What are the pedagogical methods for ensuring the optimization of learning and long-term memorization of knowledge? What strategies should be implemented in the presentation of course content? How do we learn how to learn?
Alice Latimier shares her methods for effective learning.
Learning is a process composed of three successive stages: encoding, storage and retrieval. More concretely, and in the school context, encoding corresponds to the stage where new knowledge is discovered by students, in the form of lessons given by the teacher or through a textbook. The storage (or consolidation) stage coincides with the putting into practice of this knowledge, that is to say, its mobilization, through exercises for example. This stage is more generally done by revision sessions outside the classroom, and their conduct is the responsibility of the student.
Effective learning methods
Robert Bjork’s pioneering work on effective learning strategies gave rise to a whole field of cognitive psychology on optimizing learning to counter forgetting and, therefore, retain new knowledge sustainably. This research is rooted in an approach to producing results for “evidence-based education .” All of this work emphasizes that successful learning depends on the active and regular reactivation of
Learning by testing
A considerable number of laboratory and classroom studies have shown the importance of training with tests after taking a course to consolidate new knowledge in memory in the long term. This so-called “active” learning practice has been compared to the classic method of revision by successive rereadings, considered “passive”. Testing one’s memory regularly requires the student to make an effort to retrieve the relevant information from memory to generate an answer. This is the cognitive effort that we all make when we try to solve a problem. Implemented throughout the learning process, this method allows for a consolidation of the “paths” leading to this information, while “multiplying” the number of these paths. By regularly responding to tests following a new course, students can check their degree of memorization and understanding of the content. Appropriate explanations and corrective feedback will allow them to readjust their knowledge, if necessary, better targeting the content to be revised.
Spacing of revisions over time
So-called “massed” revision over time consists of reviewing information all at once, without interruption between repetitions of the same knowledge. Conversely, “spaced” revision consists of spreading the revision sessions over time, between the presentation of the course and the deadline set by the teacher. Since Hermann Ebbinghaus’s pioneering work on forgetting in 1885, hundreds of studies have demonstrated the benefits of spaced revisions to consolidate, and especially to better manage the forgetting of information, as we get closer to an exam. The time between two repetitions can vary from one day to several weeks, and this time can include the repetition of other knowledge. Unlike massed learning, which gives the sensation of having everything in mind without effort, spacing allows the knowledge learned to be reactivated between two revision sessions, In addition, sleep would have a positive impact on consolidation between two revision sessions.
Why do these methods work?
The idea that learning should be effortless is misleading . On the contrary , it takes effort to truly master and consolidate knowledge. Research on active learning shows that one cannot memorize sustainably without difficulty and without errors, provided that it is a “desirable difficulty” ! Difficulty , because the effort must be constructive: students tend to favor rereading or repeated exposure to a teaching resource. But these practices, which are inexpensive and easy to implement, give the illusion of having retained something, when in reality, the learning is superficial and only involves short-term memorization; desirable , because truly active methods must motivate students and be adapted to their level of understanding, neither too easy nor too difficult, so as not to risk disengaging them. Students must feel comfortable using these methods and feel they are making progress in order to benefit from them.
What if we learned… how to learn?
The place and role of metacognition It is important here to make a quick point on the place of metacognition in the learning process. Metacognition is the ability to be aware of our own thoughts. This process is essential when we learn, since it allows us to distinguish what we know from what we do not know. The problem is that to judge our knowledge and shortcomings, in the absence of objective evaluation, our metacognition is too often based on our subjective experience (I think I know my course) and not enough on our real level . For example, to evaluate our level of mastery, we base ourselves on our “feeling of familiarity” with the knowledge to be learned. This feeling will create an illusion of mastery by generating the impression of having the information in memory, which is not necessarily the case. There can therefore be a gap between a strong feeling of familiarity (= subjective measurement of the student) and real mastery (= objective measurement by an assessment). To avoid this gap, metacognition is our best ally for regulating our learning , provided that it is not biased by unreliable success indicators, themselves induced by unsuitable learning methods.