Post on 29-Dec-2015
“Memory and Learning: A Practical Guide for Students”
New, Free Text-book & Materials for students or teachers
Noyce Scholars, College Freshman, & High School Seniors
Paul D. Heideman(pdheid@wm.edu)
Department of BiologyCollege of William and Mary 1
The text for this workshop (with instructions for the exercises) is in a separate document that is matched to the slides. Both should be posted together.
Outline
I. Introduction – two courses and materials(a) ‘How Students Learn’ (Noyce Scholars)(b) ‘Memory and Learning: a practical guide for students’ (Fr)
- Textbook* and other materials (* βeta free on a website)
(http://www.pdheid.blogs.wm.edu )
II. Learning methodsIII. Chunking & working memoryIV. Student experiments on their ownV. Noyce class experiment: drawing-to-learnVI. Assessment
– Enduring change?
2
The text for this workshop (with instructions for the exercises) is in a separate document that is matched to the slides. Both should be posted together.
Illustration from the book: Chunks made of other chunks
Figure 4.1
A B C a b c d e … r s t
Cab car crab red
Red car
Mother has a red car.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Figure 4.2
The e is a ed ca .
(Oops. I forgot to learn the letter .)
The effect of missing chunks:
3
Illustration from the book: Problems with words alone
Figure 8.1
Nit.
Yes!
This won’t work either! Why are you doing this to me?
Ugh. This thing will never move. Give me better instructions!
4
Illustrations from the book: Neural circuits and learning (the letter L)
Figure 11.7
2
3
4
1a
1b
1c
1d
2 3
4
1a 1b1c 1d
Figure 11.155
Learning and Study Methods
(1) What are your students preferred study methods? (1-2 greatest preferences)
a) Rereading (reading over their text or notes)b) Highlightingc) Summarization (looking through materials and making a summary)d) Keyword mnemonics (making mnemonics using key words)e) Practice testing (testing themselves by practice recall or problems)f) Distributed Practice (spreading study time over multiple sessions)
Workshop Exercise 1
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Learning and Study Methods
Which are your students preferred study methods? (1-2 most common)
a)Rereading (reading over their text or notes)b)Highlightingc)Summarization (looking through materials and making a summary)d)Keyword mnemonics (making mnemonics using key words)e)Practice testing (testing themselves by practice recall or problems)f)Distributed Practice (spreading study time over multiple sessions)
(2) Which do you feel are most effective? (Rank as many as you wish)
Workshop Exercise 1
7
Learning and Study Methods
Which are your students preferred study methods?
a)Rereadingb)Highlightingc)Summarizationd)Keyword mnemonicse)Practice testingf)Distributed Practice
(3) Which are least versus most effective (according to research)?
Workshop Exercise 1
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(3) Which are least and most effective (according to research)? (see review by Dunlosky et al., 2013)
LOW RereadingLOW HighlightingLOW SummarizationLOW Keyword mnemonics
(f) HIGH Practice testing(g) HIGH Distributed Practice
& several more methods not listed here rate low - moderate
Learning and Study Methods Workshop Exercise 1
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When should we give this information to students (& teachers)?
- Middle School?- High School?- College?- Never?
Learning and Study Methods
10
When should we give this information to students (& teachers)?
- Middle School?- High School?- College?- Never?
Multiple times, from G-6 through college?
When do we give information to our students about how to learn?
Exercise 1. Learning and Study Methods
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What does it mean to students to ‘learn’ something?
Water cycle
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What does it mean to ‘learn’ something?
An Illustration from the text: Connections vs. Organization
Figure 3.3
Water Subig
“too-big”
Tubig
PalihogPlease
Cebuano
Tagalog
Central Philippines
Northern Philippines
“pall-ee-hoag”
Figure 3.4
Eau
Tubig
Water
Acqua
Agua
p
PalihogPlease
Cebuano
Tagalog
Central Philippines
Northern Philippines
“pall-ee-hoag”
“too-big”
Fewer connections, but higher organization
More connections, but almost no organization
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What does it mean to ‘learn’ something? The Carbon Cycle
A complex structure, pathway, or concept – overwhelming for novices
14
Chunking and working memory capacity Workshop Exercise 2
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16
Chunking and working memory capacity Workshop Exercise 2
How manyparts correct?
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Working Memory
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Working Memory
Excess Cognitive Load19
Chunking and working memory capacity Workshop Exercise 3
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Chunking and working memory capacity Workshop Exercise 3
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Chunking and working memory capacity Workshop Exercise 3
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Is understanding chunks and chunking useful?
Can we suggest better learning or studying strategies?(easier, faster, and/or more enduring learning)
Using student understanding of chunks and chunking
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Create manageable chunks
Learn a new figure Workshop Exercise 4
25
The claw
S
The
Simpler chunks, each fitting in working memory
Create manageable chunks, each of which means something.
