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Learning-to-learn strategies as a basis for effectivelifelong learning

IAN R. CORNFORDUniversity of Technology, Sydney

Learning-to-learn skills are essential for effective lifelong learning to develop over the entire

lifespan. These skills, which consist of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, largelyhave been neglected in analyses of issues surrounding lifelong learning and in policydevelopment. This article draws particularly upon the work of Weinstein, Meyer, Schraw andother cognitive psychologists to outline some of the knowledge and skills required and some ofthe educational implications for their development from a human developmental psychologyperspective. Much of the initial work in establishing these skills needs to lie with schools forreasons of access and equity. However, since mastery of cognitive and metacognitive skills isnot likely to be fully achieved by the end of secondary schooling, with metacognitive skills inparticular only likely to reach fuller development through work experience, there areimportant implications for educators at further and higher education levels.

Introduction

Lifelong learning has emerged as of considerable interest as an international

movement. If anything it has become the catch-cry of the new millenium.

Politicians and educators alike have seized upon this concept. As Bagnall (2000:

20) has stated: It is now featured in practically every imaginable agenda for

social change, educational policy preamble and mission statement. Lifelong

learning was first really seriously considered during the late sixtiesearly seventies(e.g. see Faure 1972, Husen 1974). It was seen then, as now, as a means of

overcoming the problems being faced in an age of uncertainty where the two

seeming constants are continuing change and growth in bodies of knowledge.

There are substantial reasons for the resurgence of interest in lifelong learning.

Over the past two decades industrially advanced societies have been subjected to

three pervasive revolutions, technological, economic and social in nature. The

advent of computerization and a range of information technologies have resulted

in enormous technological change. So great are the changes that it has been

claimed, with reasonable justification, that the natures of work, skill andknowledge have changed as a result of these information technologies to be more

cognitively demanding (Zuboff 1988). In turn, the technological revolution has

been accompanied by an economic revolution as the new technologies have

Ian R. Cornford is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and an Associate of the Research Centre forVocational Education and Training at UTS. His research interests centre upon effective learning and teaching inworkplace and formal education settings. He has published widely on skill learning, the development of expertiseand the transfer of learning.

INT. J. OF LIFELONG EDUCATION, VOL. 21, NO. 4 (JULYAUGUST 2002), 357368

International Journal of Lifelong EducationISSN 0260-1370 print/ISSN 1464-519X online # 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltdhttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

DOI: 10.1080/02601370210141020
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals


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superseded existing equipment, manufacturing processes and methods of industrial

organization. The globalization of world trade has further increased economic

competition with the adoption of advanced production processes by many of what

were once patronizingly referred to as third world countries. As a result of the

technological and economic changes, there have been concomitant major social

changes as well, as some occupations have been rendered obsolete and a whole

raft of new enterprises and sources of wealth, power and status have emerged

(Drucker 1994).

Knowledge has been closely linked to effective economic production and the

maintenance of a societys prosperity (Cullen 1997), with there being substantial

evidence that those with higher levels of skill and knowledge are less likely to be

unemployed and more likely to gain a higher income. It is being increasingly

accepted that we have entered an information era or a knowledge society (e.g. see

Drucker 1994). Only by continued learning through the lifespan will it bepossible to maintain knowledge and skill currency (Candy et al. 1994).

This is made mo re difficult because of continuing changes in technology and the

volumes of ne w information generate d through the Intern et and other info rmation

technologies. What is now required in the knowledge society, more than in previous

eras, is the ability to learn more quickly to cope with the increased volume of

information and to process information more effectively.

Governments have a clear and vested interest in developing lifelong learning

policies to ensure that there is maintenance of an economic, competitive edge in

a global economy. However, there are substantial social benefits to be gained byindividuals in the maintaining knowledge through the lifespan (Cornford 1999a,

2000). Apart from the ability to maintain continuous employment there is a need

to keep abreast of the considerable changes to taxation laws, superannuation

regulations, and welfare entitlements. The need to maintain current knowledge

about these things illustrates only too well the importance of individuals of all

ages maintaining knowledge currency for personal benefit throughout their lives.

