and teenagers:Implications for professionals. American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry, 52, 608-618.
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and death. San Francisco: Freeman.
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(Ed.), Behavioral science and human survival (pp. 167-174). Palo
Alto, CA: Science & Behavior Books.
Skinner, B. F. (1948). Walden two. New York: Macmillan.
Skinner, B. F. (1985). Toward the cause of peace: What can psychology contribute?Applied Social Psychology Annual, 6, 2 1-25.
Smoke, R. (1977). War: Controlling escalation. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Smoke, R. (1984). The 'peace' of deterrence and the 'peace' of the
antinuclear war movement. Political Psychology, 5, 741-748.
Snow, R., & Goodman, L. (1984). A decisionmaking approach to
nuclear education. Harvard Educational Review, 54, 321-328.
Teger, A. I. (1980). Toomuch invested to quit. New York: Pergamon.
Thompson, 1. A. (1985). Psychological aspects of nuclear war.
Chichester: The British Psychological Society.
Thurlow, S. (1982). Nuclear war in human perspective: A survivor's report. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52, 638-645.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Massachusetts Teachers Association, and National Education Association. (1983). Choices: A
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Volkan, V. D. (1985). The need to have enemies and allies: A developmental approach. Political Psychology, 6, 219-247.
Wagner, R. V. (1985). Psychology and the threat of nuclear war.
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New York: Harper & Row.
Walsh, R. (1984). Staying a1ive:The psychology of human survival.
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Waterlow, C . (1984). A classroom experiment in teaching fca
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Notes
1. This article was inspired by a paper presented by Arlirie
L. Bronzaft (the second author) for a Division 2 symposiu,m
on "Peace, Psychology, and the Curriculum," held at the
American Psychological Association Annual Convention in
Toronto, August 1984.
2. We gratefully acknowledge the comments of Philip Isaacson,
Robert Moyer, Lois Wagner, and Charles Brewer on an earlil-r
draft of this article.
3. Requests for reprints should be sent to Richard V. Wagner,
~ e p a r t m e n tof Psychology, Bates College, ~ewiston,-ME
04240.
-
Teaching a Course in Learning to Learn
Paul R. Pintrich
School of Education
University of Michigan
Wilbert J. McKeachie
Yi-Guang Lin
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
University of Michigan
Teaching students to be life-long learners is a n important goal of
higher education. Students need to be taught explicitly how to use
learning strategies to achieve this goal. W e have designed a
course to teach college students a variety of learning strategies.
T h e course provides instruction in theory and research in cognitive psychology and in the application of learning strategies for
studying. Topics covered include learning from lectures, texts,
and discussions; memory models and strategies; motivation; writ-
ing skills; test-taking strategies; problem solving; and selfmanagement. T h e course promises to be a useful approach to
teaching learning strategies.
Teaching students t o b e life-long learners is a n important
goal of a college education. Recently, however, educators at
all levels have become increasingly concerned about teaching general higher-order thinking skills, problem solving,
Vol. 14,No. 2, April 1987
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and learning strategies (Chipman & Segal, 1985).This article describes a course, Learning to Learn, designed to teach
learning strategies to college students. The course is based
on an information-processing approach to learning.
Several developments led to this project. First, theory
and research in cognitive and instructional psychology
have progressed sufficiently to encourage application of the
research to the teaching of learning strategies (e.g., Pintrich,
Cross, Kozma, & McKeachie, 1986; Segal, Chipman, &
Glaser, 1985). Second, many students enter colleges and
universities with inefficient learning strategies; they surely
can benefit from explicit instruction on learning strategies.
Finally, there are a variety of programs to teach students
general thinking skills (e.g., Segal et al., 1985), which we
could draw upon in designing a course to teach learning
strategies.
Rationale
Our goal was to create an introductory cognitive psychology course that would help students develop more efficient learning strategies. Paris, Lipson, and Wixson (1983)
suggested that students can become strategic learners only if
they possess three types of knowledge: declarative, procedural, and conditional. They defined declarative knowledge
and procedural knowledge much as other researchers have (cf.
