ABSTRACT
As definitions of strategy evolved, one issue proved more debatable than any other. Must a strategy be used intentionally? Certainly, when people are first learning to use a strategy, they are very intentional, deliberately planning every move and monitoring its execution. With increasing expertise, however, what was once consciously deliberate becomes much more automatic, requiring much less conscious attention and reflection. That potential for conscious control is a critical part ofthe definition of strategy proposed by Pressley, Forrest-Pressley, Elliot-Faust, and Miller 0985, p. 4), a definition that has endured: "A strategy is composed of cognitive operations over and above the processes that are natural consequences of carrying out the task, ranging from one such operation to a sequence of interdependent operations. Strategies achieve cognitive purposes (e.g., comprehending, memorizing) and are potentially conscious and controllable activities."
