Best Studying Technique

When learning, would you say you remember more if you read the text several times, if you make a diagram to depict the relations between the ideas or if you test your knowledge after reading the text by writing down what you remember?

The Experiments

In one experiment researchers engaged 80 undergraduates in studying a science text under one of four conditions:

• single study period;
• four consecutive study periods;
• creating a concept map for the text, after being instructed about the nature of concept mapping and seeing an example;
• practicing retrieval after a study period by remembering as much as they could on a free recall test (learning time was exactly the same as in the concept mapping).

At the end of the learning phase students were asked to make a judgement regarding the percentage of the information that they would remember after a week. Then, seven days later they answered a test that included both verbatim questions that assessed the ability to recall facts and inference questions that required the ability to draw logical conclusions based on facts.

In a second experiment researchers sought to extend the previous one by using two types of text:

• description of properties, for example of different types of muscle tissues, and 
• description of events in sequence, for example of the digestive process,

and by having 120 students creating a concept map of a text, as well as practicing retrieving on another text. In the end half of them took a short-answer test and half took a map concept-creating test.

Results

In both experiments retrieval practice produced the best learning. In the first experiment concept mapping wasn't significantly better than spending more time reading (see figure below - A and B). Students' judgements of learning reflected little metacognitive knowledge about the benefits of retrieval practice. The participants predicted that repeated studying would produce the best long-term retention, while practicing retrieval would produce the worst (see figure below - C). In fact, the opposite was true.

Proportion of Correct Answers (A & B) and Students' Judgments (C)

The second experiment found the same correlation: students that practiced retrieval did much better than concept mappers, even when the test required them to construct a concept map. As the first time, they also erroneously predicted that concept mapping would produce better long-term learning than retrieval practice.

To Remember

It is well-known that active studying techniques such as concept mapping are important for learning, but retrieval of knowledge looks as a more powerful learning activity. It might has to do with changing the access to our memories by making what we recall more recallable in the future or with reinforcing the information in our brain by struggling to remember it. Nevertheless, there are obvious benefits to testing.

Source:

• Karpicke, J.D. & Blunt, J.R. (2011). "Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping". Science, vol. 331, no. 6018, pp. 772-775. Retrieved from www.sciencemag.org on May 3, 2014
• Belluk, P. (2011). "To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test". New York Times online. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com on May 3, 2014