Anderson, 1985); that is, declarative knowledge is knowledge about what strategies are available and procedural
knowledge concerns how to use these strategies. For example, students must know about elaboration as a memory
technique (declarative knowledge) as well as how to use
elaboration in studying course material (procedural knowledge). Paris et al. (1983) introduced the term conditional
knowledge to encompass the domain of knowledge consisting of when and why to use strategies. Therefore, students
also need to know why elaboration is an effective strategy
and when elaboration is appropriate for different college
tasks. As Paris et al. (1983) pointed out, the goal of strategy
~nstructionshould be to promote flexible and appropriate
use of strategies, not the application of the same strategies to
every school task. This emphasis on flexible strategy use
complements the general emphasis in most learning strategy training programs on fostering active and independent
learning.
Following this line of reasoning, strategy training programs should teach students not only declarative and procedural knowledge about learning strategies but also conditional knowledge. Most study skills classes teach students
about learning strategies (declarative knowledge) and how
to use them (procedural knowledge). Many of these courses
teach conditional knowledge implicitly, but our course ex~ l i c i t teaches
l~
students all three types. We teach the what
and how of learning strategies in fairly traditional ways, but
to foster the acquisition of conditional knowledge we teach
students about the cognitive psychological theory and research underlying the strategies. This emphasis makes our
course quite different from traditional study skills classes,
which are usually atheoretical. By teaching students about
the cognitive models for ~erformanceand the empirical research on the efficacy of strategy use, we hope to promote
an understanding of why the strategies work and when they
can be of most use. For example, a general study skills
course may teach students about a learning strategy such as
paraphrasing but never teach them why it may be a good
strategy or when it may be appropriate to use.
Although there is widespread agreement on the importance of learning strategies, a variety of definitions are
found in the literature. Weinstein and Mayer (1986)defined
learning strategies to include any cognitions or behaviors
that influence the encoding process and facilitate acquisition and retrieval of information. Dansereau (1985) distinguished between primary strategies that are used to process
information (e.g., memory and comprehension strategies)
and support strategies that are used to maintain the proper
state of mind for learning (e.g., attention and concentration
strategies). Tobias (1982) defined learning strategies as
macroprocesses, such as reviewing material, comprehension monitoring, active reading, and notetaking, which
complement the microprocesses of basic cognition, such as
attention, encoding, and retrieval of information. Our definition of learning strategies focuses on the more global, or
macro-level, processes such as comprehension monitoring,
reviewing, and test-taking strategies, although we also cover
basic memory strategies, such as rehearsal and imagery.
Description
Our introductory-level course is offered through the Psychology Department at the University of Michigan; it was
first taught in the fall of 1982 and has been taught six times.
The remainder of this article describes the students, the materials used, and the topics covered in the course.
Students
Eighty-one percent of the students have been freshmen
(58% men; 42% women). The course enrolls a larger percentage of minority students (11%) than the total percentage at the university (5%). Counselors often recommend
the course to students who are likelv to have academic diffic u l t,~, but
.
these students are not re~uiredto take it. The
course satisfies a social science distribution requirement,
but not the introductory psychology requirement for the
Psychology Department. Consequently, although the
course is targeted for students "at risk" for success in college,
the students are self-selected and span a wide range of ability and motivational levels. The average SAT score for students in the course is 1010. which is relativelv, high for other
colleges in the United States, but lower than our university's average of 1150.
-
Course Format
Students receive four credits for the course, which requires 5 hr of class time a week. There are two 1-hr lectures
on Mondays and Wednesdays, followed by a 3-hr laboratory section on Thursday or Friday. The class enrollment
averages about 80 to 100 students per term. The entire class
meets for the lecture. Graduate assistants lead the lab sections, which consist of approximately 20 students. The lectures cover the basic concepts and research of cognitive psychology. The lab sections provide reviews of this material,
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and more important, emphasize practical applications of
the strategies and concepts discussed in lectures.
mats) and the conditional strategies related to the capacity
of short-term memory for unfamiliar and familiar material1
(Hartley & Davis, 1978; Kiewra, 1985).
