do not get many opportunities to improve their performance in exams so, once the actual event is over, make yourself spend a short time trying to assess your performance before the details fade in your memory.

8.5 Reviewing

Undoubtedly this is the most difficult phase to apply to revision and an exam or to the preparation and production of an end-of-course assessment. Most of us heave a huge sigh of relief when it is all over and then try to put it out of our minds during the weeks while we wait for the results. When these arrive, it is very difficult to think back to the exam itself or revisit the details of the end-of-course assessment. With very little feedback to help, learning how to learn from exams or their equivalent is difficult.

It is also likely that you may have quite strong feelings about the results - delight, amazement, relief, disappointment, even despair. Whatever your reaction, remember that there are people who can help you review the process and advise you if you want or need to take action. More importantly, if you are continuing with another course and you really want to improve your learning, remind yourself that this is the best time to review both your revision period and your exam performance. Try to identify what you can learn from it that might help you to handle the process more effectively next time.

9 Learning how to become a reflective learner

9.1 Reflection and the four main phases of learning how to learn

If your course encourages this approach to learning, or if you have read other material on learning how to learn, you may have come across the term 'reflection'. Maybe you have been encouraged to reflect on your learning or on your assignments. In this course, we have deliberately not used the term until now. This is not because we think the term - or the process - is unimportant, but because it can seem vague and not particularly helpful to you as a learner. In fact, all the activities in this course have involved reflection of some kind. In this final section, we want to explore the meaning of the term and explain how it can help you in learning how to learn (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Reflection and learning

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Same as Figure 1, with some additions. Four boxes connect to each other in a rectangular formation. The top box represents ‘Preparing’. This links to a box on the right, which represents ‘Exploring’. This links to a box on the bottom, which represents ‘Implementing’. The ‘Implementing’ box links to the final box, placed on the left, which represents ‘Reviewing’. The ‘Reviewing’ box links back to the first box, which represents ‘Preparing’. The additions are: Around the outer edges of the original diagram, there is a rectangular box containing four additional titles. Along the top, the title reads ‘Reflection for action’. On the right hand side, the title reads ‘Reflection in action’. Along the bottom, the title reads ‘Reflection in action’. And, along the left hand side, the title reads, ‘Reflection on action’.

Figure 5: Reflection and learning

The preparation phase involves you in looking back as well as looking forward before embarking on a section of study within a course or perhaps the course as a whole. It encourages you to pause and think purposefully before moving on and has been described as reflection-for-action.

The over-arching emphasis of both the exploring and implementing phases is of being aware of what you are doing while you are doing it - often described as reflection-in-action. Such reflection needs to be critical reflection - asking yourself questions, checking your thoughts and actions, explaining to yourself (or others) why you are saying, writing, or doing things in this way. Reflection in action is difficult but becomes easier when carried out with another person who can listen to you talking through your work or reading what you have written.

The final reviewing phase closes the cycle; it overlaps with and leads into preparation for the next section of learning and assessment, or perhaps to revision and exams. This is a time for reflection-on-action to conclude the process. Look back over the whole learning experience and identify what you have learned from studying this part of the course and completing the assignment. The emphasis should be on both the content learned and how you learned it - this is the meaning of learning how to learn.

Courses are often very demanding in terms of time and some are overloaded. You may be tempted, especially in your first year, to struggle on, preoccupied with trying to keep up. It is hard to make yourself pause and consider how you are studying and learning even when course materials invite you to do so. In most courses there are natural breaks - at the end of a course or block of study as well as after the completion of an assignment. These are designed to help you fit in time for reflection-on-action, a conclusion for the section of work you have just completed and a preparation for starting the cycle again with the next section of your coursework.

9.2 What is reflection?

Is reflection different to just thinking about your study? And how do we do it? Can someone teach you how to reflect or is it a matter of practice? Can everyone be reflective or are some students - and some people - more reflective than others?

There is no clear definition of reflection or precise way of describing what we mean by a reflective learner. But we can discuss some characteristics of the process, and encourage you to develop your own preferred ways of developing it.

Reflection is thinking for a purpose - in this course we have linked it to wanting to become a more effective and efficient learner; someone who wants to understand their own learning. Thus, reflection is also about wanting, or at least being willing, to change the way we learn.

