A recent doctoral thesis shows that learning is also something that needs to be learned and taught

In his thesis, entitled "Teachers' and students' knowledge of learning strategies and how to teach them in the classroom", Granström investigated the methods used in Estonian schools to make learning more effective and the extent of their use. "Teachers were found to employ a variety of learning strategies and to value deeper learning strategies more than superficial ones, but their knowledge of them is sometimes incomplete,” he summarises the findings of his study. “There is also a lack of knowledge of how to teach and link learning strategies to learning.”

At the same time, his research shows that students value strategies that support shallow rather than deep learning, which can be difficult to understand, as immediate results are harder to perceive and teachers tend not to explain the advantages of one method or another. "In order for students to move towards the use of more sophisticated learning strategies that support deep learning, teachers should consciously support the development of students' knowledge of learning strategies and encourage their independent use,” Granström finds.

The more rapidly the world around us changes, the more topical this issue becomes, because knowing how to plan learning more effectively and to learn independently is important not only in school, but also later in life. "In a society where flexibility of knowledge is of great importance, and adaptation and the independent acquisition of knowledge is a lifelong process, poor knowledge of learning can become an obstacle to adapting to change," the researcher notes.

"If a teacher can adequately explain and demonstrate to their students the advantages of different learning strategies and how to use them independently, as well as guiding the students to use them, this will have a positive impact on students' motivation to learn."

In order to ensure that teachers are able to use learning strategies when planning lessons, and to explain them to pupils, Granström recommends that teacher training and school development programmes place more emphasis on introducing them: teachers need to be taught how to use learning strategies starting with students in Grade 1.

Mikk Granstöm defended his PhD thesis "Teachers' and students' knowledge of learning strategies and their teaching in the classroom" on 17 September. The thesis was supervised by Professors Eve Kikas and Eve Eisenschmidt of Tallinn University and opposed by Associate Professor Pirko Tõugu of the University of Tartu and Professor Markku Hannula of the University of Helsinki.

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