How to Study--New Insight, Old Method

 "Close the Book. Recall. Write It Down."

That's the advice from the latest research on how to learn--and it's research that confirms ideas first floated back in the 1940s. Today many professors tell their students to study by reading and rereading carefully. As The Chronicle of Higher Education reports,

That's not terrible advice. But some scientists would say that you've left out the most important step: Put the book aside and hide your notes. Then recall everything you can. Write it down, or, if you're uninhibited, say it out loud.

Two psychology journals have recently published papers showing that this strategy works, the latest findings from a decades-old body of research. When students study on their own, "active recall" — recitation, for instance, or flashcards and other self-quizzing — is the most effective way to inscribe something in long-term memory.

The entire article by David Glenn is online from The Chronicle.

N-Effect . . . Another Argument for Small Class Size

Psychologists asked a question basic: "Modern life often seems like a rat-race. But does one's motivation to run the maze, to compete, depend on how many other 'rats' are in the race?"

Well . . . yes, apparently so.

The researchers found that people do better in smaller competitive situations than in large ones, which they call the N-Effect, "the discovery that increasing the number of competitors (N) can decrease competitive motivation." Their studies show "that average test scores (e.g., SAT scores) fall as the average number of test-takers at test-taking venues increases." That is, people do better on some tasks if they think they are competing against only 10 other other people instead of 100 people.

The psychologists suggest where further study is needed but note that their findings may shed light on debates about class size and student success:

. . . One such example concerns the debate on the role of class size in education (Mishel, & Rothstein, 2002), where some suggest class-size is rather insignificant (e.g., Hanushek, 2002) while others deem it important (e.g., Krueger, 2002). The N-Effect, however, sheds new light on this debate by revealing that as the mere N of students in the classroom increases, motivation to compete and exert academic effort are likely to decrease. In fact, perhaps the N-Effect could partly solve the mystery of the falling SAT scores in recent years (Finder, 2007), if one were to find that the average N test-takers reporting to testing venues is continually increasing.

Finally, we conclude by qualifying Zajonc’s (1965) recommendation in his seminal facilitation article, which stated: “If one were to draw one practical suggestion . . . he would advise his student . . . to arrange to take his examinations in the company of many other students, on stage, and in the presence of a large audience. The results of his examination would be beyond his wildest expectations…” (p. 274, Zajonc, 1965). Our social comparison account of the N-Effect would recommend having only a few others on stage; adding too many competitors may dampen, rather than enhance, the motivation to compete.

 (Picture of large psych class courtesy of Karma Moths )

The paper by Stephen M. Garcia and Avishalom Tor--The N-Effect: More Competitors, Less Competition -- is forthcoming from Psychological Science.

Reading on the Rise

According to a new survey from the National Endowment for the Arts, reading is on the rise in the United States, reversing a 26-year trend of decline.

The report concludes, "Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics have all shown significant growth in their reading rates, as have both adult men and women.  . . . Best of all, the most significant growth has been among young adults, the group that had shown the largest declines in earlier surveys."

The report lists 12 statistical findings, including the observation that "The U.S. adult population now breaks into two almost equally sized groups--readers and nonreaders":

The report doesn't include any statistical reason for the rise in reading, although the increase among a broad demographic suggests that no single age-based reading program can claim responsibility. Instead, the rise seems the result of numerous efforts throughout schools and communities.

The New York Times reports that Dana Gioia, chair of the NEA, attributes "the increase in literary reading to community-based programs like the 'Big Read,' Oprah Winfrey’s book club, the huge popularity of book series like 'Harry Potter' and Stephenie Meyer’s 'Twilight,' as well as the individual efforts of teachers, librarians, parents and civic leaders to create 'a buzz around literature that’s getting people to read more in whatever medium.'"

You can download the entire, readable report from NEA's website: Reading on the Rise: A New Chapter in American Literacy .

Software for Starving Students, Part Deux

 

We posted previously about Software for Starving Students , but--sadly--the main source of those valuable links at SoftwareFor.org has gone the way of the dodo.

So we're pleased to tell you about OpenDisc's education project, OpenEducationDisc , which provides high quality open source software for Windows. As OpenDisc explains,

The purpose of [the OpenEducationDisc] is to provide students with the software that they need to complete school work at home. Most students don’t have jobs and it is unfair to ask for them or a parent/guardian to buy expensive software to get the best out of their education.

We agree.

Boredom: "a legitimate human emotion that can be central to learning and creativity."

A recent New York Times article based on several studies points to some interesting conclusions about boredom:

Some experts say that people tune things out for good reasons, and that over time boredom becomes a tool for sorting information — an increasingly sensitive spam filter. In various fields including neuroscience and education, research suggests that falling into a numbed trance allows the brain to recast the outside world in ways that can be productive and creative at least as often as they are disruptive.

