Recall After Learning

7/30/2019 Recall After Learning

1/35

MexicanMemoryResearchStudy1

EstudiodelasCurvasdeAprendizaje

ByJorgeO.Castaeda,2006[Nb6,700words]

I.Introduction

Theobjectivesoftheprojectwere:

To determine behavioural patterns of experimental Recall Curves and

comparethemtothetheoreticalRecallCurves.

To determine the value of recall drivers through the variation of

behavioralpatternsoftheRecallCurves.

Basedon the results to generate amethodology in order tomaximize

recallandcomprehensionforitsapplicationthroughoutLatinAmerican.

Theprojectconsistedofaquantitativeandqualitativestudywhichcomparedthe

resultsoftheControlGroupsandtheExperimentalGroupsinordertomeasure

differencesinthecapacityofrecallandcomprehensionduringlearningsessions,

ifrecalldriverswereorwerenotapplied.

TheinitialhypothesisstipulatesthatthedriversoftheRecallCurvesincreasethe

percentage of recall and comprehension during a learning session. Another

hypothesisstipulatesthattheRecallCurvesbehavejustlikethetheoreticalcurve

whennootherdriversorsimilarelementsareapplied.

Basedontheresults,thestudyconcludedintheformulationofamethodology

fortheuseof learningdriversin additiontoestablishingacorrelationbetween

theindicatorsandotherfactors,suchasageandgradelevel.

1Castaeda,Jorge.O.(2006)EstudiodelasCurvasdeAprendizaje -MexicanRecallDuring

LearningMemoryResearchStudy.


2/35

Theseresultscanbe appliedin educationprogramsforstudentsandadultsin

Mexico and Latin America in order to maximize recall capacity and enable

pyramidingofknowledge.

Themostdirectwaytoincreasetheintellectualwealthofapersonisthrougha

relevantpyramidingofknowledge.

Relevant Knowledge is all knowledge based on the universal principles of

science,knowledge,and/orart,oroncurrentmodelsandmethodologies.

Pyramiding of Knowledge is understood as the possibility to accumulate

knowledgeintheLongTermMemory(i.e.almostpermanently)andtogenerate

multipleassociationsbetweenthevariousbodiesofknowledgethathavebeen

acquired.Thesemultipleassociationsenableustohaveasystemicvisionofthe

knowledge, thus providing a better comprehension of said knowledge, in

additiontotheeffectivecapacitytoapplyitintaskssuchasproblemanalysisand

decision making, innovation, creativity, project management, summarizing of

information,studyofnewfieldsofknowledge,etc.

II.DesignoftheExperiment

A.PresentingtheProblem

ThepurposeoftheexperimentistodeterminebehavioralpatternsoftheRecall

Curvesandthevalueofthedriversofthesecurves.

In order to achieve this, Control Groups will be compared to Experimental

Groups.InterventionwillbeappliedtotheControlGroupswithoutthepresence

oftherecalldrivers.Interventionwillbeappliedtotheexperimentalgroupusing

therecalldriversdescribedinsectionD2.


3/35

B.FormulationoftheHypothesis

Twohypotheseswereformulated:

1. When no recall drivers are present the patterns of the recall during

learning curve will behave in a similar way as the theoretical curve

(CurveR1A).

2. That the drivers of the Recall Curves allow for a positive change in

behavior in the R1A curve in terms of the percentage of recall of the

informationthatwastaughtwhenthesedriverswereapplied.

C.DesignoftheTest

Thetestconsistedoftheapplicationofaninterventionto2ExperimentalGroups

and2ControlGroups.Theinterventionconsistedofalearningsessionfollowed

byapop-quizattheendofthesession.

Thenexttableshowstheconformationofthegroups.Eachgroupwasformedby

109thgradestudentschosenatrandom-frompublicschoolsoftheStateof

QuintanaRoo.

Control Group Experimental Group

Session 1 CER-C CER-E

Session "2 CREA-C CREA-E

Twolearningsessionsweredesignedinordertoeliminatebiasesintheresults

duetocontent.

Session 1:This session consisted of2 continuous hoursof learning, in

whichthetopicwasKnowledgeoftheBrain.Thestudentswereallowed

a 10 minute break at the end of the session, after which they were

presented with a pop-quiz consisting of 24multiple-choice questions,

witha30minutetimelimittoanswerit.

Session 2:This session consisted of2 continuoushoursof learning, in

whichthetopicwasCreativeIntelligence.Thestudentswerealloweda


4/35

10 minute break at the end of the session, after which they were

presented with a pop-quiz consisting of 24multiple-choice questions,

witha30minutetimelimittoanswerit.

ThesessionsweretaughtbycertifiedinstructorsfromBuzanLatinAmerica,who

areexpertsonbothtopics(KnowledgeoftheBrainandCreativeIntelligence).