Workshop Exercise 4
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The claw
The lollipop Y
S
The
Simpler chunks, each fitting in working memory Workshop Exercise 4
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The claw
The lollipop Y
S
The recliner
smile & mustache
The
Simpler chunks, each fitting in working memory Workshop Exercise 4
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Draw your chunks from memory: Workshop Exercise 4
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How much did you recall? Workshop Exercise 5
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The problem is not the number of lines and connections. The problem is whether we can chunk them effectively. (Is this just a way for students to do their own scaffolding?)
Workshop Exercise 4
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Chunking complex figures Workshop Exercise 5
The carbon cycle, overwhelming working memory
Slide 32
Information Reduction (chunking) as a Learning Tool Workshop Exercise 5
• Take a complex figure• Break it into smaller pieces • Practice each • Combine
‘Information Reduction’ -- an application of chunking
33
Workshop Exercise 6
The carbon cycle, one chunk …
Information Reduction (chunking) as a Learning Tool
34
Workshop Exercise 5
Try doing just this one chunk,- with even more information reduction
0.2
Information Reduction (chunking) Complex Figures
35
Workshop Exercise 5
0.2 Weathering
Information Reduction (chunking) Complex Figures
Make a simpleflow chart or sketch for all or part of this
portion
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Workshop Exercise 5Chunking complex figures
The carbon cycle, one portion as a minute sketch
(a drawing-to-learn tool)
0.2
Vegetation & Soil
Weathering
0.2
0.4
0.8Rain Ocean
Rock
0.2Rainfall
2300
(Gigatons C)
Weathering
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Metacognition Experiments (my definition) Workshop Exercise 6
• Metacognition Experiment: - any experiment on yourself testing ways you learn.
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• Metacognition Experiment: - any experiment on yourself testing ways you learn.
• Do I recall more after rereading vs. practice testing?
Workshop Exercise 6Metacognition Experiments
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Metacognition Experiments
• Metacognition Experiment: - any experiment on yourself testing ways you learn.
• Do I recall more by rereading vs. practice testing?
Experiment: Chapter 9: rereading, vs. Chapter 10 practice testing
Decision rule: number correct on end-of-chapter questions
(20 min for each)
Workshop Exercise 6
40
• Metacognition Experiment: - any experiment on yourself testing ways to learn.
• Do I recall more by rereading vs. practice testing?
• Highlighting vs. retrieval practice?
Workshop Exercise 6Metacognition Experiments
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• Metacognition Experiment: - any experiment on yourself testing ways to learn.
• Do I recall more by rereading vs. practice testing?
• Highlighting vs. retrieval practice?
• Do I focus better listening to music or in silence?
• Mind-mapping a chapter vs. highlighting with rereading?
• Will I learn better using minute sketches vs. my normal method?
Workshop Exercise 6Metacognition Experiments
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Metacognition Experiment Portfolios
• All students in my freshman class,- Complete at least 10 experiments
(as part of studying for other courses)-Their choice, with some required topics
(I provide samples; may use classmates’ experiments)
• Noyce Scholars (new in 2012 – at their request)- Complete a collaborative class experiment
In a format that they could do in their own classes
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Metacognition Experiment Portfolios
• All students in my freshman class:- Complete at least 10 experiments
(as part of studying for other courses)-Their choice, with some required topics
(I provide samples; may use their classmates’ experiments)
• Noyce Scholars (new in 2012 – at their request)- Complete a collaborative class experiment
In a format that they could do in their own classes
My goal: that students and teachers know how to run more experiments whenever they choose, AFTER the course is over.
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Metacognition Experiment on Sleep
• Today…
based on a student metacognition experiment:
•Does sleeping for 6 hours vs. 8 hours affect my problem solving ability?
Workshop Exercise 6
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Workshop Exercise 6
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Title: Amount of Sleep and Problem Solving (by 2 different students)
Purpose: to test whether the number of hours I sleep affects my ability to solve problems in my head.
Method (condensed): •In advance, write out two sets of multiplication problems of equivalent difficulty •Choose numbers at random; assign problems to treatments at random.•Solve one set 2 hours after waking up on a night with 8 hr sleep, and the other set 2 hr after waking up on a night with 6 hr sleep. •Record:
• The time it takes to solve each problem• Whether or not I got the right answer.• If an answer was wrong, did I notice?• How confusing it felt (if it felt confusing at all).
Analysis: Decision rule: If I am just as fast to solve problems and have no more errors on 6 hours as 8 hours of sleep, then 6 hours of sleep does not affect my ability to solve this kind of problem in my head.
Metacognition Experiment example: Sleep & problem solving
Students Recorded:
•The time it takes to solve each problem
•Whether or not they got the right answer.
•If an answer was wrong, did they notice?
•How confusing it felt (if it felt confusing at all).
Workshop Exercise 6
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Metacognition Experiment example: Sleep & problem solving
Workshop Exercise 6
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Metacognition Experiment example: Sleep & problem solving
Student 1: “It took me nearly twice as long to solve the [hardest] problems with six hours of sleep as opposed to eight. There wasn’t a big difference in the level of complexity that I could handle.”
