Unfortunately, students today have relatively poor cognitive strategies or known ways people learn. It is up to teachers to teach students how to learn. It refers to the awareness and control students have of their cognitive processes.
Good learners have an array of learning strategies they can use.
They know how to solve problems, how to set goals, evaluate their own progress, monitor their achievement, and assess whether they understand material. They can use graphic organizers to study, read and review material with a purpose, rehearse skills until they master them and so on. Poor students need explicit instructions and guidance concerning how to do these things. We need to show students how to learn. Keep this in mind as you think about each of these teaching strategies.