Which study techniques have the best evidence?

Step 1 Warm-up recall

From M1.L3: say why same-day recall can mislead you.

Your answer

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Step 2 Learning goal

By the end of this lesson you can:

• report the main conclusions of Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) (Foundation);
• name the techniques rated highest and lowest in the review (Core);
• state two limits of a literature review (Core).

Step 3 A familiar example

Most students highlight and reread because it is easy and feels productive. Whether it works is a question for evidence, not for feelings.

Step 4 Clear explanation

Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan and Willingham (2013) reviewed the evidence on ten learning techniques commonly used by students. They gave two techniques the highest overall utility rating: practice testing (trying to recall material without looking) and distributed practice (spreading study over time rather than cramming). They gave five techniques a low utility rating, including summarization, highlighting and underlining and rereading.

Treat a review with care. Its ratings summarise many studies that differ in materials, learners and tests, and the reviewers rated each technique across the conditions in which it had been studied. A low rating means weaker evidence of benefit in those conditions; it does not mean the technique can never help. Modules 3 and 4 return to the two top-rated techniques in depth. See the entries on retrieval practice and the spacing effect.

Step 5 Worked example (4 marks)

A friend spends all week highlighting and rereading. Advise them using the review.

1. The review rated highlighting and rereading as low utility. (1 mark)
2. It rated practice testing and distributed practice highest. (1 mark)
3. Suggest turning some rereading time into self-testing. (1 mark)
4. Add a caution: ratings reflect conditions studied, so check what works for you. (1 mark)

Step 6 Learner practice (instant-marked)

Step 7 Recap

• Ten techniques reviewed; two rated highest, five rated low.
• Highest: practice testing and distributed practice.
• A rating reflects the evidence in the conditions studied.

Step 8 Exit ticket (ungraded)

List the techniques you used last week and mark each as top-rated or low-rated by the review.

Your answer

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Step 9 Go further (Extension)

Read the abstract of the 2013 review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest and find the reasoning behind one rating.