AmeliaStClair BrendaMcKenna Writing1010 11/16/2013

NotGonebutNearlyForgotten:HowCanIStudyEffectively?
Theabilitytostudyissomethingthatisexpectedofapersonfromaboutmiddleschool.Totake whathasbeenintroducedintheclassroomandreexamineituntilitmakessensetothestudent. Masteryofthisconceptwouldmeaneasethroughoutmostofschool,andevenafterthat,incollegeand dailylife.Forhighschoolseniorswhoarebombardedwithstandardizedtests,itisanecessitytobeable tostudyaseffectivelyaspossible.Yetevenifyousearchfarandwide,thereisaveryslimchancethat youwillfindaclassonstudying.Theaveragestudenthasnowheretoturnbuttotryandlearnhowto studybythemselves.Yes,youcouldstareatabookforhoursinthehopesthatyouwillmemorizewhat itsays,butunlessyouhavephotographicmemory,theoddswillnotbeinyourfavor.Thereareother optionsofcourse,rangingfromconceptmapstopracticeproblemsandeventheuniversallyknown flashcards.Butwhichstudyhabitsworkbest? IwasinneedofsomegoodstudyhabitswhenIsigneduptotakeSATsubjecttestson physics,chemistry,andmathII.Iwasjustlikemanyotherhighschoolstudents,withtoomuchto studyandnoproperknowledgeofhowtostudyeffectively.Withthetestsloomingcloserand closertomeaseachdaypassed,knowinghowtostudywasquicklystartingtobecomethe differencebetweenmysuccessandfailure.Sohowdoesonestudy,andmoreimportantly,which wayofstudyingisthebest?Withmyquestionconsumingthethoughtsinmyhead,Isetofftofindthe answers. Istartedresearchingonlinebyusingthenumberonetoolformosthighschoolresearchers:the
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internet.Googlingstudyingbroughtupaninterestingassortmentoflinks,includingadictionary definitionandanassortmentofstudiesonthingsrangingfromethicstothemoontoBoeing777xjets. Afterscrollingthroughpagesofthingsthatareinnowayrelatedtomytopic,Ifoundawebsitetitled StudyGuidesandStrategies. Alongwithavarietyofotherstudyguidesandarticlesonlearning,thewebsitetalkedabouttwo differentstudysystems,theA.S.P.I.R.E.systemandtheIndexsystem.WiththeA.S.P.I.R.E.system, thewordaspireworksasamnemonic,witheachletterstandingforaparticularcommandtodowhile studying.TheletterAstoodforapproach/attitude/arrange(Landsberger),meaningtoapproachthe studysecessionwithapositiveattitudeandtoarrangetimetostudyfreeofdistractions.Sstoodfor select/survey/scan(Landsberger),whereyouselectareasonableamountofmaterialtostudy,survey boldanditalicizedtextalongwithpicturesandquestionsinthebooktogetanoverviewofthetopic, andscantheinformationforkeywordswhilemarkingunfamiliarvocabulary.TheletterPinstructedthat youpiecetogethertheparts(Landsberger)bymovingyourbookandnotesawayfromyouandtrying torecallwhatyouhavestudied,eitherwithagrouporbyyourself.TheletterIfollowed,tellingyouto investigate/inquire/inspect(Landsberger)byinvestigatingoutsidesourcessuchasotherbooksonthe topic,inquirewithprofessionalsaboutthetopic,andinspectareasyoudidntunderstand.AfterIcomes theletterR,whichstandsforReexamine/reflect/relay(Landsberger),whereyoureexaminethe material,reflectonwhatyouhavelearned,andrelayyourunderstandingtoanotherperson.Finally,the letterEinstructsyoutoEvaluate/examine(Landsberger)byevaluatingwhatgradesyouget,alongwith examiningtheprogressyouhavemade.Theindexsystemismorelikeflashcards,whereyoumakeup questions(alongwithaccompanyinganswers)aboutthetopicasyoureadthroughyournotesand textbooks,andthenyouputthemonindexcards.Afteryoushuffletheindexcards,youtakethecards