Reflection is analysing how we learn - taking apart our own learning processes. The activities in this course are tools to help you do this. But reflection is also about evaluating how effectively we learn - making judgements on our own performance, and that is not always an easy or comfortable thing to do.

Most of all, reflection includes being critical - not in a negative or destructive way, but through rigorous questioning and deep probing into what and how we learn. Many people would say that the most important characteristic of an effective student in higher education is that they are capable of critical thinking - actively challenging both themselves and others.

For most of us, reflection becomes a more meaningful activity if it can be shared, either in a group or with another student. Putting your thoughts and ideas into words and getting a response from someone else, then perhaps listening to their reactions, makes the process more interactive and developmental. This interaction can be face-to-face or might be at a distance - by telephone or electronically. Even if you cannot easily engage with another student, any other person - friend or family - who is supportive of you as a student or shares your interest in learning might well enjoy sharing with you some of the activities in this course.

Sharing ideas about the activities means that you are more likely to engage with the material. If you prefer not to share your thoughts and experiences with others, or if talking about your learning is not possible, at least take time to respond to the activities in writing. The activities in this course do not have a 'right answer'. The examples from Tim and Sue show that students vary in the way they approach their learning and in how they reflect on its effectiveness. We hope that you have found time to record your responses and to act on them where appropriate. If you have read this far and have actively engaged in the process as we suggest, it is likely that you are well on the way to becoming a reflective learner.

Learning how to learn, however, is about more than reflection - it is about development and change. Understanding how you learn is just the first stage; taking action to develop yourself, to make changes and improve your learning is, like learning itself, an ongoing process. We hope that working through this course has at least encouraged you to start.

Conclusion

This free course provided an introduction to studying Languages. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance, and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.

10 Further reading and sources of help

10.1 Further reading

OU books

• The Good Study Guide, by Andrew Northedge, published by The Open University, 2005, ISBN 0 7492 59744
• The Sciences Good Study Guide, by Andrew Northedge, Jeff Thomas, Andrew Lane, Alice Peasgood, published by The Open University, 1997, ISBN 0 7492 341 1 3
• The Arts Good Study Guide, by Ellie Chambers and Andrew Northedge, published by The Open University, 1997, ISBN 0 7492 8745 4

Other books

• Writing at University: A guide for students, by P. Creme and M. R. Lea, published by Open University Press, Buckingham, 1997
• Reading, Writing and Reasoning: A guide for students, by G. J. Fairbairn and C. Winch, published by The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, Buckingham, 1996
• A Guide to Learning Independently, by L. Marshall and F. Rowland, published by Open University Press, Buckingham, 1996
• Calculating and Computing for Social Science and Arts Students, by R. Solomon and C. Winch, published by Open University Press, Buckingham, 1994

10.2 Other sources of help

Websites

/ www.open.ac.uk/ goodstudyguide

This Open University site is a companion site to the Good Study Guide series of books.

Acknowledgements

Course image: aotaro in Flickr made available under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence.

The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this course:

The content acknowledged below is Proprietary and is used under licence.

This publication has been written by Maggie Coats with contributions from Maggie Boxer and Maureen Haywood and produced by the Student Services Communications Team on behalf of the Open University Centre for Educational Guidance and Student Support.

Thanks are due to the following people who read and commented on the draft material:

Denise Bates, Margaret Johnson, Liz Manning, Jenny Marris, Beth Mackay, Roberta Nathan, Patrick Kelly, Kathleen Gilmartin.

Steering group: Margaret Johnson, Vicki Goodwin, Kathleen Gilmartin, Jenny Marris, Juliet Bishop, Liz Manning, Patrick Kelly, Roberta Nathan, Clive Barrett, Beth Mackay, Denise Bates, Heather Laird, Janine Talley, Maggie Coats.

Production team: Penelope Lyons, Mandy Anton, Jenny Nockles, Roy Lawrance, Beth Mackay, Angela Driver.

Courtesy of Fallon Roxann, http://www.flickr.com/photos/fallonroxann/242856886/ [Details correct as of 15th August 2008]

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