Michael Lucas, Pharm.D.
Studying is no doubt a huge part of becoming academically successful. However, it is not only the amount of time spent studying that is important, but the quality of the studying. Not all students are aware of different study techniques that provide stronger methods of learning. There are many different studying methods all of which vary in their degree of effectiveness. The book “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning,” breaks down the learning process to a science and explains the findings on which study tactics are more beneficial. Evidence based study strategies should been incorporated into the course and lecture design.
The many different study strategies include but are not limited to, rereading, quizzing, massed learning, spaced learning, and interleaved learning. Reflections from the past can also provide learning. From my college experience, most individuals would practice the study method of massed learning also known as cramming. Rereading and cramming all of an exam’s material in the shortest amount of time may seem like the most time effective method and get one through the exam, but by the time of the final exam, most of the material will be forgotten. Make it stick states that allowing time for forgetting to occur (spaced learning) between tasks can lead to longer term retention when compared to cramming.
Quizzing and interleaving learning are other methods that have been shown to be effective study methods. “Make it stick” describes a study that involved middle school students who took a routine low stakes quiz for certain units of the course. During these quizzes, there were also review statements given to the students. The results showed the material that was quizzed on was an entire letter grade higher than material that had not been quizzed on. The test result for the material reviewed as statements showed no difference from nonreviewed material. This shows the lack of efficacy of only rereading material and the benefits of quizzing. Interleaving is practicing (or studying) two or more subjects/skills in mixed fashion. Interleaving has been shown to be more effective than massed practicing in a college classroom experiment. In this experiment two groups were tasked with finding the volume of four obscure solids. Initially the group doing problems in clusters (massed) had higher scores than those doing mixed problems(interleaved). However, in the final a week later, the group that did practice problems in a mixed or interleaved fashion scored an average of 63% correct compared to an average of 20% correct in the group where students did massed practice.
These concepts about learning should be applied in the instructional design of the course as well as lectures. Educators can easily incorporate spaced and interleaved learning with quizzing. At the beginning of every class, a low stakes quiz should be taken on the previous class’s material. This would be effective because assuming a 3-credit course split across 3, 1-hour sessions (i.e., Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule), enough time has passed for some forgetting to occur. Similarly, this course’s material has interleaved with courses that are on the Tuesday and Thursday schedule. Lastly, learning can be done through reflection. By having a brief reflection after an exam regarding how the students felt about the exam, how prepared they were and what they could do to improve for the final, may lead to improve study strategies for some students. This will ultimately lead to an overall better grade and understanding of the material.
Incorporating study strategies in the classroom will only be beneficial if the student is able to pay attention and learn material in the class. The conventional learning style of teaching lecturing to the class can cause the student’s attention to drift while active learning can keep students more engaged and can help students learn more. A study conducted at Harvard showed that although students think they are learning more during traditional style lectures, their exam scores were actually higher after active learning session. Therefore, selecting a different class teaching format in the instructional design may be more appropriate. Although the different formats will not be discussed in this paper, a few examples are flipped classroom and team-based-learning.
In summary, instructors can incorporate active learning methods and evidence-based study skills into the design of their course/lectures. Keeping students engaged will help them learn the material while incorporating spaced/interleaved learning with low stakes quizzes will help reinforce that learned material and help retain that material long term. Reflections after exams can help students to realize areas of improvement in their study skills.
References
1.) Brown, P. C., McDaniel, M. A., & Roediger, H. L. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press.
2.) Reuell, P. (2019, September 5). Lessons in Learning. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/study-shows-that-students-learn-more-when-taking-part-in-classrooms-that-employ-active-learning-strategies/
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