THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 6

What can tossing a bean bag teach us about better study strategies?

Subject:  Learning/Interleaving - Bean Bags

Event:  The New York Times publishes  “Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits,” 2010

Imagine you were going to be tested twelve weeks from today on your ability to toss bean bags into a bucket three feet away from you.  Which of the following practice methods would you choose to prepare you for the task?

   1. Practice tossing bean bags into a bucket that is three feet away from you.

OR

   2. Mix up your practice, alternating between tossing bean bags into buckets two feet away and four feet away.

You might be surprised to learn an actual study was completed on this task with two groups of eight-year-olds.  You might be even more surprised to learn that the group that used practice method #2 did much better, by far.

Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

The conclusion we might draw here is that we are not very good judges of our own learning strategies.  This happens to be true for cognitive learning as well as for motor skill learning (like tossing bean bags)  (1).

On September 6, 2010, an article was published in The New York Times called, “Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits,” by Benedict Carey.  Early September, when many students are beginning a new academic year, is a good time to inventory your study skills. Carey’s article presented findings from cognitive science that question some of the traditional approaches to studying and learning.

In essence, Carey’s article is an attempt to bust various myths surrounding study skills, replacing the myths with the findings from scientifically sound experiments.  For example, for many years educators have advised the practice of tailoring learning to students based on individual learning styles.  Carey reports, however, that a review of relevant research on learning styles reveals inadequate evidence to justify its application in the classroom.

One approach that does show promise, however, is called interleaving.  Instead of the typical approach of intensive focus on a single skill or subject during a study session, interleaving is a strategy that mixes up skills within a given session, altering approaches.  Our intuition often instructs us to master one skill at a time -- known as “blocked practice.”  With blocked practice, we work on skill A towards mastery before we move on to skill “B.”  This can be represented by the pattern “AAABBBCCC.”  We are told to practice, practice, practice until we have the skill down cold.  As Carey reports, however, studies by cognitive scientists have found that mixed practice -- interleaving -- works best, so a better pattern would be “ABCACBCAB”:  

Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary, reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does concentrating on just one skill at a time. Musicians have known this for years, and their practice sessions often include a mix of scales, musical pieces and rhythmic work. Many athletes, too, routinely mix their workouts with strength, speed and skill drills. (2)

As the bean bag study confirms, the brain seems to crave variety, and we too often underestimate its ability to discriminate between varying patterns or concepts.  Mixing things up in a study session mirrors real life where the brain is constantly making distinctions among a variety of stimuli and recognizing ideas based on examples and counterexamples.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How did the practice of the two groups of 8-year-olds differ, and how does this difference explain the benefits of interleaving?

Challenge - Study Smart Six Pack:  Interleaving is one of six study and learning strategies that cognitive scientists have documented as legitimately effective for students to practice and use. The other five are Spacing, Retrieval Practice, Elaboration, Dual Coding, and Concrete Examples.  The website “The Learning Scientists” explains each of the six strategies and provides research on the effectiveness of each strategy.  Do some research on each of these six strategies and then rank each one based on how valuable you think it would be for your study.

Sources:  

1-Brown, Peter C., Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel.  Make It Stick:  The Science of Successful Learning.  Cambridge, Mass.:  Harvard University Press, 2014: 46, 51.

2-Carey, Benedict. “Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits.”  The New York Times 6 Sept. 2010.