Cramming may be about poor time management, but it also could be because they believe that studying right before a test is the optimal time. So they plan to cram.
Good point. I agree that some students will see the night before as the optimal time. And in some ways, they're right. If a student's only goal is to do well on a test, then cramming the night before makes some sense. It does help with short-term retention.
I think that what students may not understand is that they don't retain the material when they cram. This can be a problem in a subject like math, where new math content continually builds on old content. If a student can space their studying, even a bit (e.g., study on multiple days leading up to the test) they'll be more likely to retain the content over the long term.
Thank you for pointing this out, Jim. I often forget that students' learning goals can be different from the teachers' goals at times, hence the opposite time management strategies.
I will "copy and paste" your reasoning for spacing to students in the future when I encounter their resistance to do so, and I feel that it will work well.
Thank you for providing this article, Jim and Nidhi. And it's nice to revisit the micorlesson on interleaving!
I suspect one challenge teachers face is the lack of opportunities/time/energy to learn or improve a set of skills to achieve a complex goal, i.e. improving communications skills, obtaining educational psychology competencies, or advancing in sports. Good theories can guide practice, and should produce repeatable results. Educators can "read" to understand, but must "do" to feel.
I recently had another success combining retrieval practice, spacing and interleaving in table tennis. Instead of binge watch instructional videos to memorize the sequence of movements, I recall the sequence every time before each practice sessions. I played for a smaller amount of time per day instead of became a weekend warrior (practicing for hours only on the weekends). I practiced the serve-control-attack sequence at random positions on the table, instead of practicing each technique separately at the same spots. The end result: I defeated an opponent much better than me last year, even he spent significantly more time on the table. This experience, not only helped me "understand" the techniques I learned in 1620, but also "feel" how they work. As a result, I am more confident to transfer this learning experience to my tutoring classes.
Thanks Linyi -- love the table tennis training story! It's a nice illustration of how powerful it can be to vary one's practice. Your story reminds me of the "bean bag toss" experiment where one group of children practiced tossing a bean bag at a target 3 feet away, while another group alternated between tossing at a target 2 feet away and a target 4 feet away. A week later, the second group was more accurate at hitting a target that was 3 feet away, even though they had never practiced that!
Thank you, Jim! I remember this story from 1620! It is a nice reference whenever I encounter debates about practicing a certain skill with "the standard criteria".
Thank you for sharing this amazing story. What an application of science of learning! Way to go!
I was just reading a study today that looked at the role of spacing on knowledge acquisition and it found that spacing worked better for factual knowledge and not so much for procedural knowledge. This made me wonder if interleaving might work better for procedural knowledge because the added variability really does work on motor skills.
Perhaps the answer is to integrate all these amazing techniques as frequently as possible in our teaching and learning practice but yes the question of time/energy/opportunities is real. You sharing your experiences is certainly very encouraging for other educators. So thank you for that!
It is very interesting to know that procedural knowledge may require a different learning approach. If possible, could you share the study to me? I can't wait to take a look!
Hey Linyi, I saw it recently on Carl Hendrick's Twitter/X account (co-author or our course's textbook How Learning Happens). Here's the link (https://twitter.com/C_Hendrick/status/1688942895670124544), you will be able to see the link to the study there too. It is a dissertation by author named Hanan Kondratjew. Hope it helps.
Interesting collection of studies. I know there is a related issue questioning whether k12 students are taught study techniques and how effective this instruction is. Maybe the collection you describe explains the inconsistency in what learners experience.
Cramming may be about poor time management, but it also could be because they believe that studying right before a test is the optimal time. So they plan to cram.
Good point. I agree that some students will see the night before as the optimal time. And in some ways, they're right. If a student's only goal is to do well on a test, then cramming the night before makes some sense. It does help with short-term retention.
I think that what students may not understand is that they don't retain the material when they cram. This can be a problem in a subject like math, where new math content continually builds on old content. If a student can space their studying, even a bit (e.g., study on multiple days leading up to the test) they'll be more likely to retain the content over the long term.
Thank you for pointing this out, Jim. I often forget that students' learning goals can be different from the teachers' goals at times, hence the opposite time management strategies.
I will "copy and paste" your reasoning for spacing to students in the future when I encounter their resistance to do so, and I feel that it will work well.
Thank you for providing this article, Jim and Nidhi. And it's nice to revisit the micorlesson on interleaving!
I suspect one challenge teachers face is the lack of opportunities/time/energy to learn or improve a set of skills to achieve a complex goal, i.e. improving communications skills, obtaining educational psychology competencies, or advancing in sports. Good theories can guide practice, and should produce repeatable results. Educators can "read" to understand, but must "do" to feel.
I recently had another success combining retrieval practice, spacing and interleaving in table tennis. Instead of binge watch instructional videos to memorize the sequence of movements, I recall the sequence every time before each practice sessions. I played for a smaller amount of time per day instead of became a weekend warrior (practicing for hours only on the weekends). I practiced the serve-control-attack sequence at random positions on the table, instead of practicing each technique separately at the same spots. The end result: I defeated an opponent much better than me last year, even he spent significantly more time on the table. This experience, not only helped me "understand" the techniques I learned in 1620, but also "feel" how they work. As a result, I am more confident to transfer this learning experience to my tutoring classes.
Thanks Linyi -- love the table tennis training story! It's a nice illustration of how powerful it can be to vary one's practice. Your story reminds me of the "bean bag toss" experiment where one group of children practiced tossing a bean bag at a target 3 feet away, while another group alternated between tossing at a target 2 feet away and a target 4 feet away. A week later, the second group was more accurate at hitting a target that was 3 feet away, even though they had never practiced that!
Thank you, Jim! I remember this story from 1620! It is a nice reference whenever I encounter debates about practicing a certain skill with "the standard criteria".
Thank you for sharing this amazing story. What an application of science of learning! Way to go!
I was just reading a study today that looked at the role of spacing on knowledge acquisition and it found that spacing worked better for factual knowledge and not so much for procedural knowledge. This made me wonder if interleaving might work better for procedural knowledge because the added variability really does work on motor skills.
Perhaps the answer is to integrate all these amazing techniques as frequently as possible in our teaching and learning practice but yes the question of time/energy/opportunities is real. You sharing your experiences is certainly very encouraging for other educators. So thank you for that!
Thank you, Nidhi!
It is very interesting to know that procedural knowledge may require a different learning approach. If possible, could you share the study to me? I can't wait to take a look!
Hey Linyi, I saw it recently on Carl Hendrick's Twitter/X account (co-author or our course's textbook How Learning Happens). Here's the link (https://twitter.com/C_Hendrick/status/1688942895670124544), you will be able to see the link to the study there too. It is a dissertation by author named Hanan Kondratjew. Hope it helps.
Thank you so much, Nidhi! How Learning Happens became my teaching handbook since 1620. I have signed up for Twitter and followed Carl Hendrick 😁
Don't forget to follow Paul Kirschner, he is a co-author on this particular paper that this blog shares.
Interesting collection of studies. I know there is a related issue questioning whether k12 students are taught study techniques and how effective this instruction is. Maybe the collection you describe explains the inconsistency in what learners experience.