LEARN TO DEBATE,

DEBATE TO LEARN

How to use scientific evidence about how we learn to become a better

debaterMaggie Berthiaume, Hoya-Spartan 2014

WANT TO KNOW MORE? Make it Stick: The Science of Successful

Learning Henry L. Roediger III, Professor of

Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mark A. McDaniel, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education at Washington University in St. Louis.

Peter C. Brown, writer and novelist.

BOOKS ARE LONG, CAN’T YOU GIVE ME SOMETHING SHORT TO READ?

Henry L. Roediger III, “How Tests Make Us Smarter,” New York Times, 07/18/2014

Short Link: http://nyti.ms/1syMMKr

MYTH #1: FAST, EASY

LEARNING IS BEST

“Many teachers believe that if they can make learning easier and faster, the learning will be better. Much research turns this belief on its head: when learning is harder, it’s stronger and lasts longer.” (9)

MYTH #2: REREADING THE MATERIAL IS A GOOD WAY TO

STUDY

“Rereading text and massed practice of a skill or new knowledge are by far the preferred study strategies of learners of all stripes, but they’re also among the least productive.” (3)

YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT… “I look over my textbook and really

focus on the material.” “I look over notes and attempt to jog my

memory by reviewing previous lessons. Reading over the textbook also helps if I have time.”

“I generally re-read relevant chapters in the books I use to study and review notes.”

“Skim the book and notes.” “Review notes, read a textbook, read

more textbooks, play video games.”

(TOTALLY NON-SCIENTIFIC)SURVEY OF STUDENTS @ GDS

WHICH ONE IS THE REAL U.S. PENNY?

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze49p8r/memory.html

MYTH #3: FEELING LIKE YOU KNOW

SOMETHING MEANS YOU KNOW

IT

“We are poor judges of when we are learning well and when we’re not. When the going is harder and slower and it doesn’t feel productive, we are drawn to strategies that feel more fruitful, unaware that the gains from these strategies are often temporary.” (3)

MYTH #4: WE KNOW WHAT

WE DON’T KNOW

“Students who don’t quiz themselves (and most do not) tend to overestimate how well they have mastered class material.” (17)

MYTH #5: LONG BLOCKS OF STUDYING A

SINGLE SUBJECT IS EFFECTIVE

“Most of us believe that learning is better when you go at something with single-minded purpose: the practice-practice-practice that’s supposed to burn a skill into memory… Researchers call this kind of practice ‘massed,’ and our faith rests in large part on the simple fact that when we do it, we can see it making a difference. Nevertheless, despite what our eyes tell us, this faith is misplaced.” (47)

SO, WHAT DO WE DO INSTEAD?

STRATEGY #1:EMBRACE THE

POWER OF TESTING

STRATEGY #2:SPACE OUT

YOUR PRACTICE

STRATEGY #3:MIX UP YOUR

PRACTICE

LEITNER BOX SYSTEM

Leitnerportal.com — very, very useful online system

THERE’S ALSO AN APP FOR THAT

Flashcards Deluxe — iOS and Android, integrates with Quizlet

STRATEGY #4:EMBRACE

DIFFICULTIES

STRATEGY #5:CREATE MENTAL MODELS

STRATEGY #6:MAKE THE

SIMPLE THINGS INTO

HABITS

STRATEGY #7:HAVE A

GROWTH MINDSET

STRATEGY #8:USE

SUSTAINED DELIBERATE PRACTICE

STRATEGY #9:DEPLOY

MNEMONIC DEVICES &

OTHER MEMORY TRICKS

METHOD OF LOCI “Remember Everything,”

http://remembereverything.org/memory-palace-the-method-of-loci/

STRATEGY #10:

REFLECT

STRATEGY #11:

GENERATE A SOLUTION

BEFORE YOU KNOW THE CORRECT ANSWER

STRATEGY #12:

ELABORATE ON NEW

INFORMATION

STRATEGY #13:

CALIBRATE YOUR

KNOWLEDGE

STRATEGY #14:

READ SLOWER

OBJECTIONS TO THESE METHODS