Development of learning to learn skills in primary school

Abstract

In Finland, schools’ effectiveness in fostering the development of transversal skills is evaluated through large-scale learning to learn (LTL) assessments. This article presents how LTL skills—general cognitive competences and learning-related motivational beliefs—develop during primary school and how they predict pupils’ CPS skills at the end of sixth grade. The six-year follow-up of 608 pupils shows that cognitive competences demonstrated in the beginning of the first grade in a learning preparedness test predict both later cognitive LTL competences and CPS, but their development is not fully determined by earlier individual differences in learning preparedness in the first grade. Motivational beliefs begin to be related to cognitive LTL performance gradually from age 10 on, and they may have a slightly stronger effect on CPS than on cognitive LTL performance. It is concluded that the development of CPS is partly depending on pupils’ initial learning preparedness and the development of their LTL skills.

Keywords:

• learning to learn
• development of cognitive competences
• development of learning-related motivational beliefs
• complex problem solving

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mari-Pauliina Vainikainen

Mari-Pauliina Vainikainen has a PhD in special education with a thesis about the development of primary school pupils learning to learn skills and the factors influencing their performance in educational assessment studies. She is a licensed psychologist who has worked as the project manager of the Centre for Educational Assessment at the University of Helsinki since 2007 and researcher since 2002. She coordinates all the large-scale municipal and nationally representative assessment studies conducted at the Centre, and she also participated in the national implementation of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006. In PISA 2015, she acts as the vice-NPM for Finland, having the responsibility of the core domain of collaborative problem solving. In 2007–2012, she coordinated the work of the Scientific Board of Psychology in Finland, preparing evidence-informed recommendations for developing practices. She is the editor-in-chief of Psykologia (The Finnish Journal of Psychology).

Sascha Wüstenberg

Sascha Wüstenberg received his PhD (with distinction) at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in early 2013. His dissertation with the title ‘Nature and Validity of Complex Problem Solving’ considerably advanced research on CPS. His main interest lies in educational measurement of problem solving competency and he brings along several years of experience in assessing non-routine transversal skills. Sascha Wüstenberg developed computer-based CPS tasks that were included in the assessment of Interactive Problem Solving in the arguably most influential educational large-scale assessment worldwide, the PISA, in its 2012 cycle.

Sirkku Kupiainen

Sirkku Kupiainen is a special adviser MS (architecture), PhD in education under work. She is a researcher at the Centre for Educational Assessment, University of Helsinki, since 1996. Her research centres on learning to learn and related transversal skills, and on the Finnish education system. She has been a member of the Finnish Education Evaluation Council and of the national Finnish consortium for PISA 2006 and PISA 2015 and a coordinator for the Finnish part of the European Commission Learning to Learn Pilot Project in 2008–2009, including the writing of the final report.

Risto Hotulainen

Risto Hotulainen is an associate professor, and has PhD in special education. He is the director of the Centre for Educational Assessment at the University of Helsinki, and has studied school readiness and its association with self-concept, school-achievement, educational and career paths. Currently, he is involved in the Finnish THINK SCIENCE MATH project which produces and assesses teaching materials targeted to promote development of thinking and math skills with children aged 6–8 years.

Jarkko Hautamäki

Jarkko Hautamäki, professor Emeritus, PhD in Psychology, the founding member and director (1996–2013) of Centre for Educational Assessment. He is the former professor of special education (1990–2013), University of Helsinki, and honorary professor of Psychological Faculty of Moscow State University. He is a full member of the Finnish Society of Science and Letters, and Academy of Social and Educational Sciences, Moscow. He is the president (1999–2014) of Finnish Psychological Society, former member of Finnish Education Evaluation Council and National Board of Education, as well as expert tasks within The Office of The President of Finland, The Parliament, Ministry of Education and Culture, and European Union.