Thereweretwoversionsofeachsession:

The sessions taught to the Control Groups did not include the use of

LearningDrivers.

ThesessionstaughttotheExperimentalGroupsincludedtheuseofthe

learningdriversdescribedinsectionD2.

Aserialnumberwasassignedtoeachtestinordertoavoididentificationofthe

studentsandalsotomaintaintheirprivacy,aswellas,therandomcharacteristic

of the experiment. Thus, the demographic informationof the students (grade

levelandage)was keptprivateandwas onlyassociated totherandom serial

numberassignedtoeachstudent.

48studentswerepickedatrandom(10pergroupplus2substitutespergroup,

intheeventthatanyoftheoriginalstudentsmissedasession)throughasystem

that included an initial list of 210 students interested in partaking in the

experiment.TheMonteCarlosimulationlistwasappliedforthispurpose,using

an even distribution of random numbers, which determined the first 48

accordingtotheorderofrandomnumbers.These48studentsweresummoned

tothesessions30daysinadvance.Sessionstookplace2Saturdaysamonth,for

atotaldurationof2months.

Oncethe sessionswere concluded,the tests applied,and theresultstabulated

theywereinterpretedandvalidatedforpreparationofconclusions.


5/35

D.ApplicationoftheSessions

1. SessionswithouttheuseoflearningdriversTwo learning sessions took place that did not include the application of

drivers:

SessionpresentingthetopicKnowledgeoftheBrain,withduration

of2 continuoushours, and a10minute break before the pop-quiz.

The purpose of this sessionwas to try and reproduce the average

conditionsoftwohoursoflearningofanormal9thgradeclass.

SessionpresentingthetopicCreativeIntelligence,withdurationof

2continuoushours,anda10minutebreakbeforethepop-quiz.The

purpose of this session was to try and reproduce the average

conditionsoftwohoursoflearningofanormal9thgradeclass.

2. Sessionsthatusedlearningdrivers

SessionpresentingthetopicKnowledgeoftheBrain,withduration

of2 continuoushours, and a10minute break before the pop-quiz.

The purpose of this sessionwas to try and reproduce the average

conditionsoftwohoursoflearningofanormal9thgradeclass.The

LearningDriversdescribedbelowwereusedinthissession:

SessionpresentingthetopicCreativeIntelligence,withdurationof

2continuoushours,anda10minutebreakbeforethepop-quiz.The

purpose of this session was to try and reproduce the average

conditionsoftwohoursoflearningofanormal9thgradeclass.The

LearningDriversdescribedbelowwereusedinthissession:

Thelearningdriversappliedwere:

a) PrimacyEffect:Atthebeginning ofeach session the recall curve(R1A)

hasanaturaleffectthatconsistsofrecallingahigherpercentageoftheinitialcontentduetothefactthattheshorttermmemoryisunoccupied


6/35

and can send this information to the long term memory without

interference. Short termmemory allows recall of5 + - 2 itemsat once

(that can constitute data or bodies of knowledge). Regardless of the

durationofthesession(1or2hours),thiseffectoccursduringthefirst3

to7minutes(approximately),accordingtothetheoreticalcurve.

b) Recency Effect: At the end of each session, the learning curvehas the

naturaleffectofrecallingthelastitemwhichitwastaught.Regardlessof

thedurationofthesession(1or2hours),theeffectoccursapproximately

duringthelast2to5minutes.

Thetheoreticalbasesoftheseeffectshavebeendocumentedbyvarious

theorists,neuroscientistsandpsychologists.Someofthemostinfluential

are:

a.TonyBuzan(2000-todate)

b.A.Healy,D.Havas,andJ.T.Parker(2000)

c.AtkinsonandShiffrin(1968)

d.GlanzerandCunitz(1966)

e.Murdock(1962)

f.DeeseandKaufman(1957)

g.HermannEbbinghaus(1910)

c) Association/RepetitionEffect:Thiseffecthasthepurposeofkeepingthe

most relevant information of a learning session from being forgotten,

based on the fundamental principle of Association of Ideas, and

reinforcedbytheprincipleofrepetition.Associationisoneofthetwokey

functionsof memory (the other is imagination).Associationalsoallows

for the observation of contexts of total information, therefore

understanding itbetter when learninghow the parts are connected to

form a whole (context). 3 to 5 repetitions of key associations are

recommendedduringa2hour learningperiod.During theintervention

weused3to5repetitionspersessionmodule.