Course Materials
Learning from reading. One of the more important
concerns in our course is encouraging students to learn to
become more active and strategic readers (cf. Paris et al..,
1983). As in many study skills courses, we discuss a version
of the SQ3R/PQ4R method for reading (Robinson, 1961;
Thomas & Robinson, 1972),but we accompany this with a
discussion of memory, depth of processing, and elaboration
that explains why SQ3R is useful. We stress the active, constructive nature of reading and the need to be flexible in the
use of different reading strategies. For example, we point
out that generating questions about a reading assignment
may or may not be a useful strategy, depending on the context and task demands. Accordingly, we encourage students to adapt the SQ3R method to fit their own studying
style and the task.
We have used several cognition texts and supplementary
books during the six semesters. Unfortunately, we have not
found an appropriate introductory-level textbook. We have
used Bransford (1979), Moates and Schumacher (1980), or
Wood (1983)as the primary text, supplemented with a practical study skills book. As supplements we have used Annis
(1983), Cermak (1976),Deese and Deese (1979), Koberg and
Bagna11(1981),or Walter and Siebert (1984). In general, we
have found that the cognitive psychology textbooks are
written for advanced students majoring in psychology and
are difficult for our students. Many of the study skills books
are behavioristic or atheoretical. They typically offer useful
recipes for applying strategies, but do not discuss the strategies in terms of conditional knowledge. We are still searching for a set of books that will offer the appropriate level of
theory and practice for our students.
Other course materials include a series of activities that
we use in the lab sections to illustrate how the strategies can
be used to improve learning. These activities often take the
form of a group experiment that will empirically demonstrate the advantage of the strategy. For example, to demonstrate the efficacy of elaboration, one group of students
learns a set of concepts through rehearsal and another uses
elaboration. Comparisons of group performance generally
demonstrate the superiority of elaboration. Discussion of
the demonstration includes comments on experimental design issues, why and how elaboration works, and other
tasks where elaboration may not be useful.
A different format for the lab activities focuses on applying the learning strategies to other courses. Students
bring in their textbooks and assignments for chemistry,
mathematics, history, and other courses. They analyze the
task demands of their courses and discuss how to apply and
adapt different learning strategies for them. Another
discussion concerns study schedules. Students create a
study schedule in the lab and then break into small groups
to discuss individual schedules. The lab section reconvenes
as a whole and discussion centers on individual differences
in efficiency of time use, workload, and learning style. In
both cases, the emphasis is on flexible use of strategies based
on individual students' needs and the task demands of their
courses.
Topics
The topics covered in the course include cognitive and
motivational aspects of learning, as well as practical tips for
studying and learning. The sequence of topics has varied
across terms; the following order is a general listing.
Learning from lectures. This topic covers the basic
processes of attention (e.g., Posner & Snyder, 1975), including a model of how the attentional system operates and
how to direct limited attentional resources in lectures varying in interest and complexity. We discuss different goals
and methods of notetaking (e.g., outline vs. schematic for-
Learning from discussions. In this section, we present
strategies on how to become more actively involved in classroom discussions, such as preparing questions before class,
monitoring comprehension during class, and asking que:jtions. Again, we stress the importance of elaboration for
improving long-term memory.
Learning from peers. Many students study in groups
but not very effectively.We discuss the different purposes of
study groups and methods that they may use in preparing
for exams or in group research projects. We present the research on cooperative groups (e.g., Dansereau, 1985) and
require students to work cooperatively on a group assignment. We also discuss research on the learning cell, a twoperson peer learning method (Goldschmid, 1971).
Cognitive models of memo y and memory strategies. In
this section, we present a general serial model of memory
(e.g., Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)as a heuristic for students.
Although current cognitive psychological research may
stress the parallel and interactive nature of memory (e.g,.,
Glass, Holyoak, & Santa, 1979),the general serial model is
still an understandable and helpful one for human memory.
