How This Helps
When students plan their learning, they develop self-regulation and independence. This approach fosters skills like goal-setting, progress monitoring, and self-reflection, which are critical for effective learning. By thinking ahead and reflecting on their strategies, students can make improvements over time, leading to better academic outcomes and a deeper understanding of how they learn best.
Practical Implementation
Before Learning
Discuss how they plan to approach the task.
Ask questions like, “What materials do you need?” or “What strategies might work best?”
Help them set clear, realistic goals, such as “I will summarise the first chapter and identify key themes.”
During Learning
Encourage them to check their progress.
Ask, “Is your strategy working?” or “Do you need to adjust anything?”
Support them in staying on track while being flexible if changes are needed.
After Learning
Reflect on the process together.
Ask, “What worked well?” or “What would you change next time?”
Use their reflections to guide future learning strategies.
Kolb’s Learning Cycle: A Practical Framework
Kolb’s Learning Cycle provides a step-by-step guide to help students engage with their learning process more deeply. It includes four stages that can be integrated into planning, monitoring, and reflecting.
Concrete Experience:
Begin with an immersive activity, like hands-on experiments, group discussions, or solving a real-life problem.
Encourage students to actively participate and observe.
Reflective Observation:
After the activity, ask students to reflect on their experience.
Questions like, “What went well?” or “What was challenging?” help them identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Abstract Conceptualisation:
Help students connect their experience to broader ideas.
Ask, “How does this relate to what you already know?” or “What concepts can you apply from this experience?”
Active Experimentation:
Encourage students to apply what they’ve learned in a new context or try a different approach.
For example, they could test a new method for solving a similar problem or apply their understanding in a new subject area.