Charlotte Rogers 13/3/12 15:25

Comment: ThisimpliesthatTonyisadoctorandisnotfactual


7/35

d) Imagination:Thiseffectisbasedontheotherkeyfunctionofmemory.It

referstotheuseofimaginationtomaximizerecallbasedondifferent

effects:

a. VonRestorffEffect: Named after German psychologist Hedwig

Von Restorff (1931), who discovered that recall of information

significantlyimproveswhenit isoutstanding.Forexample,when

adifferent coloris used,when amemorable storyis told,when

imaginativemetaphorsareused,etc.Thiseffectisalsoknownas

distinctiveencoding.

b. SuperiorityofImagesEffect:Thiseffectreferstothefactthatthe

conceptsaremuch easier tounderstand if evocativeimages are

usedtopresentthem.Thiseffectisexplainedby theDualTheory

ofEncoding(AllanPavio1971and1986),whichstatesthatthe

presentation of concrete concepts through images are encoded

bothverballyandthroughimagesimplantedinthebrain.

c. GestaltEffect:Thiseffectreferstothenatureofthebrain,which

attemptsto complete information thatit finds incompleteor

illogical. This effect is also known as Zeigarnik effect, named

after Russian Psychologist BlumaWulfovna Zeigarnik,whowas

the first to perform studies on this effect. The Gestalt Effect

explains the tendency of human beings to see patterns,

differentiating objects from the background, and completing

figureswhengivenafewclues.ThefoundersofGestaltwereMax

Werthheimer(1880-1943)andKulpe.KurtKoffkaandWolfgang

KohlercontinuedWerthheimerandKulpesstudies.

Basedonthetheoreticalcurveofrecall(R1ACurve),thedriversofrecallwere

used in the partsof the curvein whichtheywereneeded themost.TheR1A

curveisshownbelow:


8/35

Asshownbythisgraph,atthebeginningofthesessionrecallofinformationis

higher(PrimacyEffect).Asthe2hoursessiongoesforward,thelevelofrecall

theoreticallydecreases, reaching itslowestpoint by themiddleof thesession.

During the second part of the session the level of recall theoretically starts

increasing againalltheway totheendof the session,where itreachesa new

level,causedbythesocalledRecencyEffect,withalevelofrecallslightlylower

tothatofthePrimacyEffect.

The sessions that included the use of recall drivers took this pattern in

consideration to include drivers at the time intervals in which, theoretically,

recalldecreases.

The strategy in the use ofdrivers isdescribedbelow, basedon the following

graph:


9/35

As shown in the graph, the learning drivers were used in different time

segments,duringthe2hourlearningsession.

Theforminwhichthedriverswereusedisshownbelow:

First10minutes(PrimacyEffect):Thetopicwaspresentedbyshowing

the structure (schedule and main topics) of what would be shown

afterwards,reinforcingthekeypointsofthesession.

Minutes20 to25 (GestaltEffect):The studentswerepresentedwithan

exercise inwhich they hadto fill-in themissing information.Regarding

thetopicofknowledgeofthebrain,studentsweregivenagraphofthe

brain for them to write down the different parts in the blank spaces.

RegardingthetopicofCreativeIntelligence,thestudentsweregivenanexercise that consisted of completingthe Keycompetencies of Creative

Intelligence.

Minutes40to45(Association-RepetitionEffect):Firstrepetitionofkey

information was applied through the use of Association with other

relevant information. For example, on the topic of Knowledge of the

Brain,emphasiswasplacedontherelationshipbetweenthefrontallobe

(areaofdecisionmakingandmotorfunctions)andtheoccipitallobe(area

where the inputs of sight are decoded), and exampleswere provided.

Regarding the session related to Creative Intelligence, the three basic


10/35

competencies of creativity were associated with different examples of

geniusesthathavedevelopedeachoneofthem.

Minutes55to60(imaginationEffect):Amemorablestorywasusedfor

eachtopic.Inthesessionrelatedtothebrainastorywastoldregarding

theway inwhichneuronscommunicatewitheachother.Regardingthe

topicofCreativeIntelligence,astorywastoldaboutAlbertEinsteinand

how he discovered the theory of relativity based on his creative

capabilities.

Minutes75to80(Association-RepetitionEffect):Thesecondrepetitionof

keyinformationwasappliedthroughtheuseofAssociationwithother

relevantinformation.OnthetopicofKnowledgeoftheBrainstresswas

placedagainontherelationsbetweenthedifferentlobesandtheprimary

functionsof thebraincortex.Regarding thesession related toCreative

Intelligence, the three basic competencies of creativity were again

associatedtodifferentexamplesofgeniusesthathavedevelopedeachone

ofthem.

