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The Way Most Students Study Makes No Sense

The document discusses effective study strategies based on research by psychologists Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel. Some key points: - Rereading notes and textbooks is ineffective for learning, while active learning strategies like self-testing, flashcards, and practice questions are much more effective. - Spacing out study over time rather than cramming leads to better long-term retention of information. Teachers should also space out and mix topics in their lessons. - Retrieving and explaining information through self-testing and questions leads to better understanding and memory than passive rereading. Making diagrams and visuals also improves active learning.

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Ngan Tuy
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113 views8 pages

The Way Most Students Study Makes No Sense

The document discusses effective study strategies based on research by psychologists Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel. Some key points: - Rereading notes and textbooks is ineffective for learning, while active learning strategies like self-testing, flashcards, and practice questions are much more effective. - Spacing out study over time rather than cramming leads to better long-term retention of information. Teachers should also space out and mix topics in their lessons. - Retrieving and explaining information through self-testing and questions leads to better understanding and memory than passive rereading. Making diagrams and visuals also improves active learning.

Uploaded by

Ngan Tuy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The way most students study makes no sense.

That's the conclusion of Washington University in St. Louis


psychologists Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel — who've spent
a combined 80 years studying learning and memory, and recently
distilled their findings with novelist Peter Brown in the book Make It
Stick: The Science of Successful Learning.

USING ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IS MOST EFFECTIVE

The majority of students study by re-reading notes and textbooks —


but the psychologists' research, both in lab experiments and of
actual students in classes, shows this is a terrible way to learn
material. Using active learning strategies — like flashcards,
diagramming, and quizzing yourself — is much more effective, as is
spacing out studying over time and mixing different topics together.

McDaniel spoke with me about the eight key tips he'd share
with students and teachers from his body of research.

1) Don't just re-read your notes and


readings

Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images

"We know from surveys that a majority of students, when they


study, they typically re-read assignments and notes. Most students
say this is their number one go-to strategy.

WHEN STUDENTS RE-READ A TEXTBOOK CHAPTER, THEY


SHOW NO IMPROVEMENT IN LEARNING

"We know, however, from a lot of research, that this kind of


repetitive recycling of information is not an especially good way to
learn or create more permanent memories. Our studies of
Washington University students, for instance, show that when they
re-read a textbook chapter, they have absolutely no improvement in
learning over those who just read it once.

"On your first reading of something, you extract a lot of


understanding. But when you do the second reading, you read with
a sense of 'I know this, I know this.' So basically, you're not
processing it deeply, or picking more out of it. Often, the re-reading
is cursory — and it's insidious, because this gives you the illusion
that you know the material very well, when in fact there are gaps."

2) Ask yourself lots of questions

Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe via Getty Images

"One good technique to use instead is to read once, then quiz


yourself, either using questions at the back of a textbook chapter, or
making up your own questions. Retrieving that information is what
actually produces more robust learning and memory.

RETRIEVING INFORMATION IS WHAT PRODUCES MORE


ROBUST LEARNING AND MEMORY

"And even when you can't retrieve it — when you get the questions
wrong — it gives you an accurate diagnostic on what you don't
know, and this tells you what you should go back and study. This
helps guide your studying more effectively.

"Asking questions also helps you understand more deeply. Say


you're learning about world history, and how ancient Rome and
Greece were trading partners. Stop and ask yourself why they
became trading partners. Why did they become shipbuilders, and
learn to navigate the seas? It doesn't always have to be why — you
can ask how, or what.

"In asking these questions, you're trying to explain, and in doing


this, you create a better understanding, which leads to better
memory and learning. So instead of just reading and skimming, stop
and ask yourself things to make yourself understand the material."

3) Connect new information to something


you already know
"Another strategy is, during a second reading, to try relating the
principles in the text to something you already know about. Relate
new information to prior information for better learning.

"One example is if you were learning about how


the neuron transmits electricity. One of the things we know if that if
you have a fatty sheath surround the neuron, called a myelin
sheath, it helps the neuron transmit electricity more quickly.

"So you could liken this, say, to water running through a hose. The
water runs quickly through it, but if you puncture the hose, it's going
to leak, and you won't get the same flow. And that's essentially what
happens when we age — the myelin sheaths break down, and
transmissions become slower."
(Quasar/Wikimedia Commons)

4) Draw out the information in a visual form


"A great strategy is making diagrams, or visual models, or
flowcharts. In a beginning psychology course, you could diagram
the flow of classical conditioning. Sure, you can read about
classical conditioning, but to truly understand it and be able to write
down and describe the different aspects of it on a test later on —
condition, stimulus, and so on — it's a good idea to see if you can
put it in a flowchart.

