Week 2: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
By Casaundra Bronner
Interleaving and varied practice are optimal ways to mix up the learning experience. Interleaving between similar topics and subjects encourages learners to notice similarities and differences. Students can discriminate, notice what connects the topics and what separates them to classify. Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel use the example of classifying bird species and artist’s techniques to demonstrate the usefulness of interleaving for long-term learning (Brown et al., 2014). Learners were able to remember what separated individual artist’s styles better when they studied more than one artist at a time. This method’s benefits took longer to master. The students defaulted to massed practice because of immediate gains. Interleaving and varied practice prepare for lifelong problem-solving.
Brown illustrates interleaving with the Bean Bag Study (Brown et al.,2014). In this experiment, eight-year-old students were separated into two groups. One group tossed bean bags into a bucket three feet away and only repeated this skill from three feet away. The other group had varied practice from two feet, then four feet, back and forth. All students were tested twelve weeks later at the three feet distance. The group that practiced at a variety of distances improved their tossing skills (Brown et al.,2014).
A profound study was conducted out of the Netherlands with three sets of students. There was a total of 316 student groups made up of prevocation, general secondary, and preuniversity. The study asked students to report what study strategies they used during self-study at home or during the school day absent the teacher’s help. The researchers wanted to investigate if secondary students utilized effective study strategies such as retrieval and spaced practice. The research showed the top three learning techniques prevocation students used were rereading 85.3%, practice testing 79.4%, and summarizing 71.6%. Preuniversity students employed rereading 87.9%, summarizing 78.5%, and practice testing 53.3%. General secondary students rereading 44.4%, summarizing 20.2%, practice testing 18.2%. Rereading was the top study strategy for all three groups, this was of concern to the researchers. Rereading, although the popular go-to-strategy, is the least effective for long-term memory. Dirkx et al., (2019), concluded that secondary students used the least effective study strategies for exams. Therefore, educators must teach the secondary student the benefits of retrieval and spaced practice.
I can relate to the massed practice and rereading mindset. As a young student, I was good at rereading and taking plenty of notes from lectures. I received decent grades, but I barely remembered the content after some time passed. I had an illusion of mastery when I received a good grade after cramming the subject matter one last time before the test. I am relieved to learn about memory strategies. The students I serve will benefit from what I learn about retrieval practice in the form of practice tests, flashcards, and corrective feedback strategies.
Students can practice retrieving subject matter using an online tool called, Educandy. Educandy is an interactive tool used to create quizzes for learning. It is very intuitive and easy to use. Students can easily create an account with an email address. An app is also available. Also, Kahoot has online quizzes and surveys that are designed for retrieval practice and corrective feedback.
In Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning, Agarwal, and Bain shared a landmark study by Roediger and Karpicke in 2006. The study at Washington University in St. Louis asked students to read a passage about sea otters and the sun. Some students reread the passage while the other students quickly wrote down every piece of information they could recount. Five minutes later all students were tested over the learned information. The reread students performed better than the quick write students (83%) versus (71%). A week later another test was given, the students that participated in the quick write activity performed better on the exam (61%) and the students who reread (40%). The simple written retrieval method proved to help students recall information whereas the reread group of students forgot more than half of the learned information (Argawal and Bain, 2019).
Massed practice (cramming) equals short-term gains, which feel good. Interleaving, spaced testing, corrective feedback, and paraphrasing at the end of the chapter do not give immediate rewards. However, these strategies are worth it in the long-term.
Mia Blundetto, a former first lieutenant, knew she had to overcome the fear of falling to advance as an air delivery platoon commander. She comes from a family of Marines. Mia is as tough as nails: she can do thirteen pull-ups, but only eight are required for women! She has an aversion to falling yet has sailed out of planes numerous times. During her third jump from the C130 troop transport, Mia landed on top of another soldier’s parachute. Due to her intensive training, Mia did not panic, she swam out of the twisted shoot and landed safely. That is an example of what Elizabeth and Robert Bjork call desirable difficulty (Brown et al., 2014). The short-term discomfort from interleaving and spaced practice is overcome by long-term expertise.
This past summer I took a Google 1 certification course. I wanted to learn the tools of the trade to assist students and teachers. The course was for two days and included demonstrations of tasks, self-paced tutorials, and individualized support from the Instructional Specialist. I was a little intimidated at first. The instructor would demonstrate a Google platform i.e., Google Sites, Google Sheets, etc. The desirable difficulty I experienced centered around the illusion of familiarity with Google. I was familiar with platforms like Gmail and Google Drive, but there was new information I had to learn about these tools. I had to forget some of my default tools to consolidate the new information presented. Spaced practice was important because I did not feel ready to take the exam. I practiced using the self-paced tutorial videos and my notes for ten days. I chose August 3rd to take my exam. Of course, the exam problems looked a little different. To my delight, the transfer of learning took place, and I was able to understand the rule for most of the problems.
