The Effects of Selected Instructional Variables on the Acquisition of Cognitive Learning Strategies.

Abstract : Three studies were conducted to assess the effects of type of training, amount of practice, and guided discussion in cognitive learning strategies training programs. Undergraduate students were trained to use imagery, elaboration, and grouping strategies. Training that emphasized the process of creating learning strategies as well as the product (the strategy itself) demonstrated equivalent or superior results when compared to a program that emphasized only the process, and both were found to be superior to a program that emphasized only the product. Training that included practice using the strategies was found to be more effective than training without such practice. However, when practice included guided discussion of the strategies generated, performance on posttest tasks was adversely affected, possibly due to trainees modeling the products presented in the discussion rather than the processes.