THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 5

Why are the words “we’re going to have a pop quiz today” counterintuitively the best seven words a student can hear?

Subject:  Desirable Difficulty - Sans Forgetica Font

Event:  Sans Forgetica font released, 2018

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity. -Calvin Coolidge

On October 5, 2018, researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, released a new font called Sans Forgetica, a font specifically designed to boost information retention by readers.  What makes the font different is that each letter is designed with intentional, intermittent gaps that require the reader to fill in the gaps.  Sans Forgetica was created based on a theory by cognitive psychologist Robert Bjork called desirable difficulty:  this oxymoron describes learning strategies that increase the effectiveness of learning by making it more challenging.  According to one of the designers, Stephen Banham, the font was created to present a challenge to the reader, but not too much challenge:   “It should be difficult to read but not too difficult,” Banham said. “In demanding this additional act, memory is more likely to be triggered” (1).

Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

Instinctively, students like learning to be easy; likewise, teachers would like to help their students acquire knowledge in an effortless manner.  The reality of learning, however, is counterintuitive.  Effortful learning makes for learning that sticks.  Despite the fact that these strategies feel harder when applied, research shows that they result in more efficient learning.

Spaced Repetition is one such strategy that works.  Although students have a tendency to cram for tests, the best way to transfer knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is to space learning out over time and to revisit and retrieve learnings in spaced intervals.  This kind of retrieval requires effort, and the act of remembering and retrieving is not always easy; however, the benefit is that it provides the learner with instant feedback and reinforces and strengthens the memory.

Another strategy is called interleaving.  In this strategy, students switch between topics instead of the usual “drill and kill” strategy of focusing on a single skill or topic.  The brain likes variety, so instead of spending an hour studying math,  students would be better served by breaking up a study session:  20 minutes on math, 20 on geography, and 20 on French. For more on interleaving, see THINKER’S ALMANAC - September 6.

Tests seem to be almost universally hated by students.  However, counterintuitively, they present the kind of desirable difficulty that improves memory and reinforces learning, a phenomenon that experts call the testing effect.  Smart students create questions for themselves and do self-testing.  Furthermore, they focus just as much on the questions they get wrong as the questions they get right.  An incorrect answer is an opportunity to clarify misunderstandings and reinforce learning.  The challenge for students is to adjust their mindset, seeing errors as inevitable obstacles that in the long run become opportunities to solidify learning (2).

While difficulty is desirable in the learning process, one place it is not desirable is when you are communicating in writing to a reader.  Some students believe that if they sprinkle their writing with needlessly long words, they will impress their readers.  The reality, however, is the complete opposite.

A 2006 study by cognitive psychologist Daniel Oppenheimer concluded that people rated writers who used simple, clear language as more intelligent than those who used complex words.  Oppenheimer emphasized that a writer’s diction is important and that writers should select words with their readers in mind.  As Oppenheimer put it, "It's important to point out that this research is not about problems with using long words but about using long words needlessly.”

The best part of the study, however, is its ironic title:   “Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly” (3). The study was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize on this day in 2006.  The Ig Nobel Prize is a satiric award given annually; its goal is to recognize scientific research that “first [makes] people laugh, and then [makes] them think” (4).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What are interleaving, spaced repetition, and the testing effect, and how does each contribute to effective learning?

Challenge - Is Difficulty Really Desirable?:  Write an editorial giving your position on the question:  Should learning be easy or difficult?  Support your claim with evidence.

Sources:

1-RMIT University. “Sans Forgetica” 

2-Brookman-Byrne, Annie. “Desirable difficulties in learning.” Blog on Learning and Development 5 Sept. 2018.

3-“Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly,” Daniel M. Oppenheimer, Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol. 20, no. 2, March 2006, pp. 139-56.

4. Improbable Research. “Ig Nobel Prize Winners.”