Students can use the method of retrieval called SCRR (Segment Cue Retrieve and Review). This takes the flashcard technique to the next level. The SCRR Method is Segment: section the key information. Cue: use a cue to trigger the memory. Retrieve: draw from the memory of what was read. Review: check to see if your recollection is correct. The SCRR Method can be found in the book, How Memory Works-and How to Make It Work for You by Robert Madigan, Ph.D. (Madigan, 2015). I tried this method over a section of reading and found it to be a useful retrieval tool.
Dominic O’Brien, memory champ, is mentioned in the book, Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History by Lynne Kelly. A great retrieval tool coined by O’Brien is called the Rule of Five. First review immediately after the lesson, second review after twenty-four hours, third review after one week, fourth review after one month, and fifth review after three months. O’Brien’s technique shows that space repetition transfers learning from short-term to long-term (Kelly, 2020).
People sometimes mistake familiarity with knowledge and deep understanding. It makes sense. People often read a passage once and reread it. After reading it for the second time the information becomes recognizable; therefore, learning has taken place. These assumptions are the illusions of what people think they know and plow ahead with the next assignment or test. Suddenly, they are confused about the low mark received on the assignment. The learning did not stick (Brown et al., 2014).
Using mental models is effective when it connects the new learning to background knowledge already present. When new and prior information becomes a collection of mastery it is buried into the long-term memory. This complex process creates the curse of knowledge when it is being taught by the expert. Mazur suggests that another student (peer) can teach the concept to a struggling student and chunk the steps necessary that the expert (teacher) may struggle to unpack (Brown et al., 2014).
If educators tested students’ understanding in increments along the way, students could see where the confusion and misunderstanding lie. Self-testing using the flashcard method could reveal gaps in knowledge. Teaching students to think about what they know is metacognition. Written reflections on what was read or studied could also benefit the learner’s recall efforts.
The distortion of memory is fascinating to me. I love to dabble in genealogy. Genealogy is a challenge for most novice students, but for many African Americans, it is quite the obstacle. My love for genealogy probably stemmed from the many stories my father and his siblings freely shared about their ancestral stories. My father is one of thirteen children who grew up in rural Tennessee. A distant cousin started the documentation of our family years ago. After he passed away, I unofficially carried on the collection of artifacts for our large family. Family stories are filled with subjective experiences and judgments (Brown et al., 2014). I find it fascinating when I compare a family retelling versus an artifact found online. This is an example of how memories are shaped by those around us (social influences).
Recently my daughter and I were talking about the curse of knowledge some teachers have about what learners should know (Brown et al., 2014). For example, English language learners are not a monolith. Many educators are experts in their field of knowledge; however, many forget to place themselves in the shoes of their young learners. Many English learners need more spaced practice and more interleaving with corrective feedback in English. It is a mistake to assume the young learner is a proficient speaker, reader, and writer in their home language(s). Learning to read and write in English and their home languages are very challenging at first. However, the interleaving that takes place allows their understanding of not only literacy skills but also literacy purposes to deepen over time. Learning to read and write in more than one language also reveals misconceptions students may have about the phonologies or orthographies of languages they are studying. Teachers that specialize in teaching this population should investigate the unique circumstances of each of their English learners meet them where they are with spaced repetition and regular formative assessments.
Simulations in learning help students identify their misconceptions and help them problem-solve. INFOhio, Ohio’s digital library for PreK through twelfth-grade students, provides students with a database called Science Online. Science Online has simulations on experiments for students to practice learned scientific concepts. There are thirty-one simulations for students to explore. Simulations are widely used in medical schools for a safe and dependable learning environment to achieve a level of mastery (Desy et al., 2018). Our students can safely practice science experiments using this tool. This tool also addresses the expense of science materials when experimenting. INFOhio’s tools and databases are free for all Ohioans.
According to Desy et al. (2018) teachers can give students retrieval practice through verbalization. The information spoken out loud activates deeper learning and strengthens storage. Also, students teaching other students is another verbalization technique. This practice activates retrieval strength (Desy et al., 2018). In How Memory Works -and How to Make It Work for You, Bill Gates, the entrepreneur, practices the retrieval of information from books he has read by writing a blog. This is an excellent immediate way of “checking” what you think you know about the subject matter. He also notes that he shares what he has read with his wife, Melinda (Madigan, 2015).
References
Agarwal, P. K., & Bain, P. M. (2019). Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: the science of successful learning. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Desy, J., Busche, K., Cusano, R., Veale, P., Coderre, S., & McLaughlin, K. (2017). How teachers can help learners build storage and retrieval strength. Medical Teacher, 40(4), 407–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2017.1408900
Dirkx, K. J. H., Camp, G., Kester, L., & Kirschner, P. A. (2019). Do secondary school students make use of effective study strategies when they study on their own? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33(5), 952–957. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3584
Kelly, L. (2020). Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History (1st ed.). Pegasus Books.
Madigan, R. (2015). How Memory Works--and How to Make It Work for You (Illustrated ed.). The Guilford Press.