withyouasyougoaboutyourday,andwhenyouhavesomefreetime,youtakethecardsoutandquiz yourself.Themoretimesyouquizyourself,youshouldfindthatyoubecomemorefamiliarwith thequestionsandtheiranswers.Forexample,sayyouthinkupaquestionabouthowtoclassify differentchemicalreactions.Thefirsttimeyouquizyourself,maybeyouonlyrememberthat thereissuchathingasdifferentchemicalreactions.Butbythesecondtimeyouquizyourself, yourememberthatonetypehappenstobecombustion.Andbythethirdyoucouldremember whatmakesachemicalreactionbeacombustionreaction.Eventuallyyoushouldbeableto recallwhattypesofchemicalreactionsthereare,andwhatmakesthosereactionsbeclassified assuch. TheA.S.P.I.R.EsystemandtheIndexsystemwerebothveryhelpfulingivingmewaysto study.Butthedownfallwiththewebsitewasthatwhileitgavememanyideasonhowtostudy,itdidnt tellmewhichwaytostudywouldbemybestoptionifIonlyhaveenoughtimetouseonestrategy. After,Iwentbacktogooglesearch.IfoundaNewYorkTimesarticlepublishedin2010, titledForgetWhatYouKnowAboutGoodStudyHabits.Thinkingitlookedpromising,Iclickedon thelink. Thearticlediscusseswaystostudythatmaynotbeapparentfromthebeginning,thatinfact,are contradictorytomanyofthethingsthatarebelievedtobegoodstudyhabits.Suchastheageold traditionofstudyinginoneplace.Thearticlequotesanexperimentfrom1978wherepsychologists foundthatcollegestudentswhostudiedalistof40vocabularywordsintwodifferentrooms[oneroom foroneperiodoftime,followedbythenext]onewindowlessandcluttered,theothermodern,witha viewonacourtyarddidfarbetteronatestthanstudentswhostudiedthewordstwice,inthesame room(Carey).Thisshowedthatachangeintheenvironmentwhenstudyingleadstobetterrecallofthe

informationlateron.Dr.Bjork,theseniorauthoroftheexperimentexplaineditaswhentheoutside contextisvaried,theinformationisenriched,andthisslowsdownforgetting.(Carey)Sowhen continuityappearstobethemainproponentofmemorization,therealwaytolearnisthroughvariety. Thearticlestatesthatitisthesamewaywiththematerialthatisstudied.ratherthanstudyingoneskillfor awhilebeforemovingontothenext,itisbettertostudyamixofskillsthroughoutthestudyingperiod. Thearticlewasveryhelpfulinintroducingthetopicandshowingthatpreconceptionsarenot alwaysright.Italsoledmetomynextsource,titled"TestEnhancedLearning,TakingMemory TestsImprovesLongTermRetention".Ithoughtitcouldgivememoreinformationonstudying,soI clickedonthelink. Intheintroduction,thearticlebringsupthetopicoftesting.Standardizedtesting,suchasthe SAT,butalsoassessmenttestsinschoolsthataregenerallyperceivedasabotherbyfacultyand studentsalike(Roediger).Thearticlegoesontosuggestthatratherthanusingtestsasanassessmentof knowledge,theyhaveapowerfulpositiveeffectonfutureretention(Roediger).Thearticledubsthis phenomenonthetestingeffect.Althoughtheeffecthasbeenknownforawhile,ithasbeenignored andnearlyforgottenastheyearshavegoneby.Whilemanystudieshavebeendoneonthiseffect,there haventbeenmanyusingeducationalcontexts(rather,thefocusonthebeginningstudieswhereon firstgradememorizationandnotcollegelevelunderstandingoftopics).Thearticlestatesthattheir purposeistoinvestigatethetestingeffectundereducationallyrelevantconditions(Roediger),sothat theycandeterminewhethertestingfacilitateslearningbeyondthebenefitsofrestudyingthe material(Roediger).Theresearchersinthearticletestedthiseffectbyutilizingtwoexperiments. Inthefirstexperiment,120undergraduatesfromWashingtonUniversityparticipated,andtwo prosepassagesfromtheTestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TOEFL)readingcomprehension

