Abstract
Moving from Elementary to Junior High School is a significant adjustment. Seventh-grade students often struggle with academic challenges and intellectual curiosity. Learning strategies are deliberate methods to learn and retain information effectively. This study aimed to determine the cognitive adjustments and learning strategies of Grade 7 day and night students. A mixed-method sequential explanatory design was used, with random sampling selecting participants. Eighty-six respondents completed a questionnaire on academic challenges and intellectual curiosity. Additionally, 20 randomly selected respondents from the quantitative phase participated in interviews. Analysis showed that both Grade 7 day and night students strongly agreed they faced academic challenges due to prior knowledge of the curriculum and working memory in new classroom instructions. They also strongly agreed they experienced intellectual curiosity due to conscientiousness in their workload and openness to new experiences. Students employed learning strategies to cope with cognitive adjustments, significantly influencing their learning. These included seeking help from teachers and parents, taking notes, utilizing online resources, peer instruction, and self-directed learning. This study recommends effective learning strategies. Likewise, teachers should use varied instructional strategies to support cognitive engagement.
