Imagine you have a 4-year-old about to participate in the marshmallow test, a measure of their ability to delay gratification. In front of them is a treat, and they have the option to take the immediate, smaller reward (e.g., one marshmallow) or receive a delayed, larger reward (e.g., two marshmallows) by waiting until an experimenter returns.

What are some strategies that you might engage in, or have the child engage in, to succeed on this task? Take some time to think of your answer to this question and then—before you continue reading—visit our Jamboard to contribute your answer/s with a virtual sticky note. (Note: Edit access to the Jamboard will be active for the duration of the Digital Event; you must be logged in to your Google account to access it!)

Many strategies could work here. Perhaps you decide to expose the child to a life-size picture of the marshmallow to make the temptation more abstract – after all, you can’t eat a picture. Or, maybe you train the child to focus their attention on specific sounds in the room (e.g., the clicking of the clock) to distract themselves while they wait. These are all examples of being strategic – coming up with practical, creative ways to reach a desired goal.

As Psychonomes, we are educators, scientists, mentors, and lifelong learners. In these roles, we regularly engage in strategic learning and encourage our colleagues, students, and mentees to do the same.

For the next two weeks (August 28 – September 12, 2023), we are running an interactive digital event focused on #strategicLearning. Multiple authors—primarily early-career scholars in the science of learning—contributed posts about the strategic learning “toolkit:” what it means to be a strategic learner, how to support students to become strategic learners, and how to effectively communicate about strategic learning so that the benefits can be realized beyond the ivory tower of academia.

What Does it Mean to be a “Strategic Learner”?

Let’s face it – learning is challenging! Students often face an enormous amount of information and limited time to learn it. Being strategic requires focusing attention on relevant information, engaging in generative strategies to promote lasting learning, reflecting on the learning process, and making informed decisions. The first series of posts in this digital event focuses on the ways in which strategies that are effective for learning are not only ones that require more engagement from learners, but do so in ways that guide them to what is most important for them to learn.

Each post addresses the issue in different ways: Faria Sana focuses on the power of pretests to enhance subsequent learning, describing evidence that pretesting not only opens an “attentional window” and can serve to orient students to key content, but also how pretests go beyond directing attention to foster deeper cognitive processing. Shelbi Kuhlmann discusses the ways instructional videos may be designed to engage attention and processing, using a particularly intriguing method that leverages clickstream data and learning analytics. Addy Babineau and Amber Witherby both focus on metacognitive strategies—examining the cues that students use to guide their self-assessments of learning and subsequent study decisions.

How can we Support Students’ Development as Strategic Learners?

The second series of posts in this digital event focuses on ways educators can support strategic learning by making learning a less overwhelming experience and, dare we say, even an enjoyable one.

This process can start with the language we use in the classroom and how we frame the challenges of learning. Annie Ditta encourages learners and educators to view learning and teaching as creative processes—finding joy in challenges and learning from mistakes.

How we design and implement specific learning tools and experiences also matters. Cristina Zepeda suggests adding a “dash” of motivation into assignments and feedback by tapping into student interests, with the goal of getting them to be agents of their own learning. Emma Geller discusses specific principles to keep in mind when designing multimedia lessons (i.e., any lesson that includes both text and images) that help students make sense of the material being presented and reduce confusion. Dan Scheibe and Clarissa Thompson consider how grading scales can be designed to avoid common mathematical biases, making them easier for students to understand which can ultimately reduce stress for both students and instructors.

Finally, Felicitas Biwer, Niklas Wenzel, and Anique de Bruin discuss their experiences designing and implementing a student-focused training program based on the science of learning. They argue that incorporating multiple opportunities for awareness, practice, and reflection can help students change their habits and reach their goals.

How Should We Effectively Communicate about Strategic Learning?

Finally, the third series of posts in this digital event focuses on what researchers can do to communicate and translate their work beyond the halls of academia—how do we communicate the knowledge generated from the science of learning research so that it can benefit learners?

The Learning Scientists (Cindy Nebel, Althea Need Kaminske, Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel, and Megan Sumeracki) share the lessons they have learned in their years of experience communicating science through social media and relationship-building with teachers. Brendan Schuetze contrasts the success of other concepts within education with the slower take-up of the cognitive science of learning; in doing so, he points to important lessons for cognitive psychologists and a path forward. And, last but not least, Allison Zengilowksi and Taylor Payne provide much food for thought by pushing cognitive scientists to consider the broader contexts and systems that learners are embedded in—learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum and to have an impact, communication of the science of learning should not only focus on individual learners but on the systems that support them, too.

Making the Most of the Digital Event

The collection of #strategicLearning posts draws together a number of perspectives and angles, raising questions about how we think about strategic learning and how cognitive psychologists can translate their research into real-world impact. Remember, like any good learning experience, this event is meant to be interactive. We hope you’ll take the time to reflect after reading each post. Discuss the ideas with your colleagues. Share your thoughts on Twitter/X (@Psychonomic_Soc), LinkedIn, or other social media. Post specific actions you will take as a strategic learner or a supporter of strategic learning on our Jamboard. And enjoy the process!