Minutes100 to105 (Association-RepetitionEffect):The third repetition

ofkeyinformationwasappliedthroughtheuseofAssociationtoother

relevantinformation.OnthetopicofKnowledgeoftheBrain,therewas

are-emphasizingoftherelationsbetweenthedifferentlobesofthebrain

and the different primary functions of the brain cortex through an

additional example that uses an interactive program in which the

students point with the mouse to a part of the brain and the system

speaks out the name and information of that region. Regarding the

session on Creative Intelligence, the three basic competencies of

creativitywereagainassociatedwithdifferent,newexamplesofstoriesof

geniuses of humanity that have developed each one of them (Fluidity,

Flexibility,andOriginality).

Minutes110to115(RecencyEffect):Thenaturalconditionofthebrain

which allows it to remember the last items taught more was taken

advantageofinthesessioninordertoprovidemorerelevantconclusionsofeachtopicandsummarizekeyteachings.

Charlotte Rogers 13/3/12 15:25

Comment: Removespacing


11/35

3.DesignoftheTests

Twotestsweredesigned;oneforthetopicofKnowledgeoftheBrain,andone

forthetopicofCreativeIntelligence.Eachtestconsistedof24multiple-choice

questionswith5possibleanswerseach.

ThesametestswereappliedtoboththeExperimentalGroupsandtheControl

Groups10minutesafterfinishingthelastmodule.

Thetestsweredesignedtoincludethecontenttaughtinvarioustimesegments.

Due tothefact that the sessionshada durationof 2hours, the time intervals

consideredhadadurationof5minuteseach.

Theorderofthequestionswasestablishedatrandomtoavoidserializationbias

(identificationof the sequence). Inorder tocode the resultswearranged the

questionsaccordingtothetimeintervaltowhichtheybelong.

E.Results

Theresultsobtainedforeachgroupareshownbelow:

1. ResultsoftheControlgroupforthetopicofKnowledgeoftheBrain:

Thefollowingtableincludestheresultsofeachstudent,identifiedonlyby

his/herserialnumber:


12/35

Thetableshowstheresultsofthetestsforeachoneofthestudentsthat

participated in the Control Group for the session of Knowledge of the

Brain.A1standsforacorrectanswer,anda0standsforanincorrect

answer in each one of the 24 multiple-choice questions. The second

column of the table represents the serial number assigned to the 210

students before picking them.The following 24 columns represent the

results for eachquestion. The finalcolumn shows the totalscore (on a

scaleof0to100)foreachtest.Thefinallineholdstheaverageofall10

studentsforeachquestion,aswellasthetotalaverage,whichinthiscase

was49.5outof100.

Thegraphshowstheaverageresultsofall10studentsineachquestion.

Thepatternofthegraphdescribestheaverageresultsofeachquestion,

whichcoincidewiththetimeintervalsof5minuteseachofthesessions

and the pop-quiz questions, thus having, for example, that point 6


13/35

represents minute 30 and point 12 represents minute 60, point 18

representsminute90andpoint24representsminute120.

2. Results of the Experimental Group for the topic of Knowledge of the

Brain:

Thefollowingtableshowstheresultsforeachstudent,includingitsserial

number,gradeperquestion,totalgrade,andgradeaveragesperquestion

andpergroup:


participated in theExperimentalGroup forthesessionof Knowledge of

the Brain. A 1 stands for a correct answer, and a 0 stands for an

incorrect answer in each one of the 24 multiple-choice questions. The

secondcolumnofthe tablerepresentstheserialnumberassignedtothe

210studentsbefore picking them. Thefollowing24 columns represent


14/35

theresultsforeachquestion.Thefinalcolumnshowsthetotalscore(ona



was76.6outof100.







3. ResultsoftheControlGroupforthetopicofCreativeIntelligence:

Thefollowingtableshowstheresultsforeachstudent:

Thefollowinggraphshowstheaverageresults:


15/35


participatedintheControlGroupforthesessionofCreativeIntelligence.

A1standsforacorrectanswer,anda0standsforanincorrectanswer

ineachoneofthe24multiple-choicequestions.Thesecondcolumnofthe

table represents theserialnumber assignedto the210students before

picking them.The following24columns represent the results for each

question.Thefinalcolumnshowsthetotalscore(onascaleof0to100)

foreachtest.Thefinallineholdstheaverageofall10studentsforeach

question,aswellasthetotalaverage,whichinthiscasewas54.1outof

100.


Thepatternofthegraphdescribestheaverageresultsofeachquestion,whichcoincidewiththetimeintervalsof5minuteseachofthesessions




4. ResultsoftheExperimentalGroupforthetopicofCreativeIntelligence:

Thefollowingtableshowstheresultsforeachstudent:


16/35


participated in the Experimental Group for the session of Creative

Intelligence. A 1 stands for a correct answer, and a 0 stands for an

incorrect answer in each one of the 24multiple-choice questions. The

secondcolumnofthe tablerepresentstheserialnumberassignedtothe

210studentsbefore picking them. Thefollowing24 columns represent

theresultsforeachquestion.Thefinalcolumnshowsthetotalscore(ona



was77.6outof100.