The basic concepts of short-term memory store, working
memory, and long-term memory can be applied by the students in their own studying. In addition, we discuss the processes of encodine and retrieval. Presentation of these concepts leads directlv into a discussion of how to use different
memory strategies. We emphasize elaboration as a usefill
memory strategy but also discuss others, such as imagery
and mnemonics.
.,
Problem solving and creativity. In this section, we discuss general methods for problem solving, such as difference reduction, means-ends analysis, and using analogies
(Anderson, 1985). The section on creativity parallels the
problem solving material and we consider various strategies
for generating creative solutions to problems (e.g., brainstorming).
Writing. Although every student at our university
takes a required English Composition course, in our class
we spend time on writing as a cognitive activity. We present
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a cognitive model of writing (e.g., Flower & Hayes, 1981)
that stresses the three general cognitive processes of prewriting, composition, and editing. Research (cf. Hume,
1983; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1986) demonstrates that
writing is not a linear process that moves from prewriting to
composition to editing, but this general framework helps us
organize the presentation of material and strategies for
writing.
Self-management and time management. This topic is
usually presented at the beginning of the course and is
less theoretically based than some of the others. We discuss
the many demands on most college students and the unstructured nature of college life in general. Given this context and the theories of motivation that stress self-regulated
learning (e.g., Corno & Rohrkemper, 1985), we stress the
importance of setting goals for the semester, the week, the
day, and even for as short a time period as a 3-hr study session. In addition, students develop a weekly schedule of activities. We stress the need to be realistic in developing this
schedule and the importance of being flexible in maintaining it over the course of the semester.
Motivation and anxiety. As Pintrich et al. (1986)
pointed out, cognitive reformulations of motivation theory
(e.g., Dweck &Elliott, 1983; Weiner, 1979, 1985)have revitalized motivational research and suggested productive relationships between cognition and motivation. In our
discussion of motivation and individual differences in
learning, we emphasize a general cognitive model of motivation that includes students' self-perceptions of ability,
attributional style, self-efficacy, and expectancies for success. We present the various motivational concepts and the
implications certain patterns of motivation may have for
learning and encourage students to think about the role
that their own self-perceptions play in their learning. Our
class is not an attributional retraining program in the usual
sense (e.g., Dweck, 1975; Forsterling, 1985), but we do encourage the students to see themselves as individuals who
are capable of learning the intellectual skills needed to succeed in college. We focus o n ability as an internal skill that
can be learned, rather than a stable, internal, and uncontrollable trait (e.g., Weiner, 1985).
Our coverage of test anxiety also reflects this general
cognitive approach to motivation. As previous work has
shown (e.g., Benjamin, McKeachie, Lin, & Holinger, 1981;
McKeachie, 1984), the performance deficits of anxious students may result from problems in encoding the material
(i.e., when reading), in organizing the material (i.e., when
studying or reviewing), or in retrieving the information during an exam. Accordingly, our discussion of test anxiety
focuses on improving cognitive skills for encoding and
organizing material and decreasing self-focused interfering
thoughts during retrieval in an exam situation.
Test-taking strategies. Although treated in the context of theories of retention and retrieval, this section of the
course is more practical than theoretical. We discuss the
various task demands of the different types of exams (i.e.,
multiple-choice, essay, and take-home) and suggest different strategies for preparation. We also suggest strategies for
use during exams (e.g., priming by answering easy multiplechoice questions first, and methods of eliminating foils
among the multiple choices) that seem to be useful for the
students.
Assignments
We use a variety of assignments to evaluate student
progress. Some short quizzes, based on the readings, are
scheduled throughout the term. These quizzes usually
consist of short-answer questions. There are three exams in
the course. The first is given at the end of the first month of
the term to assess students' progress and to identify those
who may be having difficulty. The other two exams are
given at the middle and end of the term. All three exams are
composed of multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions. These exams test not only basic knowledge but also
application and integration of the course material. For ex
ample, at least one question on each exam involves reading
a passage and using the skills from the class, such as selecting the main idea or paraphrasing.