Learning-to-learn skills as foundational elements

Lifelong learning is first and foremost about learning, with this learning occurring

over the lifespan. In effect learning is the noun and lifelong is the adjective

describing the type of learning taking place. Thus the position taken in this

article is that effective learning through the lifespan is dependent upon effective

information processing and the possession and quality of basic learning-to-learn

skills and knowledge centred upon cognitive and metacognitive skills (Cornford

1999a, 2000). Without the establishment of such skills learning may not occur, or

more realist ically wil l occur with more effort and less effectively than if individuals have a good repertoire of the most effective skills and make use of them.

These essential, skill-based aspects of lifelong learning have been largely

neglected in the enthusiastic discussion of lifelong learning or given less than due

consideration of their foundational importance for policy development. For

example, analysis of the contents of the International Journal of Lifelong Education ,

which has provided an extensive coverage of issues connected with lifelong

learning over the past decade, has revealed no article analysing the importance of

learning-to-learn skills as a foundation for effective lifelong learning. Even in

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Knapper and Cropleys (2000) excellent book on lifelong learning in higher

education, now in its third edition, only a few pages are devoted to learning-to-

learn skills. This despite their recognition of the need to give more attention to

learni ng p ro cesses a nd the challen ges that lie in mo re ap propriately

implementing the ideal of lifelong learning.

Cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies are not to be confused with the

older study skills approach, or more general techniques and approaches likely to

facilitate lifelong learning. Research has demonstrated that the older study skills

approach is not always particularly effective (Biggs 1988, Hattie e t a l . 1996)

although it is better than no specific approach at all to improve learning (Hattie

et al . 1996). The more general methods of teaching and presentation which can

facilitate lifelong learning generally (e.g. see Knapper and Cropley 2000, Chapter

5) are also different to the teaching and use of cognitive and metacognitive

strategies. At certain points there will be overlap between the more generalapproaches advocated by Knapper and Cropley and study skills, but in essence

cognitive and metacognitive skills focus upon the actual, basic learning processes

used and controlled by the individual learner. This explains in part why cognitive

and metacognitive learning strategies are often referred to more generally as

learning-to-learn skills.

Distinction between cognitive and metacognitive learning

strategies

Cognitive and metacognitive strategies and skills are closely related in terms of them

both involving cognition and skill but they are conceptually quite distinct in at least

one other major way. Weinstein and Meyer (1991: 17) state that A cognitive le arning

strategy is a plan for orchestrating cognitive resources, such as attention and long-term memory to

help reach a learning goal. They indicate that there are several characteristics of

cognitive learning strategies including that they are goal-directed, intentionally

invoked, effortful and are not universally applicable, but situation specific.

Metacognitive strategies appear to share most of these characteristics with theexception of the last one since they involve more universal application through

focus upon planning for implementation, monitoring and evaluation (Schraw

1998). That is to say, metacognitive strategies are not so situation specific but

involve generic skills essential for adult, more sophisticated forms of thinking and

problem solving.

Both cognitive learning strategies and metacognitive strategies involve skill, will

and self-regulation (Weinstein and Meyer 1994). There is skill learning involved,

which implies relatively complex learning developed over long periods of time

(Cornford 1996). Although Weinstein and Meyer (1991, 1994) do not draw uponit explicitly, Fitts (1968) skill learning theory helps explain what occurs during

the skill learning process, and also offers additional insights into the self-

regulation aspects. Fitts theory indicates that there are cognitive, practice-

fixation and autonomous phases. In the cognitive phase a conception of the

overall skill is gained, there is recognition of different steps or parts to the skill,

the order in which these occur and the time relationships of the dif ferent

elements. At this phase, elementary standards of performance are also gained,

albeit in fairly crude terms such as good and bad, right and wrong (Cornford 1999b).

