Motivation Effects and Efficiency of Retrieval Practice over Lecture
Taken together, what does this tell us? 1) We need to be paying attention to the interaction of learning strategies on motivational factors. Motivation matters both for student participation in course material but also for self-directed learning. 2) Jumping straight to practice is (maybe) ok to do. When I first read this article, I was…
Adult Learners with ADHD
by Althea Need KaminskeCover Image by Robin Higgins from PixabayAs of last October, the CDC estimates that approximately 1 in 16 adults in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD (1). Despite the high prevalence of ADHD in adults, there are few resources for adult learners with ADHD. Many resources online are designed for…
Interleaving Is Less Effective When Taking Notes
References:(1) Taylor, K., & Rohrer, D. (2010). The effects of interleaved practice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(6), 837-848.(2) Wahlheim, C. N., Dunlosky, J., & Jacoby, L. L. (2011). Spacing enhances the learning of natural concepts: An investigation of mechanisms, metacognition, and aging. Memory & Cognition, 39(5), 750-763.(3) Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2008). Learning concepts…
Cognitive Networks: Exposure Matters
Cover photo by Gerd Altmann from PixabayBy Megan SumerackiIn my last blog, I wrote about cognitive networks and implicit bias. The gist of the post was that our systems allow us to categorize and generalize, flexibly and automatically, and that this generally helps us. For example, we have some general rules about what a chair…
Retrieval Practice in the Health Professions
Cover image by u_9p7tw4noz0 from PixabayBy Althea Need KaminskeNote: The following describes Health Professions Education within the U.S.As a learning scientist interested in how learning works, health professions education is an exciting and dynamic environment to explore best practices in the application of the principles and strategies that we study in cognitive psychology. Recently, Cindy…
Reblog: How To Convince Students To Use Effective Study Strategies?
As mentioned, the authors used a mixed-method approach. One the one hand, they asked students during the pre- and post-assessment to indicate how many minutes they had spent using successive relearning or other learning strategies, when they had started studying for the exam, their confidence in recalling specific content from the course, etc. On the…
Flipped Classrooms: Can We Skip the Lecture?
(cover image by ISDiva on Pixabay)by Cindy NebelI am proud to work in a learning environment that follows the data and uses evidence-based practices in learning. Several years ago, and before my time, St. Louis University School of Medicine adopted a flipped classroom approach. Students rarely sit in live didactic lectures, but instead watch pre-recorded…
Cognitive Networks and Implicit Bias
Images above by WOKANDAPIX, Yinan Chen, Taken, kieurope, M S, and GSLCMedia, from PixabayWe are able to categorize, and to generalize. Every time you see a chair that you have never seen before, you don’t have to learn that it is a chair and can be used for sitting. This is because you have learned some general rules…
AI and Adolescent Well-Being: New APA Health Advisory
Many AI chatbot platforms are designed to simulate human relationships and are marketed as companions or experts. The APA urges for safeguards to mitigate harm because 1) adolescents are less likely to question the accuracy and intent of the chatbot and 2) adolescents’ relationship with AI may displace or interfere with development of healthy, real-world…
Imitation versus Retrieval Practice in Foreign Language Pronunciation Learning
The question then is whether imitation is the best approach to learning pronunciation or whether an alternative approach is equally or more effective. Kang et al. (1) investigated exactly this research question. They looked at comprehension and production (i.e., pronunciation) of foreign language words and pitched an imitation approach against a retrieval practice approach. In…
