Developing metalearning capacity in students: actionable theory and practical lessons learned in first-year economics

Congruent with the University of South Australia's mission to widen access, first-year students of business studies enter the university with a wide range of educational backgrounds and experiences. Previous work (Meyer & Shanahan, 1999) has revealed that such students vary considerably in their views about what learning is, and how they engage in learning. Complementary to these insights, and intimately connected to issues of learning, the same research has revealed the diversity of views held by entering students about economic phenomena (what economics is, what economists do, mechanisms of price determination, and so on). Entering students whose conceptions of learning are at odds with the demands of the institution, or whose conceptions of their academic discipline (in this case economics) are incongruent with fundamental conceptions associated with the discipline (e.g. they hold misconceptions of economics) face difficulties even before they commence their university studies. Within this disciplinary and institutional context, the present study reports on the development and integration of processes to assist students in developing their metalearning capacity. These processes include designing a discipline-sensitive learning inventory, developing a Web-based platform for administering the inventory, using resultant data to inform students on an individual basis about themselves as learners in context, and using (variation in) inventory data to inform the course curriculum, the design of course materials and academic staff development.