LEARNING-TO-LEARN STRATEGIES 359


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During the practicefixation period the skill becomes firmly established in long-

term memory through practice and feedback. Also at this phase there is increasing

efficient performance in terms of speed and accuracy and further refinement of

understanding of skill elements and standards of excellence (Cornford 1996). The

autonomous phase is characterized by individuals monitoring their own

performance against an established model stored in long term memory with the

skill appearing to be performed automatically. At this phase the conscious short

term or working memory is freed-up so that other issues can be concentrated

upon, possible problems anticipated and plans for problem solving developed if

necessary (Cornford 1999b).

Particularly important at the autonomous phase are elements of self-regulation as

individuals monitor and correct their own performance. This contrasts with the

practice-fixation phase where there is much greater reliance upon others to assist

in doing these things. Substantial elements of will are involved in terms of motivation to perform skills, maintain standards of performance (Cornford 1996),

and engage in the relatively demanding metacognitive processes of planning,

monitoring and evaluating these. Self-regulation and self-direction via motivation

are especially important with all cognitive skills and mental processes since these

are largely invisible to others in day-to-day functioning unless the individual

chooses to made them explicit. This means that the opportunities for feedback

and correction of skills from significant others is less likely with these than with

ordinary physical skills where the end product and the processes involved in

production of the performance are more easily perceived.

Types of knowledge and skills involved

Weinstein and Meyer (1991) indicate that there are a number of different types of

knowledge and skills that must be developed for more effective cognitive and

metacognitive strategy employment by individual learners. These include

students knowledge about themselves as learners; students knowledge about

course context and learning tasks; and students knowledge about what learningstrategies to select and use. These are complex sets of knowledge and appear to

be related to cognitive development over certain periods of the li fe-span,

particularly adolescence, and the ability to use more complex and abstract

concepts (Schraw 1998). Effective use is also dependent upon considerable self-

discipline (Zimmerman 1989). For example, self-knowledge is dependent upon

the individual possessing the ability to be objective and experiment with self-

regulation. Hence the degrees of self-knowledge that can be expected of younger

children, who tend to be egocentric, will be restricted. Adults lacking abilities in

self-discrimination and objective self-judgment will also not develop these skills toan optimal level.

In effect there are limits to the extent and types of self-knowledge that can be

acquired through direct instruction. Knowledge about sources of motivation and

to some extent awareness of personal characteristics may be learned through

these being directly identified. However, many aspects of self-knowledge would in

fact be impossible to teach directly as they can only originate through self-

experiences and a willingness to be relatively brutal in self-judgment. For

example, knowledge of preferred approaches to learning and best times for study

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when the individual is most receptive and alert can only come from self-learning

involving personal judgements. Be that as it may be, good teachers can do as they

have always done, organize learning situations so that individuals are forced to

consider their own personal strengths and weaknesses, reflect on these, and learn

from these experiences.

Reflection is certainly necessary in these processes as part of the learning-about-

self process, but in itself is not sufficient because particularly early in the learning

processes self-judgments are often not very accurate and more objective external

sources of feedback are required. Situated cognition theory, for example,

emphasizes the importance of learning from others in groups (Brown et al. 1989).

Furthermore, mentoring and similar socially-based strategies are increasingly

being recognized as important in facilitating truly effective learning and changes

in behaviour through objective feedback and increased self-knowledge.

Students knowledge about course context and learning tasks and studentsknowledge about what learning strategies to select and use appear to lend

themselves more to direct teaching, although this does not always appear to be

done in traditional teaching practice (see below). As with student knowledge

about themselves as learners, these elements sti ll involve substantial skill

development over periods of time. These are the kinds of skills that should be

taught explicitly in the process of formal schooling for preference (see below) or

post-compulsory instruction. Weinstein and Meyer (1994: 3337) argue that

Delivering content without instruction in how to learn the material is like giving

somebody a state-of-the art personal computing system without any instructionso n how to asse mb le and us e i t. Effect iv e i nst ru cti on i ncl ude s ass um ing

responsibility for helping students learn how to learn the course material. . ..