sectionwereselected.Thearticlepredictedthatperformanceonimmediateretentiontestswould increasewiththenumberofstudyopportunities,becausemassedpracticetypicallyproducesshortterm benefitsandthattakingtestssoonafterstudyingwouldpromotesuperiorretentionondelayedtests relativetorepeatedlystudyingthematerial(Roediger).Theysuggestedthatwhenstudyingbyreading thetextwasgoodforashortterm,longtermprospectswerebetterwhenpracticetestswereused. Thereweretwophasesofthefirstexperiment.Phase1hadfoursevenminuteperiods.For eachperiod,subjectswereaskedto:studyonepassageforthefirsttime,restudyoneofthepassagesor takearecalltestoveroneofthepassages(Roediger).Phase2tookplaceafterfiveminutes,twodays, oroneweek.Itconsistedofafinaltestthatwasidenticaltotherecalltestfromphase1. Theresearchersfoundthatrestudyingproducedbetterperformanceonthe5mintest,but testingproducedbetterperformanceonthe2dayand1weektests(Roediger).Whichshowsthat whilerereadingthechaptermaydoyouwellforthedayyoureadit,ifyouwanttoremembersomething aftertheweekisover,youwouldbebetteroffusingpracticetests. Experiment2wasrelativelysimilartoExperiment1,buthadmorefocusontheeffectsbrought onbyrepeatedtesting.InExperiment2,180undergraduatesparticipated,andtheyeitherstudieda passagefourtimes(andtooknotests),studieditthreetimesandtookonetest,orstudieditonceand tookthreetests(Roediger).Alongwiththat,attheendofthesession,thestudentsweregivena questionnairewithavarietyofquestions,includinghowwelltheythoughttheywouldrememberthe passageafteraweek.Likethefirstexperiment,thesamepassageswereused,and90studentstooka finaltestfiveminuteslater,whiletheremaining90tookthefinaltestaweeklater. ThearticlefoundthesameresultsinExperiment2asinExperiment1.Itconcludedthat studyingwasbetterfortheshorttermwhereasrepeatedtestingwasbetterforlongtermrecall.

andthattheirresultsclearlydemonstrate[d]thepowerfuleffectofrepeatedtestinginpreventing forgetting(Roediger).Thetestingeffectcomesintoaction,andwhilenormalstudyingwouldseemto fail,thetestingeffectensuresthatwellintothefutureyouwillhavebetterchancesofrememberingthe topicsyoustudied.(Seefigures2and3.) OneofthemoreinterestingthingsthatcamefromExperiment2waswhatwasfoundduetothe questionnaire.Thearticlefoundthatrelativetotesting,repeatedstudyinginflatedstudentsconfidence intheirabilitytorememberthepassagesinthefuture,eventhoughrepeatedstudysubjectsactually showedmuchpoorerretentiononthedelayedtests(Roediger).Soevenifyoustudyalotandfeelvery confident,youmaynotbeaswellpreparedasyoucouldbe,hadyoutakenpracticetests. OutoftheotherarticlesandwebsitesIhadpreviouslyresearcheduptothisresearcharticle,this wasthemostinformativeandhelpfularticleinmyquesttounderstandstudying.Itexplainedstudyingin blackandwhiteterms:ifyourereadtheinformationasawayofstudying,youwouldrememberit initiallyverywell,butlateronyouwouldforgetmuchoftheinformation.Differentfromthe preconceptionsIhad,rereadingisntalwaysthebestwaytoprepareforatest. Buttherewassomethingthatpuzzledmewasthatduringthosearticles.Whilemy preconceptionswereproven(forthemajority)incorrect,mypreconceptionscouldnothavebeenthe onlyonesoutthere.Idecidedtoturntoyoutube.comtofindsomevideosthattalkedaboutoriginal assumptonsinstudying.Ifoundavideoseriesthattalkedaboutpreconceptionsinstudyingand ineffectivestudyhabits. ThevideoIdecidedtofocusonwastitledBeliefsthatmakeyoufail...Orsucceed.Init,Dr. Chew,acognitivepsychologistatSamfordUniversitytalksaboutcommonpreconceptionsabout studyingthatinrealityarentverytrue.Acoupleofthosepreconceptionsincludeonlystudyingisolated