17/35



F.InterpretationoftheResults

ThefollowinggraphcomparestheresultsofthetestsoftheControlGroupswith

theresultsofthetestsoftheexperimentalgroupsofthesessionKnowledgeof

theBrain.TheyellowarearepresentstheaverageresultsoftheExperimental

Group,whilethebluelinerepresentstheaverageresultsoftheControlGroup.

Ifwe compare the total results between the groups, the improvement of the

Experimental Groupin comparisonwith the ControlGroupwas55%. I.E., theaveragetotalscoreincreasedfrom49.17to76.25withtheuseofrecalldrivers.

Inthegraphitispossibletoobservethefollowingelements:

ThepatternofthegraphfortheControlGrouphasabehaviorsimilarto

thatoftheR1Atheoreticalcurve.

TheExperimentalGrouphasamorehomogeneousbehaviorthroughout

time.

Atthebeginningandattheendofeachsessiontheresultsofthe2groups

arecloserduetothePrimacyEffectandtheRecencyEffect.


18/35

Theresultsoftheexperimentalgroupwerebetterinallotherpartsofthe

session,particularlybetweenminutes30and60.

Applicationoftherecalldrivershadaneffectontheresults,specifically

imagination,association/repetition,andGestalteffects.

ThefollowinggraphcomparestheresultsofthetestsoftheControlGroupswith

the results of the tests of the experimental groups of the session Creative

Intelligence.TheyellowarearepresentstheaverageresultsoftheExperimental

Group,whilethebluelinerepresentstheaverageresultsoftheControlGroup.

Ifwe compare the total results between the groups, the improvement of the

Experimental Groupin comparisonwith the ControlGroupwas43%. I.E., the

averagetotalscoreincreasedfrom53.75to77.08withtheuseofrecalldrivers.

Inthegraphitispossibletoobservethefollowingelements:

ThepatternofthegraphfortheControlGrouphasabehaviorsimilarto

thatoftheR1Atheoreticalcurve,withabiastotherightofthegraph.The

lattermeansthatthelowestresultsare locatedbetweenminutes45and

60ofthesession.

TheExperimentalGrouphadamorehomogeneousbehaviorthroughout

time.


19/35

Atthebeginningandattheendofeachsessiontheresultsofthe2groups

arecloserduetothePrimacyEffectandtheRecencyEffect.

Applicationoftherecalldrivershadaneffectontheresults,specifically

imagination, association / repetition, and Gestalt effects. The

Imaginationdriverhasanespeciallyhigheffectonincreasingtherecall

ofcontent.

Incomparingbothexperiments,i.e.thesessionofKnowledgeoftheBrainwith

the session of Creative Intelligence, the behavioral patterns of the Control

Groupsareshowninthefollowinggraph:

Thehorizontalaxisclassifiestheaveragesobtainedbythecontrolgrouponthe

Knowledge of the Brain session, while the vertical axis denotes the average

scoresoftheCreativeIntelligencesession.

Thecoefficient of correlation betweenboth variables is0.782,whichshowsa

high level of correlation, thus establishing that the behavioral pattern of the

RecallCurveswassimilarinbothControlGroups.

Incomparingbothexperiments,i.e.thesessionofKnowledgeoftheBrainwith

thesessionofCreativeIntelligence,thebehavioralpatternsoftheExperimental

Groupsareshowninthefollowinggraph:


20/35

Thehorizontalaxisclassifiestheaveragesobtainedbytheexperimentalgroup

on the Knowledge of the Brain session, while the vertical axis denotes the

averagescoresoftheCreativeIntelligencesession.

Thecorrelationcoefficientbetweenbothvariablesis0.65,whichshowsahigh

levelofcorrelation.Uponapplicationofrecalldriverstheresultscanvarybased

on the type of driver, even if the correlation is maintained within the high

segment.

Whenwecomparethescoresofbothgroupsweobtainthefollowingresults:

Regardless of the fact that the topics were different, the scores both in the

ControlGroupsandin theExperimentalGroupsweresimilar.Variation in the

scoresoftheExperimentalGroupswas1.3%,whiletheControlGroupsshoweda

variationof9.3%intheirscores.


21/35

Regardingotheravailablevariables,suchasthegradelevelofthestudentswhen

comparedto the resultsof the tests, tables and correlationgraphs are shown

below:

1.ControlGroup:KnowledgeoftheBrain

Column 1 of the tableshowsthe average scoreof the 9th grade students that

participatedinthetest,whilethesecondcolumnshowstheresultsobtainedin

thepop-quiz.Thecorrelationcoefficientbetweenbothvariablesis 0.694,which

showsarelativelyhighcorrelation.