Earlier research (e.g., Chi e t a l . 1989) revealed that students varied in their

knowledge of skills and their ability to use cognitive and metacognitive skills

successfully. More recent research has indicated that even university students in

computing, an area currently attracting some of the best and most capable

students, do not necessarily know the best ways to think, process information and

engage in problem solving involving learning processes (Bielaczyc e t a l . 1995).

Further, i t has been demonstrated that the deliberate teaching of certaincognitive and metacognitive strategies can result in superior learning when

students actually do consciously apply these (Bielaczyc et al. 1995, Weinstein and

Meyer 1994). The revolution in cognitive psychology over the past 20 years has

demonstrated that it is an unwarranted assumption that learners automatically

know how best to learn. The most sensible approach is not to assume the

automatic development of learning skills but to teach them quite explicitly.

Some examples of basic cognitive learning strategies

There are numbers of different cognitive learning strategies, relating to mnemonics

and self-instruction to assist in more effective processing and use of information,

that can be taught quite easily to learners of just about any age beyond the very

early years. The more sophisticated strategies generally require mastery of the

more basic ones for effective processing and storage of information in memory

and degrees of facility in the use of language through self-talk. The most

fundamental strategies, and most easily taught, relating to knowledge acquisition,



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storage and recall will be outlined briefly here. Although these dont necessarily

involve very sophisticated operations upon content stored in memory, they are

essential foundations, since no information can be utilized in permanent, long-

term memory unless it has been effectively stored there in the first place. The

three strategies essential for initial learning are repetition, elaboration and

organization strategies (Weinstein and Mayer 1986, 1991).

Storage of information into permanent long-term memory in most common

forms of learning requires repetition. This is the most basic and fundamental of

learning processes and can be observed frequently in young children as they

repeat names of letters in the alphabet, numbers or even actions to remember

them. More complex approaches in this repetition category can involve using

highlighting pens to highlight class notes, or sections of journal articles, and

copying down key ideas when preparing to write an assignment or formal piece of

writing. Elaboration strategies serve the important purpose of building bridgesbetween what we already know and have stored away in long term memory and

new information that we decide is important to remember. Successful learning

appears always to involve new information being related to previously stored

information. New information needs to be built upon, and related to previous

learning. By relating new ideas to existing ones in memory we seem to actively

seek to understand more comprehensively and to anchor the new ideas. Examples

of elaboration strategies commonly used would include thinking of other,

everyday examples of a rule or principle, paraphrasing and summarizing

something read into your own words. More sophisticated elaboration approacheswould involve the creation of analogies, similes or even metaphors.

Organization strategies require the transformation of information into a different

form and the development of some schematic system that establishes the

relationships between parts or elements. This would appear to lead to deeper

levels of understanding, particularly with relationships where the establishment of

ideas of sameness or difference can often be important, particularly in how we

store information away into long term memory. The process of drawing mind

maps to ensure all elements are being recognized and related in appropriate,

logical ways is a good example of how elaboration can facilitate learning. Whatthis process of mind mapping also frequently does is to overcome the built-in

limitations of short term or working memory, which is our conscious memory,

with this particular form of memory generally only able to hold approximately

seven units of information for about 20 seconds.

Teachers and current teaching of cognitive and metacognitive

skills

The importance of cognitive and metacognitive skills in effective learning and

peformance has been recognized for some time (see Weinstein and Mayer 1986,

Sternberg 1998). Indeed the metacognitive skills of planning, monitoring and

evaluation constitute the essence of skilled professional performance in the adult

world of work. But there is still little evidence that cognitive and metacognitive

skills per se are being taught widely or effectively at all levels of schooling or

beyond. One of the problems generally facing educators is that these types of

skills are relatively invisible, that is to say they are internal and private and only

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visi ble when someone who is using them deli berately expl ains the processes enga ged

in. Schraw (1998) and others argue that few teachers make their thinking opaque

and real and demonstrate these skills to students in their classes.

