Learning Strategies - What Works and What Doesn't

Many students do not know at all how to learn and what does not work when preparing for tests. Unfortunately, there is little talk with students about the way they learn and what can be improved. This can partly be explained by the fact that teachers themselves are not always aware of learning strategies that work. And also, too little time is offered at school to teach on 'learning to learn'.

 

In this blog, I share some knowledge of learning strategies. I first give a brief explanation of the memory, then state what scientific research does not work when learning and finally I share a number of proven learning strategies that do work. However, first of all, let me indicate which definition of the 'learning strategy' I use:

 

“Learning strategies are concrete ways of learning that students consciously use to make learning as smooth as possible; as a result, they learn 'how' they must and can learn.

 

Learning strategies should therefore not be confused with executive functions (eg planning and organizing) and preconditions for a properly functioning memory (such as sleep).

 

Now that it is clear, let me give a brief glimpse into the working of our memory.

 

The memory

When it comes to learning, we can divide the memory into two dimensions:
1) our ability to store information (storage strength);
2) our ability to retrieve information when we need it, both in the short and long term (retrieval strength).

 

The good news is that no memory is lost; no computer can compete with the awesome power of our brains to store information. The less good news is that it is a lot more often a matter of retrieving the information that is in it when we need it. The so-called 'retrieval strength' is often a lot slower than the 'storage strength'.

 

The trick is, therefore, to ensure that we not only learn to store the desired information in our memory but at the same time ensure that we make it easier for us to retrieve this information. In order to actually achieve the latter, active learning is required; the memory needs to be put to work hard so that the connections in our brains become thicker and stronger. Let me first describe 'what doesn't work' and, strangely enough, students do apply it a lot.

 

What doesn't work

Our students often learn inefficiently and only for the short term. The reason for this often lies in the fact that they start learning too late (bad planning) and when they learn, this also happens 'passively'.

 

By 'passive' learning, I mean in particular that students don't put their memory to work hard enough. They make it too easy for themselves, which means that the memory does not experience the urgency to remember something that has been learned in such a way that it is easy to retrieve.

 

A commonly used learning strategy is, for example, the re-reading (or in some cases reading for the very first time) of text and notes, with or without a marker. The effect of this re-reading is that the memory tells the student purely and simply whether the knowledge is recognized and does not indicate whether the information can be retrieved even without the text. Checking if you understand something with the text is actually too simple for the memory to store learning material in such a way that you still know it a day or two days later even without a book. Learning on the basis of recognition, therefore, appears to be a poor predictor of successfully remembering and being able to retrieve information.

 

The above method of learning creates for students the illusion that they master the material (also called the fluency illusion ). We all know the student who scores a good score on a test and exclaims indignantly: "but I had learned so well and I 'knew' everything." Parents sometimes want to add that the unsatisfactory really cannot be blamed on their child because they have checked whether their child has mastered the material. People (children and adults) appear to be bad at realizing their own knowledge and skills, partly due to the use of ineffective learning strategies.

 

With ineffective learning strategies, students create the illusion that they master the subject matter. In addition to re-reading the text, it is also not a good idea to 'stomp' learning material into it in one long session. Research has shown that a student with this strategy may score sufficiently for a test in the short term, but soon afterward the learned has completely disappeared from (long-term) memory. Retrieving this 'stamped-in' information at a later time, therefore, does not turn out to be going so well and that is no reassurance with regard to, for example, the final exam.

 

What does work - proven effective learning strategies

Fortunately, there are also learning strategies that considerably increase the chance of successful learning. Learning strategies that encourage 'active learning' and are valuable to every student. I name five in this blog.

 

1. Spread the learning - the spacing effect
It is wiser for students to spread learning over several sessions. So instead of learning one session of three hours, it is better to take three learning sessions of one hour and preferably on different days. A student learns in both cases for the same length of time (three hours), but will achieve a higher learning efficiency by spreading the learning; the material is better stored, later on, it is easier to retrieve the information again from memory and also for a much longer time than when only a single session is learned.

 

What makes spreading learning better? That has to do with the fact that memory has to work harder. In fact, you consciously forget (part of) the material again because you only look at the material again one or more days later. The memory must then make more effort to raise the curriculum and that reinforces the necessary connections in the brain and therefore the memory.

 

Compare the operation of the memory with maintaining a beautiful green lawn. It works better to give a limited amount of water at intervals instead of a large amount of water in one go, which completely submerges the lawn so that a large part of the water is not absorbed.

 

Spreading learning moments is, therefore, more efficient than trying to learn everything in a session. It would, of course, be ideal if a student not only applies this just before a test moment but much earlier. For example during a lesson series. This can be done by reflecting on what happened in the lesson and what has been learned after the first lesson. After the second lesson, the student picks up both the material from the second and the first lesson and the learning accumulates.

