CHAPTER 4 Implied Main Ideas 165 FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT GOOD STUDY HABITS Benedict Carey 1 Every September, millions of parents one study location, simply alternating try a kind of psychological witchcraft to the room where a person studies transform their summer-glazed campers improves retention. So does studying into fall students, their video-bugs into distinct but related skills or concepts bookworms. Advice is cheap and all too in one sitting, rather than focusing familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick intensely on a single thing. to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set "We have known these principles 7 boundaries. Do not bribe (except in for some time, and it's intriguing that emergencies). schools don't pick them up, or that And check out the classroom. Does people don't learn them by trial and Junior's learning style match the new error," said Robert A. Bjork, a psycholo- teacher's approach? Or the school's gist at the University of California, Los philosophy? Maybe the child isn't "a Angeles. "Instead, we walk around with good fit" for the school. all sorts of unexamined beliefs about 3 Such theories have developed what works that are mistaken." in part because of sketchy education Take the notion that children 8 research that doesn't offer clear have specific learning styles, that some guidance. Student traits and teaching are "visual learners" and others are styles surely interact; so do personalities auditory"; some are "left-brain" students, and at-home rules. The trouble is, no others "right-brain." In a recent review one can predict how. of the relevant research, published in Yet there are effective approaches the journal Psychological Science in the to learning, at least for those who are Public Interest, a team of psychologists motivated. In recent years, cognitive found almost zero support for such scientists have shown that a few simple ideas. "The contrast between the techniques can reliably improve what enormous popularity of the learning- matters most: how much a student styles approach within education and learns from studying. the lack of credible evidence for its 5 The findings can help anyone, from utility is, in our opinion, striking and a fourth grader doing long division to disturbing," the researchers concluded. a retiree taking on a new language. But Ditto for teaching styles, researchers 9 they directly contradict much of the say. Some excellent instructors caper in common wisdom about good study front of the blackboard like summer- habits, and they have not caught on. theater Falstaffs"; others are reserved 6 For instance, instead of sticking to to the point of shyness. "We have yet to166 PART ONE Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills identify the common threads between teachers who create a constructive learning atmosphere," said Daniel T. Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia and author of the book Why Don't Students Like School? 10 But individual learning is another matter, and psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong. For instance, many study skills courses insist that students find a specific place, a study room or a quiet corner of the library, to take their work. The research finds just the opposite. In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms-one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a varied, the information is enriched, and view on a courtyard-did far better on this slows down forgetting," said Dr. a test than students who studied the Bjork, the senior author of the two-room words twice, in the same room. Later experiment. studies have confirmed the finding, for Varying the type of material 13 a variety of topics. studied in a single sitting-alternating, 11 The brain makes subtle associations for example, among vocabulary, reading between what it is studying and the and speaking in a new language- background sensations it has at the time, seems to leave a deeper impression the authors say, regardless of whether on the brain than does concentrating those perceptions are conscious. It on just one skill at a time. Musicians colors the terms of the Versailles Treaty have known this for years, and their with the wasted fluorescent glow practice sessions often include a mix of the dorm study room, say; or the of scales, musical pieces, and rhythmic elements of the Marshall Plan with the work. Many athletes, too, routinely mix jade-curtain shade of the willow tree their workouts with strength, speed, in the backyard. Forcing the brain to and skill drills. make multiple associations with the The advantages of this approach 14 same material may, in effect, give that to studying can be striking, in some information more neural scaffolding". topic areas. In a study recently posted 12 "What we think is happening here online by the journal Applied Cognitive is that, when the outside context is Psychology, Doug Rohrer and Kelli TaylorTen Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills, 6e CHAPTER 4 Implied Main Ideas 167 of the University of South Florida taught the painting styles of 12 unfamiliar a group of fourth graders four equations, artists after viewing mixed collections each to calculate a different dimension (assortments, including works from all of a prism. Half of the children learned 12) than after viewing a dozen works by studying repeated examples of one from one artist, all together, then equation, say, calculating the number moving on to the next painter. of prism faces when given the number The finding undermines the 18 of sides at the base, then moving on to common assumption that intensive the next type of calculation, studying immersion is the best way to really repeated examples of that. The other master a particular genre, or type of half studied mixed problem sets, which creative work, said Nate Kornell, a included examples of all four types of psychologist at Williams College and calculations grouped together. Both the lead author of the study. "What groups solved sample problems along seems to be happening in this case the way, as they studied. is that the brain is picking up deeper 15 A day later, the researchers gave all patterns when seeing assortments of of the students a test on the material, paintings; it's picking up what's similar presenting new problems of the same and what's different about them," often type. The children who had studied subconsciously. mixed sets did twice as well as the Cognitive scientists do not deny 19 A others, outscoring them 77 percent to that honest-to-goodness cramming can 38 percent. The researchers have found lead to a better grade on a given exam. the same in experiments involving But hurriedly jam-packing a brain is adults and younger children. akin to speed-packing a cheap suitcase, 16 "When students see a list of as most students quickly learn-it holds problems, all of the same kind, they its new load for a while; then most know the strategy to use before they everything falls out. even read the problem," said Dr. Rohrer. "With many students, it's not like 20 "That's like riding a bike with training they can't remember the material"when wheels." With mixed practice, he added, they move to a more advanced class, "each problem is different from the last said Henry L. Roediger III, a psychologist one, which means kids must learn how at Washington University in St. Louis. to choose the appropriate procedure- "It's like they've never seen it before." just like they had to do on the test." When the neural suitcase is packed 21 17 These findings extend well beyond carefully and gradually, it holds its math, even to aesthetic" intuitive" contents for far, far longer. An hour of learning. In an experiment published study tonight, an hour on the weekend, last month in the journal Psychology and another session a week from now: such Aging, researchers found that college so-called spacing improves later recall, students and adults of retirement without requiring students to put in age were better able to distinguish more overall study effort or pay moreTen Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills, 6e 168 PART ONE Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills attention, dozens of studies have found. test given immediately afterward, then 22 No one knows for sure why. It began to forget the material. may be that the brain, when it revisits But if they studied the passage 27 material at a later time, has to relearn just once and did a practice test in the some of what it has absorbed before second session, they did very well on adding new stuff-and that that one test two days later, and another process is itself self-reinforcing. given a week later. 