Althou gh many te ache rs would cl ai m that they do teac h cogn it ive and

metacognitive skills, and do so effectively, recent research has tended to confirm

the findings of earlier research that in reality little explicit teaching and fostering

of these specific skills occur. Hamman e t a l . (2000) recently examined teachers

coaching of learning and the relationship to students strategic learning in middle

school, American grades 6, 7, and 8, using a sample of 11 teachers and 235

students. Middle school is a particularly important period when adolescent

thinking is changing substantially to permit more sophisticated abstract reasoning

and a nalysis of thinking processes. Hamman e t a l . found that most of the time

(60%) was spent by teachers in communicating task-related information (i.e.

directing) while the least amount of time, only 9%, was directed to coaching.Additional analyses by these rese ar chers re veal ed that there were no inte ractio ns

or changes with for grade level or subject taught. These finding closely parallel

the earlier finding for elementary school teaching by Moely e t al . (1992) also in

the American context.

While these findings from a mere handful of American research studies should be

treated with some caution, they probably reflect the generally low levels of teaching

of cognitive and metacognitive strategies more generally. For example, research in

Austra lia in the post-co mpulsory and vo cational sectors to determ in e the le vels of

awareness appears to indicate that there are very few teachers in furthereducation who employ teaching strategies which are congruent with the

development of lifelong learning skills (Kearns et al. 1999). There is good reason

to believe that those who have entered further, non-university-based education,

are more in need of explicit teaching of effective cognitive and metacognitive

strategies than those who generally have benefited most from school education

and hence gone on to university (Cornford 1999a, 2000). The further education

sector is also the one in which probably the most technical change is experienced

and the one in which there is the most need for continual updating of skills and

knowledge because of this type of change. Candy et al.s report (1994) on the needto develop lifelong learning skills in university undergraduates in Australia also

did not f ind that there was much evidence of teaching to facilitate lifelong

learning in the university sector, a point reinforced by a more recent article by

Candy (2000).

Despite the rather dismal picture painted of current use of methods to facilitate

lifelong learning through specific teaching of cognitive and metacognitive

strategies, there is reason to be more optimistic. Greater knowledge derived from

research on the efficacy of learning-to-learn strategies (e.g. Biggs 1988, Hattie et

al. 1996), more materials on the use of dif ferent strategies (Schraw 1998,Weinstein and Meyer 1991, 1994) and the re-conceptualization of approaches to

teaching cognitive and metacognitive skills (see Sternberg 1998, 1999, Cornford

1999a, 2000) are contributing to a set of related approaches which have the

potential to ensure that these skills can be taught more effectively. In practical

terms, the basis for effective teaching of cognitive and metacognitive skills has

been established by the work of Weinstein and Meyer (1991, 1994) and Schraw

(1998). Apart from the need for major curriculum revision to support their

teaching (see below), the chief obstacle may remain the lack of understanding of



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the importance of learning-to-learn skills by teachers at various educational levels.

In very few instances have teachers or lecturers themselves been formally instructed

in cognitive and metacognitive strategy use in initial teacher education courses. As a

result of lack of formal instruction, not only do teachers not understand their

importance, but it is probable that the teaching of cognitive and metacognitive

skills may pose a threat to many classroom teachers who feel uncertain of their

abilities to teach them.

Levels of achievement and access and equity issues

The terminology lifelong learning suggests that learning occurs over the entire

human lifespan and from a human developmental psychology perspective this is

undoubtedly true. From this developmental perspective it is also probable thatthere are some key periods of learning when certain skills like reading and writing

need to be mastered earlier in the lifecycle so that they can be put to good effect

later on, as for example in learning skills for work and occupations. It is highly

desirable, but probably unrealistic, to expect that all students leave the secondary

school system in possession of high levels of cognitive and metacognitive skills

(Cornford and Peak 1997). Possession of these skills operating to levels of

autonomasticity in Fitts (1968) terms would appear to provide certain advantages

for those learning the skills and knowledge for performance in chosen occupations.

