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How to Learn More While Studying
Less
Dr. Cynthia FadlerAssistant Professor of Psychology
Sibley Day 2014
Some frequent answers
Rereading Cramming Flash cards
How do you use them? Highlighting
How do you study?
What doesn’t work
For each technique: Relevant background research Why it doesn’t work
What does work For each technique:
Relevant background research Why it works How to use it both in and out of the classroom
Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan, & Willingham (2013), PSPI
Outline of today’s talk
What doesn’t work
Summarizing
Reading a text and writing a summary in your
own words Enhances gist understanding of the text
Summarizing
Undergraduates read Web units Two groups:
Just read Summarize as if explaining to a friend
Multiple choice, short answer, application
Bednall & Kehoe, 2011
Summarizing
Why it doesn’t work:
Summarization means a lot of different things Quality of summary matters The type of material that is being summarized
is an important factor
Summarizing
Highlighting
Somehow indicating the important information
in text
Highlighting
Start of study Two weeks Two months1. Read chapter Study ch. Test2. Highlight chapter Study blank ch. Test3. Highlight chapter Study highlighted ch. Test
All groups equal on fact-based questions Highlight group worst on conceptual questions
Peterson, 1992
Highlighting
Why it doesn’t work
A lot of variability in type of highlighting More highlighting does not mean more
retention
Bad for application
Highlighting
Rereading
Repeatedly reading the textbook, powerpoint
slides, or notes
Rereading
Undergraduates read short passage 0, 1, 2, or
4 times After 10-min delay, filled in missing words
from passage
Rothkopf, 1968
Rereading
Why it doesn’t work
Ok, it does…. but not as well as other things you could do with
your time. Appears to be a qualitative, not quantitative
improvement Better with spaced than massed rereading
Rereading
What does work
Elaboration
Answering, “Why?” for specific facts and
concepts.
E.g. To-be-learned fact: Correlation does not equal
causation Why?: There could be a third extraneous
variable that explains the relationship.
Elaboration
Undergraduates read sentences such as:
“The hungry man got into the car”
3 groups: Why did he do that? What did he do next? Just read.
Final test Why: ~72% Other two groups: ~37%
Pressley, McDaniel, Turnure, Wood, & Ahmad, 1987
Elaboration
Why does it work?
Supports integration of new knowledge with prior knowledge
Supports organization of new information
Elaboration
Students
Ask, “Why?” Think of how new facts are related to things you
already know Instructors
Encourage this behavior by creating “connection papers” or discussion topics
Ask questions on exams that relate new concepts with earlier concepts in the course
Caveat Only works if prior knowledge exists!
Elaboration
Testing
Taking practice tests or self-testing; flashcards NOT summative assessments
Testing
Undergraduates read two passages
After one, “read again” After the other, “recall as much as you can”
After a delay, try to recall as much as possible 5 min, 2 days, or 1 week
Roediger & Karpicke, 2006
Testing
Roediger & Karpicke, 2006
Why it works
Direct effects Strengthen connection between question and
answer Activate related information Better organization
Mediated effects Metacognition
Testing
Students:
Take advantage of the practice tests at the end of textbook chapters
Create flashcards But don’t throw out the ones you get right!
Instructors Use low-stakes quizzes in the classroom Ask lots of open-ended questions during lecture
But require answers! Give early feedback
Testing
Interleaving
Using different types of studying (e.g. re-
reading, testing, etc.) and studying different materials (e.g. multiple chapters) in a single study session
Interleaving
Undergraduates learned to compute volumes of solids
Group 1: Read S1, Problems S1, Read S2, Problems S2… Group 2: Read all solids, Complete all problems in
random order Feedback after each problem
Test 1 week later
Rohrer & Taylor, 2007
Interleaving
Interleaving
Why it works
Practicing at identifying when to use what Promotes organization and item-specific
processing Comparison of different types of items
Retrieval practice
Interleaving
Students
Make comparisons between similar items Jump around when doing practice problems Shuffle flashcards
Instructors Ask compare/contrast questions Do not categorize homework assignments Ask questions over entire lecture, not just as
you go along
Interleaving
Spacing
Spreading out study activities over time
Spacing
Undergraduates were presented with Spanish-
English translations Quizzed w/feedback at different intervals
0 days 1 day 30 days
5 total quizzes Returned 30 days after last quiz for a final test
Bahrick, 1979
Spacing
Spacing
Why it works
Lots of theories; lots of potential mechanisms
Ease of retrieval or understanding leads to lazy learning
Spacing
Students
DON’T CRAM!!! “Successful” cramming = mix it up
Instructors Assignments throughout sections of the course “Comprehensive” exams
Spacing
Science says…
What works
Elaboration* Interleaving* Spacing Testing
What doesn’t
Summarizing Highlighting Rereading
*Not yet definitive
Stop highlighting Study throughout the semester During each episode:
Mix things up Test yourself
Keep flashcards in rotation even when correct If you’re going to cram:
Take breaks Get a good night’s sleep!
Ideal studying
Take a class:
PSY330: Learning and Memory
Email: [email protected]
Look it up: Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J, &
Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14, 4-58.
For more information…