Learning from Retrieval

My dad sent me an article from Science Magazine called "Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping," by Annette Ives, et al.  I was intrigued when I first opened the mail to see this, and it's a fascinating article.  I think I might make a powerpoint for my students....

Anyways, the study compared retrieval, where students read a text and then try to recall as much as they can through free recall, and then read again to see what they missed and recall for a second time, versus elaborative studying where students read a text and then created a concept map from the text.  When tested on the information a week later, the students who studied through retrieval earned 50% better than the concept mapping students in long-term retention.  50%!!!!! That's huge!  The authors then did a second experiment to look at different types of texts (enumeration or lists, versus sequence, which in history would be chronological), individual differences, and long term learning on different test types.  In terms of the text types, again, the retrieval students outperformed the concept mapping students by one standard deviation, which is pretty big. Individually, of the 120 students in the study, 101 students (84%) performed better on a final test when using retrieval study methods than concept mapping.  Finally, when looking at different test types, a short answer test, versus drawing a concept map from memory test, in both cases, the retrieval students did better than the concept map studying students.

The lesson from this is: when you are studying, review your notes/the text, cover them and try to remember everything that you just read/reviewed.  You can do this mentally or on a piece of paper.  Check your answers and repeat for that section, before moving on to the next section.  If you like making concept maps (especially if you are a visual learner), then do it without looking at the text, do it from memory.  Use a pencil and you can always go back and add more/change things when you check.  It will take more time to study this way, but I think the 50% increase in scores is a pretty big trade-off for time.