22/35

2.ExperimentalGroup:KnowledgeoftheBrain

Column 1ofthe tableshowsthe averagescoreof the 9th gradestudents that


the pop-quiz. The correlation coefficient between both variables was 0.742,

whichshowsarelativelyhighcorrelation.


23/35

3.ControlGroup:CreativeIntelligence

Column 1ofthe tableshowsthe averagescoreof the 9th gradestudents that


the pop-quiz. The correlation coefficient between both variables was 0.875,

whichshowsaveryhighcorrelation.


24/35

4.ExperimentalGroup:CreativeIntelligence

Column 1 of the table shows the average score of 9th grade students that


thepop-quiz.Thecorrelationcoefficientbetweenbothvariablesis 0.667,which

showsarelativelyhighcorrelation.

Inobservingallfourgraphsandtheircorrespondingcorrelationcoefficientsitis

possibletodeterminethatthereisahighcorrelationbetweentheaveragesthat


25/35

havebeenkeptbythe9thgradestudentsintheirnormalclassesandthescores

theyobtainedinthetestsoftheexperiment.

III.ProposedMethodologytoImproveRecall

Based on the results obtained in the Study of Recall Curves we are able to

concludethattheLearning/RecallDriverscanindeedsignificantlyincreasethe

levelofrecall/understandinginlearningsessions.

Weproposethefollowingmethodologyasabasefortheuseofthedrivers:

A.Useofthelearningdrivers:

R1A curve showsthe learning drivers thatmust beused in learning sessions

withadurationof1to2hours.

Thisgraphshowsthe5keyeffects(drivers):

a) PrimacyEffect:Atthebeginning ofeach session the recall curve(R1A)

hasanaturaleffectthatconsistsofrecallingahigherpercentageofthe

initialcontentduetothefactthattheshorttermmemoryisunoccupied

and can send said information to the long term memory without


26/35

interference.Thiseffectgenerallyoccursapproximatelyduringthefirst3

to7minutes.

b) Recency Effect: At the end of each session, the learning curvehas the

naturaleffectofrecallingthelastitemwhichitwastaught.Regardlessof

thedurationofthesession(1or2hours),theeffectoccursapproximately

duringthelast2to5minutes.

c) Association/RepetitionEffect:Thiseffecthasthepurposeofkeepingthe

most relevant information of a learning session from being forgotten,

based on the fundamental principle of Association of Ideas, and

reinforcedbytheprincipleofrepetition.Associationisoneofthetwokey

functionsof memory (the other is imagination).Associationalsoallows

for the observation of contexts of total information, therefore

understanding itbetter when learninghow the parts are connected to

form a whole (context). 3 to 5 repetitions of key associations are

recommendedduringa2hourlearningperiod.

d) Imagination:Thiseffectisbasedontheotherkeyfunctionofmemory.It

referstotheuseofimaginationtomaximizerecallbasedondifferent

effectstobeuseddependingonthesession.

Thewaytousethesedriversinthedesignoflearningcontentisthefollowing:

(thisexampleisbasedona2hoursession):

a) First10minutes(PrimacyEffect):Thislearningsegmentischaracterized

bythenaturalcapacityofthebraintogatherinformation,asweverified

in the experimentsperformed, it is at its peak. Therefore,without the

need touse learningdrivers the content should include the context of

whatisgoingtobelearnedduringthenext2hours.Thelatterinorderto

pave the road the student will travel during the next 110 to 120

minutes. Providing the studentwith the structure ofwhat he/she willlearnpriortoteachingitwillenablethestudenttolearninamuchmore


27/35

effectiveway.ThistheoryisknownasWhole-Parts-Whole,andisbased

on the latest discoveries in learning theories (Malcolm Knowles, Tony

Buzan, et. al.). The generic model for Whole-Parts-Whole is shown

below:

This model takes advantage of the Primacy Effect to explain the first

Whole,whichmaybethescheduleandthekeyitemstobediscussed.In

othercases,dependingonthesubjectmatter,thisWholecanconsistof

thekeypointsfordevelopingskills,etc.

b) Minutes 20 to 25 (Gestalt Effect): This effect can be used at any time

duringa2hourlearningsession,butitsuseisrecommendedduringthe

first20to25minutesandinthelast20to25minutesofthesession,in

ordertoreinforcekeylearningitems.Thebestwaytousethiseffectisthe

method knownas Learning byDiscovery,oruse of ActiveMemory.

Rather than have the teacher provide the students with all the

information(passivememorymode),usingtheGestaltEffect,theteacher

canprovidethestudentwithcluesthatwillenablehim/hertoinferthe

informationbasedonthenaturaltendencyofthebraintofill-outmissing

information. If properly used, this effect can be very effective to help

rememberandunderstandinformation.WhenthebraingoesintoActive

Memorymode,thegeneratedassociationsaremuchmoredurable.What

actuallyoccursinthebrainataphysicallevelisthatefficientconnections

(synapses)areformed,whichallowsrecallofinformationinafastway,to

laterassociateitwithotherrelevantinformationtobetterunderstandthe

recentlyacquiredknowledge.


