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Meta-cognition and Autonomous Learning Model or
Taking Responsibility for Your Own Learning
Adapted from Paul Wangerin, Learning Strategies for Law Students
52 Alb. L. Rev.471-528 (Winter 1988).

Meta-cognition

 
bullet refers to the awareness by learners of the learning process
Example: A student using Metacognition processes would recognize that how you study any particular piece of material depends on what you want to learn from the material 
 
bullet to two separate but related processes or cluster of activities:
 
Knowledge about cognition is a person's knowledge about her own cognitive resources and the compatibility between the person as a learner and the learning situation. 
 
Self-regulation of cognitive activities refers to the ability of the student not only to be aware of her abilities and learning process, but to also monitor her study activities during the learning process and make appropriate adjustments 
 
 

 

Unfortunately traditional law school study skills fail to include these kinds of meta-cognitive activities.
The Autonomous Learning Model refers to taking responsibility for your own learning. To do so  you must take into account four variables: 
bullet Studying Outcomes
bullet Study Activities
bullet Course Characteristics
bullet Student Characteristics
Studying Outcomes
If your studying is to include a metacognitive element, you must start with a understanding of the different outcomes you wish to achieve.  To achieve success in law school, you must know what outcomes you desire and you must study differently depending on the studying outcomes you seek 

In general the outcomes can be classified as either: 
bullet informational products
bullet performance capabilities
Informational products are forms of knowledge that comes from study activities. Informational products include: 
Verbatim knowledge
bullet  When you learn verbatim knowledge you learn and remember what is specifically said in class or specifically writing in reading assignments.

 

bullet While verbatim knowledge is rarely, if ever, tested directly in law school, possession of such knowledge is the foundation for all other learning and is extremely important in virtually all law school classes
 
bullet If you want to develop verbatim knowledge you must 

go over your class and reading notes again and again in order to memorize.

develop flashcards on terms and definitions.

practice short answer questions and hypotheticals to pinpoint areas of weakness.

use a learning tool such as "superlearning" to memorize the rules, standards, tests of the law.
Interpreted knowledge
bullet Interpreted Knowledge allows you to paraphrase information and state the general point or rule of materials read.
bullet You develop interpreted knowledge in law school when you learn.
bullet how to state the rule or holding in a particular case, or
 
bullet when you describe in somewhat different words the essence of a case or a statute.
Constructed knowledge Constructed knowledge involves an understanding of the relationships that exist between seemingly unrelated bits of information.

 

This is the kind of knowledge that most law school classes try to develop, it is also the kind of knowledge that most students have a difficult time developing.
 
If you want to develop constructed knowledge you must constantly look for relationships between unrelated bits of information.

Developing outlines, graphic organizers and flowcharts will help develop constructive knowledge.
Performance capabilities are the ways in which you can act on the knowledge derived from studying. Performance capabilities include: 
Recognition  Recognition involves recognizing already learned information products and is important in issue spotting examinations.
Production Production involves producing already learned informational products and is crucial in closed book exams.

Regardless of how many issues you spot, you will not do well unless you can produce informational products from memory.
Generalization Generalizing requires you to apply learned information wholly new factual situations. You will succeed in law school only if you are capable of generalizing about the informational products already learned. 
 

If you want to develop generalizing performance capabilities, you must practice exam questions and short-answer questions which will allow you to apply your learned information to new factual situation.
Study Activities
Actual study methods produce different studying outcomes. 
Study activities can be divided into two types: 
bullet Cognitive
bullet Self-management

 
Cognitive Activities include:
bullet Memory
bullet Selection
bullet Integration
bullet Cognitive monitoring
 
Memory produces verbatim knowledge.
Selection differentiate among and within sources of information according to importance and produce interpreted knowledge.
Integration  involves studying new material in light of previously studied material and produces constructed knowledge.
Cognitive monitoring  involves continually assessing the need for and adequacy of different kinds of cognitive monitoring. It is the most important because it is thinking about thinking.
 
Self-management
bullet Self-Management activities are those activities which maintain and enhance the attention, effort and time you devote to learning.
bullet While self-management activities are more mundane than cognitive activities, they make it possible for you to engage in efficient cognitive activities.

 

Self management activities include 
 
bullet Time management
bullet Effort management
bullet Volitional monitoring
 Which is assessment of the need for and adequacy of self-management activities
 
Different course
bullet  can be intellectually different.
bullet some course such as property (and torts) require students to learn a lot of specific rules.
bullet other courts such as contract (and torts) require memorization of a few rule but the application to many different factual situations.
Different professors may teach the same course in different ways 
bullet some may place great emphasis on the policies 
some may utilize socratic method while others use cooperative learning
Different kinds of exams or grading expectation  require different learning strategies 
 
Your choice of learning strategy should be based on the material to be covered and in light of factors peculiar to the professor
Student Characteristics
bullet You should tailor your study strategy to your cognitive characteristic
bullet Student characteristics which should effect choice of study activities include:
bullet academic abilities and experiences in study activities
bullet level of physical or mental energy
bullet self-confidence and perception of studying ability
bullet ability to memorize
bullet reading ability
bullet experience with short answer questions, objective questions and essay questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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