For Researchers

Generative chatbots like ChatGPT also have a remarkable ability to pass for human-like performance in some limited social contexts, scoring well on standardized exams assessments typically used to measure aptitude and performance in a field (2). However, the lack of agency in chatbots means that they are unable to take responsibility for their actions.They cannot…

Cover Image by cottonbro studio from PexelsBy Althea Need KaminskeNote: To the best of my knowledge I did not use generative AI to write this post. Any mistakes or insights are my own. AI is big right now. It’s been big for a while, but it seems to be more and more aggressive in the…

Cover image by Kei from PixabayBy Megan SumerackiLast week, my blog post covered a paper by Simon Cullen and Daniel Oppenheimer. Their paper is titled Choosing to Learn: The Importance of Student Autonomy in Higher Education (1). In their paper, they present two studies. The first study, covered in Part 1, was a randomized controlled…

Cover image by Ulrich from PixabayBy Megan SumerackiIn today’s post, I want to share a cool, relatively new paper by Simon Cullen and Daniel Oppenheimer from Science Advances (1). The paper is titled, Choosing to Learn: The Importance of Student Autonomy in Higher Education. The methodology is neat, the results are interesting, and while this…

Cover image by Ulrich from PixabayBy Megan SumerackiIn today’s post, I want to share a cool, relatively new paper by Simon Cullen and Daniel Oppenheimer from Science Advances (1). The paper is titled, Choosing to Learn: The Importance of Student Autonomy in Higher Education. The methodology is neat, the results are interesting, and while this…

The summary of the articles they found paints a picture of who is implementing and studying these learning strategies. Not surprisingly, introductory psychology courses were the most common setting to find studies (there were 16 studies like this) on the use of retrieval practice and spacing. After that, the most common setting to find these…

By Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel Educational videos are often used in the classroom setting to support instruction of content. On the positive side, these videos can help scaffolding a topic which can lead to better understanding of it. They can also increase situational interest in students because they are fun which may spark further engagement with the…

2) Yerkes-Dodson: Lore, not Law by Cindy Nebel and Stress and Memory by Althea Need KaminskeThis pair of posts is one of my favorites. We were taught that Yerkes-Dodson Law was, well, a law. When stress is too low or too high, performance suffers. Then Cindy discovered, not necessarily so. Friends, we were all blown…

Now, onto the written coverage of this paper, by Jennifer Brigati and colleagues (1)! Note: my written coverage overlaps with the video, but is not a perfect replication. There’s a little something extra in each, based on how I’ve been tossing these ideas around in my head over the last few weeks.The studyIn their 2020…

References(1) Allen, M., LeFebvre, L., LeFebvre, L., & Bourhis, J. (2020). Is the Pencil Mightier than the Keyboard? A Meta-Analysis Comparing the Method of Notetaking Outcomes. Southern Communication Journal, 85(3), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2020.1764613 (2) Voyer, D., Ronis, S. T., & Byers, N. (2022). The effect of notetaking method on academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.…