AQPC

Author: Lise St-Pierre, teacher, Faculty of Education, PERFORMA, Université de Sherbrooke

Last March, Pédagogie collégiale published the first part of an article entitled ‘’Developing student autonomy … Why me?  And how?’’   This article is the 2nd part.   It was written subsequent to a lecture given during a pedagogical day at Cégep Marie-Victorin in January 2004 whose theme was Developing student autonomy, a shared responsibility.

CEGEP students may be young adults but their teachers still play a key role in helping them develop their autonomy.   It is easy to integrate activities and behaviour into one’s regular educational practices that serve this purpose.  However, the trick is making sure they contribute directly to learning the content, take into account the level of student development and are based on knowledge validated in teaching and learning circles.   Current writing on learning strategies and metacognition are sources of fruitful inspiration when it comes to implementing educational interventions that increase student autonomy.

As mentioned in part 1 of the article, five traits characterize the autonomous CEGEP student.   He or she:

   1.  pursues specific personal goals that are prioritized according to well-chosen values;
   2.  relies on a range of relevant and effective learning strategies;
   3.  makes sound judgments and decisions to reach these goals;
   4.  recognizes his/her progress and setbacks;
   5.  is accountable for the consequences of his/her choices.’’ (St-Pierre, 2004a, p.  24)

Relative to the 2nd trait, using a wide range of learning strategies, and the 4th, recognizing personal progress and setbacks, we would like to further suggest that teachers can help students improve their cognitive and metacognitive skills through the acquisition of learning strategies and the development of self-evaluation techniques.   This is one of the most widely used metacognitive strategies.

The teaching of learning strategies

For an autonomous person, we recognize the importance of using personal tools and resources in order to satisfy individual needs.   In the educational arena, the development of autonomy means the development of a range of learning strategies and the acquisition of knowledge on when to use them.   

This is an opportune moment to connect the learning of strategies to the acquisition of knowledge.   Research shows that for many students in school, learning strategies do not develop automatically.   This learning must be supported by planned pedagogical activity.   In addition, it appears that learning strategies are not generally acquired outside of school disciplines nor automatically transferred to future learning activities (Tardif, 1999).  I believe that each teacher must select and teach learning strategies that apply to his discipline.  This teaching must also be planned, organized and structured as is the case with all learning content. (St-Pierre, 2004a, p.  26)

One intervention recommended for program teams and teaching staff is the strategic planning of when and where to teach the students learning strategies that are appropriate to the task at hand.   This planning should be connected to course content and in sync with the teaching of this content.  

The five characteristics of autonomous CEGEP students mentioned above can be developed through specifically designed pedagogical interventions.  Nevertheless, the acquisition of a varied and effective repertory of learning strategies is by far the easiest one on which to work [...]