23 "The idea is that forgetting is the Testing has such bad connotation"; 28 friend of learning," said Dr. Kornell. people think of standardized testing or 'When you forget something, it allows teaching to the test," Dr. Roediger said. you to relearn, and do so effectively, the "Maybe we need to call it something next time you see it." else, but this is one of the most powerful 24 That's one reason cognitive learning tools we have." scientists see testing itself-or practice Of course, one reason the thought 29 tests and quizzes-as a powerful tool of of testing tightens people's stomachs is learning, rather than merely assessment. that tests are so often hard. Paradoxically, The process of retrieving an idea is it is just this difficulty that makes them not like pulling a book from a shelf; it such effective study tools, research seems to fundamentally alter the way suggests. The harder it is to remember the information is subsequently" stored, something, the harder it is to later A making it far more accessible in the forget. This effect, which researchers call future. "desirable difficulty," is evident in daily 25 Dr. Roediger uses the analogy of life. The name of the actor who played the Heisenberg uncertainty principle Linc in The Mod Squad? Francie's brother in physics, which holds that the act in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? The name of measuring a property of a particle of the co-discoverer, with Newton, of (position, for example) reduces the calculus? accuracy with which you can know The more mental sweat it takes to 30 another property (momentum, for dig it out, the more securely it will be example): "Testing not only measures subsequently anchored. knowledge but changes it," he says- None of which is to suggest that 31 and, happily, in the direction of more these techniques-alternating study certainty, not less. environments, mixing content, spacing 26 In one of his own experiments, study sessions, self-testing or all the Dr. Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke, also above-will turn a grade-A slacker into of Washington University, had college a grade-A student. Motivation matters. students study science passages from So do impressing friends, making the a reading comprehension test, in short hockey team, and finding the nerve to study periods. When students studied text the cute student in social studies. the same material twice, in back-to- "In lab experiments, you're able to 32 back sessions, they did very well on a control for all factors except the oneTen Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills, 6e CHAPTER 4 Implied Main Ideas 169 you're studying," said Dr. Willingham. techniques give parents and students, "Not true in the classroom, in real life. young and old, something many did All of these things are interacting at the not have before: a study plan based on same time." evidence, not schoolyard folk wisdom 33 But at the very least, the cognitive or empty theorizing. Reading Comprehension Questions Vocabulary in Context 1. In the excerpt below, the word hallowed (hal'od) means A. unusual. B. inventive. C. highly respected. D. based on research. "But individual learning is another matter, and psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong." (Paragraph 10) 2. In the excerpt below, the word paradoxically (par's-doks'i-kol-e) means A. understandably. B. strangely enough. C. unfortunately. D. reliably. "Of course, one reason the thought of testing tightens people's stomachs is that tests are so often hard. Paradoxically, it is just this difficulty that makes them such effective study tools, research suggests."(Paragraph 29) Central Point and Main Ideas 3. Which sentence best expresses the central point of the selection? A. A few simple techniques can improve students' ability to learn new material. B. Research has shown that people should study in different places, study mixed problem sets, and not cram for tests. C. People should be aware of and practice study techniques that are based on solid evidence, not folk wisdom or unproved theories. D. Despite the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach in education, there is little evidence that it is useful.Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills, 6e 170 PART ONE Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills 4. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of paragraphs 8-9? A. Experts do not agree on which learning or teaching style is most effective. B. Just as students have a range of learning styles, teachers have varied teaching styles. C. There is no proof that children actually have learning styles. D. Because teachers can be either outgoing or shy, children's learning styles are difficult to identify. 5. The main idea of paragraphs 13-15 is best expressed in A. the first sentence of paragraph 13. B. the second sentence of paragraph 14. C. the first sentence of paragraph 15. D. the last sentence of paragraph 15. Supporting Details 6. TRUE OR FALSE? The author believes that some students are "visual learners," while others are "auditory" learners. 7. The author compares varying the type of material studied in a single setting to A. riding a bike with training wheels. B. giving the brain more neural scaffolding. C. the way musicians mix scales, musical pieces, and rhythmic work in a practice session. D. speed-packing a cheap suitcase. 8. When studying for a test, the author recommends A. cramming. B. studying the same material twice in the same quiet room. C. requiring students to put in more overall study effort. D. spacing out periods of study over a week or so.Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills, be CHAPTER 4 Implied Main Ideas 171 Implied Main Ideas 9. The implied main idea of paragraphs 10-12 is that A. it's not necessary for students to find a specific place, like a study room or a quiet corner of the library, in which to study. B. although experts have long advised students to find one specific place to study, research shows that students retain information better when they vary the places in which they study C. scientists have learned that the brain makes subtle associations between what it is studying and the background sensations it has at the time. D. students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two rooms did better on a test than students who studied the words twice in the same room. 10. The entire selection suggests that A. most educators closely follow the latest news in psychological research. B. the principles of effective studying are by now widely known. C. many teachers and students still hold mistaken beliefs about studying. D. researchers now have a clear idea how student traits and teaching styles interact