Students are required to keep
. logs
- of their read~ngs
- and
their attempts to apply the strategies in studying. These logs
are read by the graduate assistants but are not graded. However, failure to produce a reasonable amount of reading and
writing for the logs can lower a student's grade or result in
an incomplete for the course. The logs are not formal papers
but serve as a way for the students to record their comments, criticisms, questions, evaluations, and insights
about learning strategies and their use of them. The basic
purpose of preparing the logs is to have students reflect on
the course material and its applications. In addition, the
logs provide students the opportunity to write about their
own thoughts, rather than summarizing others'.
The last assignment is a group research project on some
aspect of learning strategies. The research project is designed to: (a) provide students with some research experience, (b) demonstrate to them firsthand the efficacy of
learning strategies, and (c) give them experience in working
in a small group. The graduate assistants help the students
form three- or four-person teams, which work together
throughout the term in designing and carrying out the research project. For example, one research project: examined
the differential effectiveness of outline versus schematic
forms of notetaking. Another project compared different
elaboration strategies, such as paraphrasing and creating
analogies. Another group did a descriptive study of the effects of prior knowledge in chemistry on students' ability to
learn chemical terms. Other students in the class serve as
subjects for these researc.h projects. Students have found
that both experimenter and subject roles are usetul experi-ences in learning about the efficacy of different study
strategies.
Future Directions
Several other papers (McKeachie, Pintrich, & Lin.
1985a, 1985b) describe our research on the effectiveness of
the course in producing significant changes in students' self-
Teaching of Psychology
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reports of learning strategies a n d small changes i n students'
grade point average. I n addition, we have f o u n d significant
attribute-treatment interactions with test anxiety a n d o u r
course. O u r research program is continuing i n several directions. First, we are searching for other aptitude-treatment
interactions. W e are also examining t h e interactions between t h e motivational variables a n d learning strategies i n
more detail (e.g., Pintrich, 1985). Finally, as part of o u r research agenda i n a new federally funded research center o n
postsecondary teaching a n d learning, we are exploring how
learning strategies a n d study skills are taught at other
colleges, including community colleges, small liberal arts
schools, a n d four-year comprehensive universities.
I n addition t o o u r research, we are pursuing a variety of
course development activities. W e are constantly seeking t o
improve o u r course, based o n o u r research findings as well
as formal a n d informal feedback from students a n d graduate assistants. T h e course is evolving as we develop a n d refine class materials a n d activities. W e are also attempting t o
disseminate o u r work t o o t h e r schools. For example, a colleague at o n e local community college has begun t o teach a
version of o u r course t h a t appears t o b e successful. W e plan
t o disseminate o u r findings t o other interested colleges a n d
universities as part of o u r efforts for t h e new national center
to improve postsecondary teaching a n d learning. Finally,
we have begun preliminary discussions with several local
public school systems about t h e development of a secondary school version of o u r course. W e are excited about t h e
potential of t h e course a n d o u r general approach for teaching students h o w to learn t o learn.
References
Annis, L. F. (1983). Study techniques. Dubuque, IA: Brown.
Atkinson, R. C., & Shifh-in, R. (1968). Human memory: A pro~ o s e dsystem and its control processes. In K. Spence & J.
Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp.
89- 195). New York: Academic.
Anderson, J. R. (1985). Cognitive psychology and its implications.
New York: Freeman.
Benjamin, M., McKeachie, W., Lin, Y.-G., &Holinger, D. (1981).
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Bransford, J. (1979). Human cognition: Learning, understanding and
remembering. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Cermak, L. (1976). lmproving your memory. New York: McGrawHill.
Chipman, S., & Segal, J. (1985). Higher cognitive goals for education: A n introduction. In J. Segal, S. Chipman, & R. Glaser
(Eds.), Thinking and learning skills: Vol. 1. Relating instruction to
research (pp. 1-20). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Corno, L., & Rohrkemper, M. (1985). The intrinsic motivation
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Dansereau, D. (1985). Learning strategy reseearch. In J. Segal, S.
Chipman, & R. Glaser (Eds.), Thinking and learning skills: Vol.
