For Researchers

1) Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)The MSLQ is in the public domain and is free to use with acknowledgement to the authors. The MSLQ is divided into several different scales. The Motivation Scales assess Value Components (intrinsic and extrinsic task orientations, task value), Expectancy Components (control beliefs, self-efficacy), and Affective Components (test anxiety). The…

By Althea Need KaminskeCover image by Mizuno K from PexelsRecently, Cindy talked about how the Yerkes-Dodson Law (or performance-arousal) is less of a law and more of a nice story about how stress influences performance. The performance-arousal curve is a handy explanation for a lot of different patterns and, on the surface, it seems to…

Students in the experiment read the explanations and completed their practice cases with feedback in the way outlined by their particular experimental condition (i.e., interleaved with one context, interleaved with two contexts, blocked with one context, blocked with two contexts). Measuring Learning and TransferThe students were then tested to see how much they could remember…

By Carolina Kuepper-TetzelImagine you are enrolled in a life sciences course and learning about stochastic molecular motion in biological systems (i.e., how molecules move in random ways within cells and other parts of living things). You are given the option to study the topic using either a) expository instruction which focuses on explaining the topic,…

In today’s post, I present a paper from 2020 by Xiaofeng Ma and colleagues (1) investigating retrieval practice with first grade students (children ages 6-7 years). They wondered whether retrieval practice would be effective for children this young, given that children’s memory systems are less mature at this age. Children this age are much less…

The researchers found that when there were low levels of cold calling in a class, men tended to participate voluntarily more than women. When cold calling was frequently used within a class, students, both men and women, volunteered to participate more often. Further, the increase was larger for the women students than the men students.…

Cover image by Dharmendra Rai from PixabayBy Althea Need KaminskeWhile we talk about the benefits of retrieval practice a lot here at the Learning Scientists, we usually talk about the benefits of retrieval practice for already learned information. However, retrieval practice has also been shown to be beneficial for learning new information. That is, retrieving…

References:(1)    Yerkes, R.M., and Dodson, J.D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology of Psychology, 18(5), 459-482.(2)    Diamond D.M., et al. (2007). The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson…

By Megan SumerackiCover image by 정수 이 from PixabayIn a previous blog post about retrieval practice, Cindy asked, is asking questions in class enough? She covered an experiment by Magdalena Abel and Henry Roediger (1) in which students studied Swahili vocabulary in a few different conditions. In one of those conditions, students graded another student’s…

By Althea Need Kaminskecover image by StockSnap by PixabaySelf-regulated learning describes a cyclical process of forethought, performance, and self-reflection that enables a learner to regulate, and thereby improve, their learning (1). Previously, I’ve reviewed research on the relationship between self-regulated learning and personality, Carolina provided a digest on fostering self-regulated learning in students, and she…