revision strategies

learning to learn

Pashler et al (2008)?

reviewed controlled studies and found no reliable evidence that matching interactions to learning styles improves learning

people do not remember more when material is delivered in their preferred sensory mode

Dunlosky et al (2013)- reviewing learning techniques?

low utility- summarisation, highlighting, re-reading, key word mnemonic

moderate utility- elaborative interrogation, interleaved practice

high utility- practice testing, distributed practice

summarisation?

Breezing and Kulhavy (1979)- low utility

pps learned a 2000 word essay using different study strategies and were tested immediately or after a 1 week delay

best performance: summarisation and note taking groups

worst performance: a letter search group

highlighting/ underlining?

Peterson (1991)- low utility

students read a textbook chapter

underlining group vs control group, completed a MCQ 2 months later containing factual and inference questions

no difference in factual, but underlining impaired recall for inference questions

re-reading?

Karpicke et al (2009)- low utility

84% of students said they re-read their notes

re-reading was the top rated strategy and provides some benefit when spaced but not massed

Rothkopf (1968)- low utility

students read a passage 0, 1, 2 or 4 times (self-paced, massed)

after 10 minutes they completed a fill in the blank test

performance increased with number of readings

keyword mnemonic?

low utility strategy

use key words and mental images to connect new information to something familiar

imagery can improve memory by promoting deeper, more elaborative encoding but not all concepts are keyword/imagery friendly

elaborative interrogation?

Pressley et al (1987)- moderate utility

undergraduates read simple factual sentences and were assigned to one condition: elaborative interrogation, provided explanation, or read-only

results after a cued-recall test: elaborative interrogation > provided explanation > read-only

Woloshyn et al (1992)- moderate utility

Canadian and German students learned facts about Canadian provinces and German states

elaborative interrogation produced larger benefits in the domain where students had higher prior knowledge

interleaved practice?

moderate utility strategy

mixing different types of problems or materials within a single study session

interleaving naturally spaces repetitions of the same concept

produces large boosts in learning

practice testing?

Karpicke and Roediger (2008)- high utility

undergraduates learned Swahili-English word pairs

study-only vs test-only group

final recall was much higher for the test-only group (80%) than study group (36%)

distributed practice?

high utility strategy

spacing study over time

spacing effect: spaced practice is more effective than massed practice

lag effect: longer gaps between sessions often improve retention more than shorter gaps