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Workshop Exercise 6Metacognition Experiment example: Sleep & problem solving
Student 2: “On 6 hours of sleep it was much harder to hold all of the individual pieces that I had to work with in my working memory… I would have to go through each step several times in my head until I could actually work with that chunk.”
digit problem
digit problem
digit problem
digit problem
digit problem
Overall: students have found that on six hours of sleep, •Solving challenging problems takes a little longer, •Is more likely to give a wrong answer (and not be noticed), and •Feels harder.
A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
• A Noyce class metacognition experiment
Their question:
• Do minute sketches with folded lists work?
The class was skeptical. They should be skeptical of claims with weak evidence.
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
MUST be able to redraw the sketch in less than a minute
(ideally, less than 30 seconds)
The sketch IS the explanation
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
Hide the
words’ column
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
& Rewrite
the words from
memory
(while thinking about which
words relate to which parts of
the sketch)
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
(a form of practice testing)
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
Hide the
minute sketch column
& Redraw
the sketch from
memory
(while thinking about which parts of the
sketch relate to which words)
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
(a form of practice testing)
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
Repeat, about four of these columns per day (2-5 min/concept)
After 3 practice days, most of my students easily recall and explain their sketches.
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
•Compared learning on a novel task involving something that could be drawn
• that needs to be associated with words or sounds
•Chose Korean or Arabic alphabet: shapes & corresponding sounds
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A drawing-to-learn experiment: Minute sketches with folded lists
•Compared learning on a novel task involving something that could be drawn that needs to be associated with words/sounds
•Korean or Arabic alphabet: shapes and corresponding sounds
•24 letters, 12 by each method:• “Staring” (looking at it while trying to commit to memory)• vs. Minute sketch with folded list• with matched time (5 minute study sessions) for each
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A drawing-to-learn tool: minute sketches with folded lists
• Results: practice on 3 different days (but not on the day of testing)
P < 0.01
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A drawing-to-learn tool: minute sketches with folded lists
• Results …
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A drawing-to-learn tool: minute sketches with folded lists Workshop Exercise 7
• Results …
P < 0.01
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Do students change as learners?
Survey (n = 64 out of 89 students from 7 sections (2011-2013),
surveyed 5 months to 35 months after the course)
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Do students change as learners?
Zero 1-2 3-5 > 5
10
50
20
0
40
30
17 33 9 8
Q 4: In this semester, I have done ___ things or exercises that I would consider metacognition experiments.
%
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Metacognition Experiments – lasting effects?
5 months to 35 months after the course …
Question 5: As a learner and studier, I feel I am - ____ - due to having taken BIOL 115.
NoDifferent
A littleDifferent
VeryDifferent
CompletelyDifferent
10
50
20
0
40
30
1 36 24 3
60
%
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Metacognition Experiments – what are they doing?
5 months to 35 months after the course …
Question 3: Two study/learning methods that I picked up from BIOL 115 that I apply in most weeks (or before most exams). (MIGHT BE NONE)
Most frequent responses:
1. Drawing/sketching/diagramming (n = 30 of 48 responses)
2. Mind mapping/concept mapping/making connections (n = 16 of 48)
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Noyce Scholars
Data to be collected.
Lasting effects?
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Summary
1. We’ve gone through some course concepts, exercises & materials.
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Summary
1. We’ve gone through some the course concepts, exercises, & materials.
2. Textbook is available (Beta version on the web site; final version soon)
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Summary
1. We’ve gone through some of the course concepts, exercise,s & materials.
2. Textbook is available (Beta version on the web site; final version soon)
3. Course materials will be posted (& can send by request now)
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Summary
1. We’ve gone through some course concepts, exercises, & materials.
2. Textbook is available (Beta version on the web site; final version soon)
3. Course materials will be posted (& can send by request now)
4. Survey results suggest that more than half of the students (a) adopt more active learning methods(b) continue to experiment on better ways of learning
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Acknowledgements: Class & Textbook Funding
1. Jessie Ball duPont Fund grant (2010-2014) for editing, illustration, payment for expert reviewers, and partial support for writing.
2. College of William and Mary costs for freshman class “Memory and Learning” to develop drafts of the text and in-class exercises, plus partial support for writing.
3. NSF Noyce & U.S. Department of Education grant support for senior/graduate course “How Students Learn”
4. Howard Hughes Medical Institute undergraduate science education program grant to the College of William and Mary for a trial of the class with current teachers (summer 2010) and incoming freshmen (July 2011).
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Abstract: Students can benefit from understanding their own learning, and teachers can use an understanding of learning in their teaching. A one-credit add-on course for Noyce Scholars, “How Students Learn”, was developed into a one-credit course for incoming college freshmen. The content could also be useful for high school students. In addition to content on learning, the two courses include exercises to assess and improve one’s own learning in ‘metacognition experiments’ and, for Noyce Scholars, a class experiment on learning that can be adapted to help students become more active studiers and learners. This workshop presents an overview of the two courses, course exercises, and the text (the text is available for free at a project website).
Participants in this workshop will conduct sample exercises from the two courses, review course materials, assess the Noyce Scholar experiment from the fall 2013 Noyce class, and develop ideas to foster enduring changes in how students learn. For those who have attended earlier workshops on this project, there will be some overlap in content from earlier workshops on this topic.
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