1. Relating instruction to research (pp. 209-240). Hillsdale, NJ:
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Deese, J., & Deese, E. (1979). How to study. New York: McGrawHill.
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Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of
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Wood, G. (1983).Cognitivepsychology:A skills approach. monte re^,
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Notes
1. The course development activities reported in this paper were
supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation
(#NSF G-SER-8160978).The opinions expressed in this article
are not the official policy of NSF and no endorsement should
be inferred.
2. Portions of this article were presented at the American Psycho-
logical Association convention in 1983by Paul R. Pintrich (first
author) and in 1984 by Wilbert J. McKeachie (second author).
McKeachie also presented a portion of this article at the International Congress of Psychology in 1984 and Pintrich presented some of the ideas at the Sixth conference on Learning
in Higher Education in 1985.
3. Thanks to Charles L. Brewer and three anonymous reviewers
for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
4. Requests for reprints should be sent to Paul R. Pintrich, 1026
School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
48109.
Psychology and Literature: A Survey of Courses
Lyle Grant
Afhabasca University
A survey of interdisciplinary courses in psychology and literature
was taken. College and university catalogs from the United
States and Canada were scanned to locate both psychology
courses that used literary materials and literature courses in
which psychological concepts and theories were taught. Instructors of 135 selected courses were mailed a letter requesting additional information about their courses and syllabi. T h e survey indicated that most of the courses were taught in literature departments. Psychoanalysis was found to be the dominant theoretical
orientation, though a few other perspectives were represented.
T h e syllabi were used to compile a reading list of psychological
fiction for teaching and for general interest.
Psychology and the literary arts often have similar aims
and purposes. For example, at various times both psychologists and authors seek to offer hypotheses concerning the
causes of behavior, to gain insights into the determinants of
actions, and to improve our understanding of the nature of
psychological problems. What authors and psychologists
seem to share most fundamentally is an interest in describing human behavior and mental life in relation to environments, contexts, and circumstances. In psychology, this description often includes only those limited aspects of performance that are used as dependent variables; the description is in service of the identification of causal relationships.
In literature, though, "description of the behavior of a certain person [in good literature] . . . will evoke in the mind of
the reader a full, rich, rounded, and very lifelike picture of a
person-in-action as seen against the background of his life
and times" (Wood, 1955, p. 32).
Psychological and literary knowledge bases can often
complement each other; the personally detailed description
in literature can serve to humanize the stark quantitative
findings of psychological research. Swartz (1979) provided a
detailed example of the complementary nature of psycho-
logical and literary knowledge by comparing and contrasting psychological research o n the effects of food deprivation with a novel in which the protagonist is starving.
Swartz concluded: "To the extent that psychological methods obscure significant facts of individuality, or empty behavior by isolating events from their full life context, literature can supply the necessary corrective" (p. 1027).
Many teachers of behavioral science recognize the value
of literary materials in supplementing and personalizing
psychological knowledge, and some have developed courses
that use literary sources. Available reports of such courses
maintain that they have met with considerable success and
student acceptance (Gorman, 1984; Hollander, 1956;
Levine, 1983; Schwartz, 1980; Williams & Kolupke, 1986;
Wood, 1955). Anthologies of literary materials have also
been published explicitly for use in psychology courses (e.g.,
Fernandez, 1972; Rabkin, 1966; Stone & Stone, 1966).
Likewise. manv teachers of literature have come to regard psychological theory and research as useful in the analysis and criticism of literary texts. Since the time of Freud,
psychological interpretations of literature have become
firmly established. (See Natoli, 1984, for a sampling of how
different psychological theories have been applied to liter.
ary interpretation.)
The main purpose of my survey was to identify the content of courses in psychology and literature. Within psychology, previous reports have described the content of individual courses that have used literarv materials. This
study sought to survey such psychology courses as well as
literature courses that make use of psychological concepts.
The knowledge gained was intended to serve as the basis for
developing a n interdisciplinary course in psychology and
literature. A supplementary purpose was to compile a reading list of psychological fiction for use bv those with joint interests in psychology and literature.
Teaching of Psychology
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