"Anything that creates active learning — generating understanding


on your own — is very effective in retention. It basically means the
learner needs to become more involved and more engaged, and
less passive."

5) Use flashcards

Deb Stgo

"Flashcards are another good way of doing this. And one key to
using them is actually re-testing yourself on the ones you got right.

KEEPING A CORRECT CARD IN THE DECK AND


ENCOUNTERING IT AGAIN IS MORE USEFUL

"A lot of students will answer the question on a flashcard, and take it
out of the deck if they get it right. But it turns out this isn't a good
idea — repeating the act of memory retrieval is important. Studies
show that keeping the correct item in the deck and encountering it
again is useful. You might want to practice the incorrect items a little
more, but repeated exposure to the ones you get right is important
too.
"It's not that repetition as a whole is bad. It's that mindless repetition
is bad."

6) Don't cram — space out your studying

Johannes Simon/Getty Images

"A lot of students cram — they wait until the last minute, then in one
evening, they repeat the information again and again. But research
shows this isn't good for long term memory. It may allow you to do
okay on that test the next day, but then on the final, you won't retain
as much information, and then the next year, when you need the
information for the next level course, it won't be there.

PRACTICE A LITTLE BIT ONE DAY, THEN TWO DAYS LATER

"This often happens in statistics. Students come back for the next
year, and it seems like they've forgotten everything, because they
crammed for their tests.

"The better idea is to space repetition. Practice a little bit one day,
then put your flashcards away, then take them out the next day,
then two days later. Study after study shows that spacing is really
important."

7) Teachers should space out and mix up


their lessons too

Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images


"Our book also has information for teachers. And our educational
system tends to promote massed presentation of information as
well.

"In a typical college course, you cover one topic one day, then on
the second day, another topic, then on the third day, another topic.
This is massed presentation. You never go back and recycle or
reconsider the material.

"But the key, for teachers, is to put the material back in front of a
student days or weeks later. There are several ways they can do
this. Here at Washington University, there are some instructors who
give weekly quizzes, and used to just put material from that week's
classes on the quiz. Now, they're bringing back more material from
two to three weeks ago. One psychology lecturer explicitly takes
time, during each lecture, to bring back material from days or weeks
beforehand.

THE KEY, FOR TEACHERS, IS TO PUT THE MATERIAL BACK IN


FRONT OF A STUDENT DAYS OR WEEKS LATER

"This can be done in homework too. It's typical, in statistics courses,


to give homework in which all of the problems are all in the same
category. After correlations are taught, a student's homework, say,
is problem after problem on correlation. Then the next week, T tests
are taught, and all the problems are on T tests. But we've found that
sprinkling in questions on stuff that was covered two or three weeks
ago is really good for retention.

"And this can be built into the content of lessons themselves. Let's
say you're taking an art history class. When I took it, I learned
about Gauguin, then I saw lots of his paintings, then I moved on to
Matisse, and saw lots of paintings by him. Students and instructors
both think that this is a good way of learning the painting styles of
these different artists.
"But experimental studies show that's not the case at all. It's better
to give students an example of one artist, then move to another,
then another, then recycle back around. That interspersing, or
mixing, produces much better learning that can be transferred to
paintings you haven't seen — letting students accurately identify the
creators of paintings, say, on a test.

"And this works for all sorts of problems. Let's go back to statistics.
In upper level classes, and the real world, you're not going to be told
what sort of statistical problem you're encountering — you're going
to have to figure out the method you need to use. And you can't
learn how to do that unless you have experience dealing with a mix
of different types of problems, and diagnosing which requires which
type of approach."

8) There's no such thing as a "math person"

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

"There's some really interesting work by Carol Dweck, at


Stanford. She's shown that students tend to have one of two
mindsets about learning.

IT TURNS OUT THAT MINDSETS PREDICT HOW WELL


STUDENTS END UP DOING

"One is a fixed learning model. It says, 'I have a certain amount of


talent for this topic — say, chemistry or physics — and I'll do well
until I hit that limit. Past that, it's too hard for me, and I'm not going
to do well.' The other mindset is a growth mindset. It says that
learning involves using effective strategies, putting aside time to do
the work, and engaging in the process, all of which help you
gradually increase your capacity for a topic.
"It turns out that the mindsets predict how well students end up
doing. Students with growth mindsets tend to stick with it, tend to
persevere in the face of difficulty, and tend to be successful in
challenging classes. Students with the fixed mindset tend not to.

"So for teachers, the lesson is that if you can talk to students and
suggest that a growth mindset really is the more accurate model —
and it is — then students tend to be more open to trying new
strategies, and sticking with the course, and working in ways that
are going to promote learning. Ability, intelligence, and learning
have to do with how you approach it — working smarter, we like to
say."

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