Occupational training after compulsory initial schooling is very individual andoccurs in many different settings both formal and informal which reflect different

standards. Further, there is considerable evidence that the learning experiences of

apprentices within the same trade area can be very diverse and indeed workplace

learning can be unsatisfactory, for example in an area like commercial cookery in

the hospitalities industry (Cornford and Gunn 1998). For reasons of access and

equity there are good reasons to consider that cognitive and metacognitive skills

teaching and learning should be concentrated upon in the compulsory schooling

period (Cornford 1999a, 2000). This is because such education is compulsory and

through prescribed curricula it would be possible to ensure that all students wereexposed to the teaching of these skills. There is still the issue that, because of the

nature of individual differences and abilities, individual students would still leave

school with different levels of proficiency or mastery of the skills they may have

been exposed to through teaching. Whatever level of cognitive and metacognitive

skill learning is achieved during the compulsory schooling years, this will need to

be built upon further in later, more occupationally focused learning. In fact

Sternberg (1998) has argued that fuller development of metacognitive skills,

which involve planning, monitoring and evaluation, is only likely under the

stimulus of work experience. The alternative approach, of focus on developmentof cognitive and metacognitive skill development during post-compulsory

education experiences, is to build in inequality. Inequality will result because of

the differences of the learning-teaching experiences and lack of access of all to

the same occupational training.

While compulsory schooling of necessity may be the best period of education in

which to acquire learning-to-learn skills, there still will remain a major role for those

involved in post-compulsory education, whether it be further or higher education.

From a human developmental psychology perspective, which acknowledges the

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nature of individual differences and different rates of learning, it is to be expected

that, as with more general learning, students will leave high school with

individually different repertoires of cognitive and metacognitive skills. Teachers

at further and higher education levels need to sustain and further develop

cognitive and metacognitive skills previously acquired, compensate for earlier

i nade qu ate acq ui si ti on o f el em en ts of the se sk il ls, and te ach sp ec iali st ,

occupationally-oriented content knowledge in the most effective ways. The way in

which specialist occupational knowledge is taught can have a significant impact

on not just the effectiveness of learning but the likelihood of application or

transfer to real world settings.

Curriculum approaches

Weinstein and Meyer (1994) indicate that there are two distinct approaches to

teaching cognitive and metacognitive skillsthe adjunct and the metacurricular

approaches. The adjunct approach involves the teaching or such skills as an add-

on or separate subject. There is good reason to believe that this is not the most

effective approach as transfer of learning is less likely to be achieved via this

curricular approach. Much of the situated cognition research indicates the need

for the contextualization of knowledge for effective learning to occur (Brown et al.

1989). The metacurricular approach, which involves the teaching of appropriate

cognitive and metacognitive strategies along with normal subject content, is likelyto both facilitate the learning of the content and the application of these skills so

gained more broadly. This broader transfer is likely to occur when skills have

been effectively learned and applied in one specific context, and can be seen by

the individual learner to result in more effective learning in terms of the amount

learned, recalled, and applied (see Carrell 1998).

Cornford (1999a) has suggested that especially with more experienced learners

there may be a third approach that draws upon both adjunct and metacurricular

approaches at quite specific points in the learning process. This would involve

generally metacurricular teaching but also the use of adjunct teaching to makeexplicit and overt the cognitive and metacognitive strategies which had been

taught but embedded in subject content. This could occur at certain selected

points in the formal schooling/learning process, and has the advantage of

embo dying good teachi ng practice through revisi on to further assist

comprehension. What this explicit, additional adjunct teaching might do is serve

the purpose of ensuring that learners are very consciously aware of cognitive and

metacognitive strategies and their effective usage. This would thus encourage

high road transfer, which Salomon and Perkins (1989) considered so important in

ensuring effective further application and transfer of learning.