facts,andnotthetopicasawhole,alongwithbelievingthatyouareeithergoodorbadatasubject,and youcannotchangethatfact.Theproblemwithstudyingisolatedfactsisthatthemajorityofprofessors donttestsimplememorizationoffacts,butcomprehensionandtheabilitytotakewhatyouvelearned andapplyit.Believingthatyouareeithergoodorbadatasubjectencouragesyoutonottryhardtodo wellintheclass,wheninrealityifyouputinenougheffortandcommittoit,youcouldseebetterresults. Aftertalkingaboutpreconceptions,Dr.Chewmovesontosomethingcalledmetacognition. Metacognitionisawarenessofthelevelofunderstandingyouhaveofatopic.Poormetacognitionresults inoverconfidence,andafterwords,abadtestresult.Dr.Chewdidanexperimentwithhisclass.After theytookatest,heaskedthemtoestimatehowwelltheydidonthetest.Afterwords,Dr.Chew grapheditcomparedtothegradestheyactuallyreceived.(Seefigure4.)Themajoritythoughtthey wouldgetabettergradethanthegradetheyreallyreceived.Theyallhadpoormetacognition,andhad overconfidencewhichobstructedthemfromlearningwhattheyreallyneededto. Thevideowasveryhelpfulinshowingwhatotherpreconceptionsareoutthere,andhowthey canhinderyoufromlearningasubject.IrememberwhenIfeltconfidantafterabigchemistrytest,and howIfeltwhenIreceivedascorethatwasfarbelowwhatIwasexpecting.Surely,overconfidencecan bedeadlytoastudent. WiththeknowledgeofwhatIhavelearnedfrommyresearch,Icananswermyquestion.For howtostudy,itseemsthatboththeA.S.P.I.R.E.methodandtheindexmethodworkverywell,but beforeIchangetoadifferenttopic,IwoulddoafewpracticeproblemssoIcanretaintheinformation, alongwithchangingwhereIstudyoccasionally.Forwhichmethodworksbest,itdepends.Foratest comingupreallysoon(onthesamedayyouarestudying),itseemsitisbettertoreviewfromthe actualbooksandnotesyouhave,whileifyouhavetimeleadinguptoatest,practicetestsandproblems

aredefinitelythewaytogo.Byusingpracticetests,Iwouldbeabletoaccuratelydeterminehow preparedIam,andavoidoverconfidence.Fromthat,Icansaythatthebestcombinationtostudyif youhavetimeistotakepracticetestsasasupplementtotheA.S.P.I.R.Emethodandthento reviewfromyournotesapproximatelyanhourbeforetheactualtest.Now,Icangoandstudyfor mynexttest,withtheknowledgethatwhatIamdoingasIstudyhasbeenproventowork.

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Bibliography
Landsberger,J.F..N.p..Web.12Dec2013.<http://www.studygs.net/shared/studying.htm>. Roediger,III,HenryL.,andJeffreyD.Karpicke."TestEnhancedLearningTakingMemory TestsImprovesLongTermRetention."AssociationforPsychologicalScience.17.3(2006): 249255.Print. Carey,Benedict.n.d.,n.pag. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html?pagewanted=all>. Sasanow,Alexa."Varyingstudylocationscouldimprovecontentretention,psychologistssay." TuftsDaily[Medford]07Oct2010,n.pag.Web.12Dec.2013. <http://www.tuftsdaily.com/features/varyingstudylocationscouldimprovecontentretentionp sychologistssay1.2358170 N.p..Web.12Dec2013.<http://www.samford.edu/howtostudy/>.

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