Science of learning

Kosslyn, S. M. (2017). The science of learning. In S. M. Kosslyn & B. Nelson (Eds.), Working universities: Minerva and the future of higher education. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

This review provides an overview of the principles of human learning. Focus on describing how the principles aid learning.

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. Available through Claremont libraries, PubMed database.

This very long review touches on most of the major learning techniques that have been empirically evaluated in depth. Close read only the introductory paragraph and first section for each technique (General description of the technique and why it should work). Carefully review Table 4 which succinctly summarizes the utility of the reviewed learning techniques; this will be useful for in-class discussion. All other sections are optional. Note that the overall evaluations offered at the end of each section are not relevant for our purposes: These evaluations assume that one would want to use these techniques for all purposes. Our goal is to determine which techniques are best for which specific purposes, not necessarily in general.

Ted-Ed. (2015). How memories form and how we lose them - Catharine Young. YouTube.

This short video (<5 minutes) conveys basic, but important, information about how our brains make memories. This video explains that repeated communication between neurons increases the efficiency of communication between those neurons, and those strengthened connections are the basis of memory. The video also highlights factors that aid memory, like attention and engagement with material, and factors that thwart memory, like chronic stress. Think about how the factors that aid and thwart the formation of memories relate to the principles of learning described by Kosslyn (2017) and the learning techniques described by Dunlosky et al. (2013).

Simmons, M. (2016). How Elon Musk learns faster and better than everyone else. Medium.

This reading provides an example of a number of learning principles and techniques that are discussed in both Dunlosky et al. (2013) and from Kosslyn (2017). Focus on identifying the underlying learning principles that Elon Musk effectively employs and identify why they are effective.

The 10 learning techniques are:

1. Elaborative interrogation
2. Self-explanation
3. Summarization
4. Highlighting/underlining
5. Keyword mnemonic
7. Rereading
8. Practice testing
9. Distributed practice
10. Interleaved practice

Principles behind learning techniques:

Elaborative interrogation - Think It Through - because asking yourself “why” demands a certain extent of deep thinking

Self-explanation - Make and Use Associations - because you have to recall information from your existing knowledge to understand and learn new information

Summarization - Think It Through - because you have to think wisely and pay attention when you summarize something

Highlighting/underlining - Think It Through - knowing what to underline in a text requires attention and comparison between certain parts of the text, this means thinking the text through

Keyword mnemonic - Make and Use Associations - because it means associating keywords or an images to better memorize verbal information

Imagery for text - Make and Use Associations - because it requires you to associate an image with a certain information

Rereading - Think It Through - because when you reread something you rethink what you read and gain a more detail and thought through perspective

Practice testing - Make and Use Associations + Think it Through - because when you take a test you have to demonstrate how well you thought through the information and then you have to use the associations you were supposed to make in the learning part

Distributed practice - Make and Use Associations - because you basically wait for the information to settle from a session to the other, then you become able to use it to make associations with what you learn afterwards

Interleaved practice
- Make and Use Associations - because when you mix different domains/fields you automatically make connections between what you learn and you are able to far transfer.

Highlighting/underlining - Avoiding interference, Deep processing - It is important to highlight key points, then later form deep understandings of these points relative to surrounding information for this to be a viable option in learning better. One must avoid trying to make everything stand out as it detracts from the overall goal.

Keyword mnemonic - dual codes, Appropriate examples - Keyword mnemonics allow for a student to weave in their own mental imagery to help remember things, but must be used in a clear way that will avoid all confusion that will slow down learning instead

Imagery for text - dual codes, deep processing - imagery mixes in another medium which forces a student to think deeper about how their own mental understanding fits in with the imagery described and compare and reflect between the two

Rereading - Spaced practice, Build on prior associations - by rereading, students are hypothetically building on the depth and quantity of information they retained. This constitutes a form of practice as they are returning to information they have seen before to learn in better

Practice testing - Deliberate practice, Desirable difficulty - by practice testing, students are able to create a challenge with the goal of becoming better, which most closely encompasses the the two aforementioned principles

Distributed practice - Spaced practice, Generation effect - by practicing the the use of certain information (be it recall or learning more deeply) students must remember what they currently associate with the information. Doing this at different times further reinforces the associations made by the student and limits information lost

Interleaved practice - Different Contexts, Avoiding interference - seeing the material in comparison to one another forces an individual to separate the information necessary for either subject, and in this way, it follows the aforementioned principles. By having to draw hard lines and engaging a student more, interleaved practice can improve learning.