The role of teachers at compulsory and post-compulsory

levels

There remain significant challenges for teachers at both compulsory and post-

compulsory education levels in the teaching of cognitive and metacognitive

learning strategies. There is need for teachers to understand and possess the



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knowledge and skills themselves and be able to teach these to others along with

specialist content knowledge. Available evidence suggest that at least in the

Austra lian context that there is li ttle teachin g of this ki nd done at univ ersi ty or

further education levels (Candy et al. 1994, Kearns et al. 1999). Since these skills

have rarely been taught explicitly in the past there is a need to ensure that

beginning teachers are thoroughly prepared to teach cognitive and metacognitive

strat egies and th ere w ill a lso be a n ee d for con si de rabl e i n- se rvi ce and

professional development of teachers at further and higher education levels. As

Knapper and Cropley (2000: 192) indicate, there is already a considerable

problem in ensuring that lecturers at university acquire and value appropriate

teaching skills since the focus remains upon research. In countries like Australia,

where workplace learning has become a part of the occupational training agenda,

there will also be a need to ensure that trainers and teachers in industry can assist

the people whom they teach to learn and remember what they have been taughtmore effectively.

The major challenge will lie in changing curricula and teachers attitudes to

incorporate the teaching of learning-to-learn strategies along with content

knowledge and shift from the almost exclusive focus upon content knowledge.

Such a change of attitude and practice will have major implications for the

amount of content that can be taught in the earlier years of any course prior to

the effective mastery of the cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Reduction in

the amount of subject matter content wil l be necessary to ensure that the

learning-to-learn skills are well practised and through practise, mastered. There isgood reason to believe that too much information provided can result in only

superficial learning (Ramsden and Entwistle 1981). However, once more effective

learning strategies have been mastered, then it would be anticipated that more

content can be covered and learned effectively with this compensating for the

lesser amount of content taught in the earlier stages.

More generally, there will be a need for all teachers to become more aware of the

overall development of cognitive and metacognitive skills and how what they are

teaching fits into an overall continuum of these skills over a longer perspective. In

effect this will probably mean that individual teachers and trainers must becomemore aware of individual differences in their learners knowledge and skill

repertoires. It will also mean that they need to become much more conversant

with the identification of knowledge and skill abilities and being able to diagnose

deficiencies in basic skills. Over the last several years a wider range of specialist

tests has been developed in relation to learning to-learn strategies. Many of these

tests have the potential to assist teachers in making diagnoses about the learning

of individuals and also to provide feedback to individuals on their readiness for

different types of learning activities. De La Harpe and Radloff (2000) have

recently considered issues surrounding the measurement of lifelong learning andconsidered how assessment can contribute to learning, teaching and assessment

practices for lifelong learning.

Conclusion

Recognition of the importance of cognitive and metacognitive strategies holds the

seeds for an educational revolution which would involve the explicit teaching of

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specific learning skills along with subject content. While it is easy to summarize

concisely what is involved in this way, the actual impact upon actual practices

would be far reaching if not revolutionary. First, there is the need to ensure

teachers and trainers at all levels of education possess the knowledge and skills to

teach these strategies. Second, there is the need to change curricula to reflect the

teaching both of content and these skills and their underpinning knowledge

rather than the still prevailing approach focused almost exclusively upon content

kn ow led ge . B oth of t he se ch al len ges are sub stant ial and sh ou ld no t be

underestimated given that it is not generally accepted in higher education that

student learning is as important as research by lecturers (Knapper and Cropley

2000). However, if we are serious about achieving the ideal of lifelong learning,

we must address the challenges involving process issues of learning as identified

by Knapper and Cropley (2000). After all, possession of effective learning-to-

learn skills is an important prerequisite for effective lifelong learning to occur.

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