28/35

c) Minutes40to45(Association-RepetitionEffect):Basedontherhythmsof

memory,itisrecommendedtorepeatkeyinformation3to5timesduring

a 2 hour learning session. The objective is to generate efficient

connections (synapses) that allow for a better understanding of the

totalityof therecentlyacquiredknowledge, aswellas, theassociations

withRelevantKnowledge.

d) Minutes55to60(imaginationEffect):Thiseffectisveryimportant,given

thatitproducesasignificantincreaseintherecallofthematerial.Oneof

themosteffectiveways touse imaginationis through the Von Restorff

effect. In order to generate this effect it is necessary to include a

memorablestoryormetaphorthatisdifferenttotheinformationthathas

beenseenuptothatmoment.Itisrecommendedtousethiseffect1or2

timesduring a 2 hour session, especially at the moment inwhich the

recallcurveisat itslowestpoint.Accordingtothetheoreticalcurve,this

occursapproximatelyatthemiddleofthesession.Basedontheresultsof

the experiment performed, the lowest parts of recall were between

minutes 45 and 70.

AnexampleoftheVonRestorffeffectwouldbetomentionacityandask

thestudentstomentionthebuildingormonumentinthatcitythatthey

rememberthemost.IfwementionParis,forexample,thestudentswould

mention the Eiffel Tower. If we mention Sydney (in Australia), the

studentswould respond The Opera House. If wemention Egypt, they

wouldrespondThePyramids. Ifwemention India, the studentswould

mentiontheTajMahal.Thesemonumentsorbuildingsclearlystandout

fromtherestoftheconstructionsineachoneoftheseplaces.

Also, it isnecessaryto include information thatclearlystands-out from

the rest due to its originality, for beingdifferent, for being apparently

illogical, its colorfulness (images), its imagination (metaphors), or forbeing memorable (a story). The metaphors and the stories are


29/35

particularlyeffectiveandcanbecombinedwiththeeffectofassociationin

ordertomaximizetheircomprehensionandrecall.

e) Minutes 75 to 80 (Association-Repetition Effect): As previously

mentioned,itisnecessarytorepeatallrelevantinformationofthesession

3to5times(ina2hoursession),inordertoformefficientsynapsesthat

makeitdifficulttoforgetduetothefactthattheconnectionshavebeen

established repeatedly (neurotransmitters to receptors, improved by

myelin). It is recommended that information be repeated in different

ways. For example, an effective method is to include exercises and

dynamics thatwillmake thestudentsusespecific relevant information

again.AnotherwaytoachievethisiscombiningtheGestaltEffectwiththe

Association by giving the student only a part of the information and

allowinghim/hertoinfertherest.

f) Minutes 100 to 105 (Association-Repetition Effect): In the third

repetition,whichisclosetotheendofthesession,itisrecommendedto

associatetheinformationtothefinalwholeofthesession,whichcanbe

related to the relevant conclusions. This will allow the generation of

maximumcomprehensionof thematerial, aswell as,theobservationof

thewholecontextofthecontentofthemodulebeingtaught.

g) Minutes 110 to 115 (Recency Effect): Based on the brains natural

tendency to recall the last item it was taught during the session, it is

recommended touse this time segment toprovide themost important

conclusionsforeachtopicandsummarizekeyteachings.Thewrap-upof

the teachings ofthe2hourmodule represents the second WHOLE to

closethemodule.

TheprocessofstartingwithaWHOLE,thenpassingontothePARTS(details

of the content to be taught), and closing with the WHOLE significantly

facilitatestheunderstandingofthetaughtmaterialduetothefactthatthe


30/35

studentunderstandsthecontextoftheinformation(systemicvision)andits

associationstotheparts(analyticalvision).

Thisprocesscomplieswiththeprinciplesoftheeffectofassociation,given

thatitallowsfortheassociationofthewholewithitsparts,andalsoforthe

visualization of each component of a learning session in the global

objectives.

Eachteachingmodule(inthisprojecteachmodulewas2hoursinduration)

must have aWHOLE-PARTS-WHOLE cycle. The following table shows the

genericprocesstohandlevariousmodules:

ThistableshowsthateachmodulemustincludetheWHOLE-PARTS-WHOLE

cycle, and also the full topic,whichmay require variousmodules, should

have a WHOLE-PARTS-WHOLE construction. For example, if a specific

subjecthasacontentwhichrepresentsatotalof20hours,dividedintwo

main topics with five 2 hour modules each, each module must have the

WHOLE-PARTS-WHOLEcycle,asshouldeachsubtopicandthewholesubject

matter.

