Facing the challenge of students who lack learning strategies: a metacognitive course for academic teachers

With the aim of activating innovative practices that improve students´ motivation and facilitate learning, the Universidad Nacional de La Matanza (UNLaM) in Argentina and the University of Camerino (UNICAM) in Italy are launching an open blended-learning initiative through a didactic seminar for teachers and tutors. This course focuses on the current educational challenges of the academic world, which claims “students lack learning strategies”, and proposes teachers and tutors to work collaboratively in the development of metacognitive learning strategies to guide students in self-learning, self-assessment and self-regulation. The use of strategies based on metacognition, orientation and learning styles supported by personalized educational technology tools can prevent dropouts and improve academic performance. These methodologies are frequently used in social or human sciences colleges but are uncommon at high schools and basic- or applied science programs. These strategies guide students to reflect on themselves and their learning process and help them to improve their performance in different subjects. The course, organized through the Engineering and Technological Research Department at UNLaM, is divided into 5 modules that deal with the role of new technologies to support the teaching –learning process and the enhancement of learning styles. 80 UNLaM teachers attended the opening seminar and 49 of them joined the e-learning course. The Moodle platform as well as the proposed Flipsnack and Animoto tools was welcomed by most participants who were able to share knowledge and experiences through the forum. One of the activities enabled participants to evaluate their own learning style, which evidenced that those with active learning styles made early and original participations in contrast with those with reflective and theoretical styles. In the future, results will be complemented with emotional, relational and motivational learning aspects. Keywords: Academic teachers, Metacognition, Learning Styles, Blended Learning, Flipped Classroom