This news leaves us feeling ambiguous. As professors, we want our students to be productive and creative, but we find it disconcerting to be on the receiving end of NOELs (nod-off episodes per lecture) caused by boredom. In one study, investigators analyzed medical presentations on the topic of dementia "and found that a monotonous tone was most strongly associated with 'nod-off episodes per lecture (NOELs),' followed by the sight of a tweed jacket on the lecturer."

Photo of Yale law school ornamentation from http://www.henrytrotter.com

If I Ran the Zoo . . .

Inspired by Dr. Seuss's If I Ran the Zoo, the editors of the National Association of Scholars have asked some of their friends and colleagues to imagine how they would change higher education if they ran "the zoo."

The responses are interesting, thoughtful, and amusing. In "If I Ran the University Zoo," Adam Kissel starts his poetic response by saying,

If I ran the university zoo,

The number of administrators would be divided by two,

And two, and two, and two, and two,

Leaving more resources available for me and for you.

Another responder, John Leo, says,

Here’s a simple suggestion

(Avoiding all fads)

I’d have some professors

Who teach undergrads

Most of the responses are in prose. Mark Bauerlein's suggestion is "one simple rule":

The rule is: every professor in English, history, philosophy, foreign languages, classics, various “studies” programs, art history, education, film, creative writing, and journalism would have to teach one section of freshman composition each year.

You can read all the solicited and unsolicited responses to NAS's challenge on the NAS web site.

TeachingTips.com -- Not for Teachers Only

TeachingTips.com is a new weblog that seems to specialize in itemized lists of internet resources of interest to teachers and students. It posts blog entries with titles liked "50 Ways to Go Green in the Classroom" and "The Ultimate Guide to Special Needs Teaching: 100+ Resources and Links."

Two recent posts caught our eye as being potentially useful to college students:

• 100 Unbelievably Useful Reference Sites You’ve Never Heard Of (although we suspect you've heard of many of them, it's still a handy list), and
• The Art of Learning Better: 101 Tips to Find and Fit Your Learning Style (ideas on how to improve learning according to one's learning style: visual, auditory,or kinesthetic).
  

Free Writing Course . . . and It's Good!

Several years ago, our English department spent some of its small, precious budget to buy the Annenberg Media series English Composition: Writing for an Audience. Today, you can watch it for free on Annenberg's Learner.org web site.

The interesting thing about this series is that it features conversations with and advice from writers from all fields of endeavor: authors, journalists, teachers, musicians, judges, nurses, engineers, scientists, and athletes.

For instance, author Frank McCourt (pictured, Angela's Ashes) talks about revising sentences; Emmy Award-winning scriptwriter David Mills (NYPD Blue and ER) and humorist/grammar expert Dave Barry describe how they use revision; writers and actors from the television series MAD TV outline how they write collaboratively; and humorist Tom Bodett discusses organizational techniques.

See: English Composition: Writing for an Audience (free registration required)

Roommate with a Video-Game System?

Halo Gamers
Originally uploaded by Bilbeny

When your parents deposited you in your residence hall room (sob!), they were looking (surreptitiously or not) for the tell-tale signs of your inevitable (they fear) moral dissolution. But did they check your new roommate's gaming gear?

Today's Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a study which links a roommate's gaming gear with less study time:

According to a paper scheduled for release this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, first-year college students who happen to be assigned roommates with video-game consoles study 40 minutes less per day, on average, than first-year students whose roommates did not bring consoles.

And that reduction in study time has a sizable effect on grades: First-year students whose roommates brought video-game consoles earned grades that were 0.241 lower, on a 4-point scale, than did otherwise-equivalent students whose roommates did not have consoles.

What to do? The Chronicle reports that the researchers conclude "The important lesson of their research . . . is that colleges should encourage effort, frequently reminding their students that study time pays off."

The research article--"The Causal Effect of Studying on Academic Performance"-- is available online for a fee from the National Bureau for Economic Research.

The Secret to a Long Life

The one social factor that researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education. It is more important than race; it obliterates any effects of income. . . . A few extra years of school is associated with extra years of life and vastly improved health decades later, in old age.

Yes, The New York Times reports that the correlation between education and longevity is stronger than any other factor, including money and health insurance. Of course, other factors are important, too, such as not smoking, living within a network of family and friends, and having a job that supplies autonomy. But Michael Grossman, a health economist at the City University of New York, says, "If you were to ask me what affects health and longevity, . . . I would put education at the top of my list."

Read all about it at the NYTimes: A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in School.