IV.Conclusions

BasedontheresultsobtainedintheStudyofRecallCurvesweareableto

conclude that the Learning / Recall Drivers can indeed significantly

increasethelevelofrecall/understandinginlearningsessions.


31/35

Althoughthestudywas basedon9th grade students, thedriversandthe

learning curves can beused in any subject and atany educational level

(elementary, middle, and high school). The drivers can also be used in

collegeeducationorprofessionalbusinesstraining.

TheresultsoftheresearchprojectintheRecallCurveswere:

Asshown, both on the topic of Knowledge of the Brain and on the topicof

CreativeIntelligence,therecalldriversandlearningsignificantlyimprovedthe

levelofrecallandcomprehensionofthelearningsessions.

Regarding the session on the topic of Knowledge of the Brain, the Control

Grouphasanaveragescoreof49.5,whiletheExperimentalGroupobtainedan

average of 76.6 in that same test; that means an improvement of 54.7%.

RegardingthesessiononthetopicofCreativeIntelligence,theControlGroup

hasanaveragescoreof54.1,whiletheExperimentalGroupobtainedanaverage

of77.6inthatsametest;thatmeansanimprovementof43.4%.

It is possible to conclude, with a degree of confidence over 95%, given the

sampleandrandomcharacteroftheexperiment,thatthelearningdrivershada

positiveeffectonthelevelofrecallandcomprehension.

Regardingthebehaviourofthetheoreticalcurveofrecall(R1Acurve),therewas

ahighcorrelationbetweenthegraphsoftheControlGroupsandthetheoretical

curve. Various statistical expertshave offered theinterpretation ofcorrelation

coefficients. One of the most widely used standards is that of J. P. Cohen


32/35

(Applied Multiple Regression / Correlation Analysis for the Behavioural

Sciences),whichclassifiesthelevelofcorrelationasfollows:

Thisclassificationisverywidelyusedinsocialandbehavioralsystems,suchas

thestudyoflearningcurves.

The following graph shows the comparison between the theoretical curve, in

pink, and the curve corresponding to the control group, in blue (Topic:

KnowledgeoftheBrain).

Theindexofcorrelationbetweenbothpatternswas0.76,i.e.,highaccordingto

theappendedclassification.Inotherwords,thehypothesisthatstatesthatthe

control group (without recall drivers)would behave in a similar way as the

theoreticalcurvewasfulfilled.


33/35

Regarding the control group on the topic of Knowledge of the Brain, the

followinggraphshowsthecomparisonbetweenthetheoreticalcurve(patternin

pink)andthecurveofthecontrolgroup(patterninblue).

The index of correlation between both patterns was 0.88, i.e., very high

according to the appended classification. In otherwords, the hypothesis that

statesthatthecontrolgroup(withoutrecalldrivers)wouldbehaveina similar

wayasthetheoreticalcurvewasfulfilledforthisgroup.

Theconclusionregardingthistopicisthatthetheoreticalcurvecloselyreflects

what happens in reality with average learning that does not include recall /

comprehensiondrivers.

Thus, the use of recall drivers is recommended to maximize recall. Refer to

sectionIIIofthepresentdocumentforrecommendedmethodologies.

Thecorrelationoftheothertwovariables(gradesandage)wasperformedas

well, in relation to the results of the Experimental Groups and the Control

Groups.

Regardingthelevelofscoresinrelationtotheresults,boththecontrolgroups

andtheexperimentalgroupsshowedahighcorrelation(between0.67and0.88)


34/35

between both variables. Thus, it is possible to conclude that this correlation

validatesthelevelandtypeoftestsappliedtothestudy.

Regardingthecomparisonbetweentheageandtheresultsobtainedinthetests,

the levels of correlation were low. These levels varied between -0.076 and -

0.309,thereforeconcludingthatthereisnocorrelationbetweentheageandthe

resultsofthetests.

Thefollowinggraphsshowthislowcorrelation:

ControlGroupKnowledgeoftheBrain:Correlation:-0.090

ExperimentalGroupKnowledgeoftheBrain:Correlation:-0.319


35/35

ControlGroupCreativeIntelligence:Correlation:-0.076

ExperimentalGroupCreativeIntelligence.Correlation:-0.109

As a final conclusion to this study, it is possible to state that the recall /comprehensiondriversareverypowerfultoolsinmaximizingtheprobabilityof

havingknowledgeimpartedinlearningclassroomsretained,thustransferringit

tolongtermmemoryinordertopyramidrelevantknowledgeandincreasethe

developmentofintellectualwealth.

Recall After Learning

Documents

Transcript of Recall After Learning