Four Scientific Learning Techniques Lead to Effective Learning

 Learning techniques are commonly used among college students. We are all familiar with some learning techniques like highlighting, summarization, rereading, self-testing, etc. Effective learning techniques can help us get the most of our time when we are trying to learn new things, also help improve our grades and remember the information we have learned accurately. However, how do we know which techniques are most useful and effective? 

Dunlosky et.al 2013 discussed 10 learning techniques in detail and offered a recommendation of their relative utility. The 10 techniques are elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, rereading, practice testing, distributed practice, and interleaved practice. The researchers used 4 categories of variables, which are learning conditions, student characteristics, materials, and criterion tasks to measure the generalizability of those techniques' benefits. Researchers divide those techniques into 3 categories: low utility, moderate utility, and high utility. I will recommend 4 learning techniques that are regarded as high or moderate utility in this blog. 

Practice testing

Practice testing refers to taking practice on materials students have to learn or do self-testing. It is measured as high-utility because it can be applied to different materials, practice formats, and learners' ages. It also only requires minimal training. Several research studies have supported practice testing has high efficiency in different educational contexts. Try practice testing next time to improve your learning efficiency-- lots of people are scared of doing it because it seems to bring extra stress and expose their weakness, but it can make your work more productive and it is actually saving your time. You don't have to take an actual test in a formal testing environment; you can use apps like Quizlet to test yourself and help you memorize. 

Distributed practice

Distributed practice means setting a schedule of practice that distributes study activities over time. We all have the experiences that due to procrastination or other factors, we try to cram all information in one night before the test, and end up getting a bad grade or feeling exhausted. Distributed practice can help solve this problem. This strategy is also regarded as high utility and researchers suggest it can benefit long-term retention. It is effective for different age groups, with various materials; although it requires some training, it is still easy to use. 

Self-explanation

Self-explanation refers to explaining how new information is related to known information. It is rated as having moderate utility by researchers. According to the paper, self-explanation effects have been shown across an impressive age range, different task domains, and different content materials. It also requires minimal training, but some results suggest its effects can be enhanced if students are taught how to effectively implement this strategy. We can try to use a concept map to do self-explanation. By creating a concept map, we can relate new information to our prior knowledge, organize different thoughts and concepts to help us better memorize and understand class contents.

Elaborative interrogation

Elaborative interrogation means generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true. It is regarded as having moderate utility by researchers. Elaborative interrogation effects have been shown across a relatively broad range of factual topics. Some evidence suggests its benefit may be limited for learners with low levels of domain knowledge, but it can definitely work for college-level students. To apply elaborative interrogation to our study, we can ask ourselves more 'why' questions (why would something be true) to connect new information to what we have learned and develop our knowledge base. 

Overall, I recommend 4 learning techniques that are measured as having high or moderate utility by Dunlosky et.al. I think those techniques can help improve our learning efficiency and make our work more productive. What are your favorite learning techniques? What do you think it's the reason they work for you? Have you ever tried the 4 learning techniques I mentioned above?

Reference: 

1.  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.

2.  https://www.lifehack.org/860370/learning-techniques