 

An important condition for the use of this learning strategy is that good planning is made in advance. If you are a teacher, you can add great value to the student. Share all your learning and learning goals for a specific topic in advance, so that the student gets an overview of the subject matter.

 

In addition, you can naturally integrate this strategy into your lessons yourself by regularly reflecting on what was discussed in the previous lesson and thus encouraging your students to use their memory to actively reclaim material. The latter brings us to the second strategy.

 

2. Active retrieval - generate the material itself
To prevent a student from creating the illusion that the material is in good condition, 'active retrieval' is a good learning strategy. Active retrieval basically means that you can reproduce the subject matter without seeing the textbook or notes.

You can think of explaining the material out loud to yourself or someone else or writing the material out for yourself (for example, important key concepts, relationships, diagrams, formulas). You can then put what has been reproduced next to the book or put your notes to check to what extent the material is in your memory. The advantage of this is also that you know what you do not know yet. The chance of a student fooling himself is considerably reduced in this way.

 

Only if the reproduction of material is completely successful without the help of textbooks or notes (even one day or even a week later) can a student make the assumption that the material is in good memory.

 

3. Alternate in learning
Pupils often learn the material per subject. Only when they feel that one subject is in good shape, do they continue with the next. The disadvantage of this is that this way of learning makes memory lazy; our brains are set to recognize 'new' information. Just think of the time you bought that brand new car or that pair of beautiful shoes. Chances are that for a short time you suddenly saw the same car or the same pair of shoes everywhere. Over time, however, the novelty was finished and the recognition disappeared.

 

If you want to stimulate the brain, including the memory, and keep it alert, then do a lot of things together. In this way, the teacher in the class can, after dealing with a few subjects, throw things together and have students practice exercises with a new topic.

 

Pupils should also alternate as much as possible in learning and testing themselves and, therefore, after an assignment about one subject, should immediately switch back to an assignment about another topic. And when learning for multiple tests, it is also advisable to alternate courses. So do not first learn everything from economics and then to math, but alternate between topics of economics and math. So throw everything together.

 

4. The Pomodoro Technique and Parkinson's Law
When a student starts learning, the brain needs some time to start up, sometimes up to 15 minutes. Every time a student is disturbed, the process starts again (receiving a message on the smartphone is therefore disastrous). Thus it can happen that the achievement of the concentration needed to learn well does not happen.

 

In addition to minimizing distraction (away from the telephone!), The Pomodoro technique offers a solution. This technique works with setting an alarm clock (not the alarm clock on the smartphone) for a short time block of 25 minutes. This is the time you give yourself to complete a (part of) a task. Setting this limited block of time motivates you to reach your goal and not be distracted. Half an hour is nice and well-arranged and you know that there will be a short break afterward. After a pause of a maximum of 5 minutes, you can schedule one or more blocks if you wish. After four blocks it is advisable to take a longer break ('spreading the learning') and remember to alternate different subjects during these blocks ('vary in what is being learned').

 

If 'apprenticeship' is not defined, Parkinson's law comes into effect. This means that you yourself ensure that the (learning) work fills all available time ("... work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion") and the chance of distraction is many times greater. I hear students regularly say that they postpone work endlessly because 'there is still time later' and so they do not delimit their time with the result that they learn too little and on top of that also experience a lot of stress because they have still not learned.

 

5. Sleep as a learning strategy
Strictly speaking, sleep is not really a learning strategy, but it is an absolute condition for the proper functioning of the memory. Without sufficient sleep, the other learning strategies can also more or less go into the bin. That is why I still include sleep in this overview.

 

People also say: "Sleeping is learning with your eyes closed". While sleeping, your brain works hard to process what has happened that day. Everything is carefully analyzed, connections are made and information is neatly stored. Sleeping well is therefore essential and ensures that information is stored better and easier to retrieve. Lack of sleep disrupts this process considerably.

 

We desperately need the parents to carefully monitor the number of hours of sleep. After all, a tired student is a student who saves a lot less in memory. This also means that the smartphone and tablet must be kept out of bed. The 'blue light' of this type of device disrupts the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, with the result that the number of hours of deep sleep decreases. If the phone nevertheless goes to bed, it is smart to look for apps that reduce certain sharp shades of light in the evening, thereby reducing the negative impact on sleep.

 

And if a student has started learning too late, it is always better to continue a little longer in the evening instead of getting up early in the morning to learn. After all, what is learned in the evening is neatly processed during sleep. The chance is then greater that a student can say something meaningful about the material learned the next day.

 

Final thought
Making sure that the students are aware of these learning strategies is, of course, no guarantee that students will actually apply it. This is one of the reasons why students will need a little help and support, for example in the area of ​​planning and sharp learning objectives. And of course, cooperation with the parents is also essential.

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