Teaching Learning Strategies to Increase Success of First-Term College Students

In this study, the authors examined the effect of taking a learning strategies course on grade point average, retention, and graduation rate of 351 first-year students over their first 4 terms in comparison with 351 matched non–course takers. The course taught 4 learning strategies and 8 substrategies to help students overcome procrastination, build self-confidence, take responsibility, learn from lecture and text, prepare for exams, write papers, and manage their lives. First-year students who took the course in their first term had statistically significantly higher grade point averages in each of their first 4 terms. They also demonstrated statistically significantly higher retention rates and were six times more likely to be retained. In addition, they had statistically significantly higher graduation rates than did their matched controls. In particular, graduation rates were 50% higher for students initially in academic difficulty. These findings reveal the value of teaching learning strategies to first-year students by means of a structured course based on educational psychology. This research holds potential importance for other universities and colleges seeking to improve the performance and persistence of first-year students.