GUEST POST: From Knowledge To Skill: Do Learning Strategies Improve Critical Thinking?
A number of studies with university students have examined whether retrieved knowledge can be applied to novel contexts. Butler (2010) was one of the first studies to explore this. The study showed that testing participants on new knowledge domain questions (wing structure for military aircrafts) after quizzing them on different knowledge domain questions (wing structure…
GUEST POST: Learning Strategies for Academic Writing
As an undergraduate at Stonehill College, Jessica Costello researched student and faculty knowledge of effective study techniques and sought a way to integrate empirically-supported learning techniques with the needs of the students she encountered as a writing tutor. She is currently working on her master’s in clinical counseling psychology at Assumption College and conducting research…
GUEST POST: Learning Styles and Differentiated Instruction
References: (1) Kirschner, P. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers and Education, 106, 166-171.(2) Macdonald, K., Germine, L., Anderson, A., Christodoulou, J., and McGrath, L. (2017). Dispelling the myth: Training in education or neuroscience decreases but does not eliminate beliefs in neuromyths. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. (3) Willingham, D., Hughes, E., and Dobolyi, D. (2015).…
GUEST POST: Using Colors, Images and Cartoons to Support Learning
References: (1) Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (2) Heidig, S., Müller, J., & Reichelt, M. (2015). Emotional design in multimedia learning: Differentiation on relevant design features and their effects on emotions and learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 81-95. (3) Um, E., Plass, J. L., Hayward, E. O., & Homer,…
GUEST POST: The Memory Palace: How to Remember Just About ANYTHING
The human mind also has a great capability to remember bizarre events. (2) pg.86. Think about it for a second. We forget mundane or banal things like what we had for lunch last week. However, if the lunch was different, unique, bizarre or exceptional, chances are you would remember it. The image of Spider-Man swinging…
GUEST POST: Reading From Screens Compared To Paper: What Are The Differences?
References: (1) Clinton, V. (in-press). Reading from paper compared to screens: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading. (2) Delgado, P., Vargas, C., Ackerman, R., & Salmerón, L. (in-press). Don't throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension. Educational Research Review. (3) Kong, Y.,…
GUEST POST: How to Use Humor in Order to Teach and Learn More Effectively
References: (1) Carlson, K. A. (2011). The impact of humor on memory: Is the humor effect about humor?. Humor - International Journal of Humor Research, 24(1), 21-41. (2) Strick, M., Holland, R. W., Van Baaren, R., & Van Knippenberg, A. (2009). Humor in the eye tracker: Attention capture and distraction from context cues. The Journal of…
GUEST POST: To Nap or Not to Nap, IS That a Question?
A common sleep recommendation is to limit naps! Wait, what? Anyone who has struggled to get children to nap should be laughing so hard now they might be crying. As a parent of two young boys, I cherish times when they both settle down for an afternoon nap. Certainly, children should be getting more sleep…
GUEST POST: Who Benefits More From Peer Feedback: The Giver or the Receiver?
Li, Liu, and Steckelberg (2010) looked at undergraduate education students who completed a Webquest project and gave peer feedback before revising for a final submission (3). They found that, once the quality of the initial submission was controlled for, those who gave better feedback produced better final products than those who gave poor feedback. However,…
GUEST POST: An Interview with a physician who created an app that employs evidence-based...
David Handel, MD, Co-founder iDoRecall.com, a web application that helps students achieve academic success by leveraging evidence-based learning science strategies. David is a retired MD who was a mediocre K-12 student but graduated #1 in his college and medical school classes by using cognitive psychology learning techniques to completely redesign his approach to learning. David…
