Connecting the classroom to the "real world"
Research Upends Traditional Thinking on Study Habits
Courtesy scui3asteveo on flickr
Here is an interesting article that challenges many of the long-held beliefs about how best to study/learn. One of the most important lessons is that problem solving practice shouldn’t involve doing the same kinds of calculations repeatedly…it is important to mix up the problems to learn best:
“When students see a list of problems, all of the same kind, they know the strategy to use before they even read the problem,” said Dr. Rohrer. “That’s like riding a bike with training wheels.” With mixed practice, he added, “each problem is different from the last one, which means kids must learn how to choose the appropriate procedure — just like they had to do on the test.”
Another thought is that practice tests are useful:
“The idea is that forgetting is the friend of learning,” said Dr. Kornell. “When you forget something, it allows you to relearn, and do so effectively, the next time you see it.”
That’s one reason cognitive scientists see testing itself — or practice tests and quizzes — as a powerful tool of learning, rather than merely assessment. The process of retrieving an idea is not like pulling a book from a shelf; it seems to fundamentally alter the way the information is subsequently stored, making it far more accessible in the future.
As I’ve said, I think that students just need to know what works best for them. To the extent that these tips help you do that they are useful…but since everyone learns in different ways there isn’t one “magic” method that will work for everyone.
Read more at this link: Mind – Research Upends Traditional Thinking on Study Habits – NYTimes.com.
I think they are right. For me it is important to have different type of problems because I lern the concept and then think how to apply it. It is much better than learnings steps without sometimes even understanding why those steps are what they are.