TIPS
FOR TEACHERS
Increasing Students’ Academic and Social
Success: Proven Tactics for Helping Students Avoid
Forgetting
Nature
of the Tactics
Tactics
to reduce forgetting among students refers to methods that influence all
types of learning: concept learning, discrimination learning, verbal learning,
motor learning, problem solving, and dealing with connected discourse.
The following tactics have been researched repeatedly over the past century
and the effectiveness of their results is well-documented.
Tactics
to Reduce Forgetting Among Students
•Degree
of Original Learning
•Type
of retention Measure
•Instructions
to Recall
•Reminiscence
Degree
of Original Learning
Original
learning refers to the extent to which a student has mastered a unit of
study during the initial, or acquisition, stage of learning. Assume that
we defined initial mastery as the first occasion on which the student achieved
100% on a test of the unit of study. If the teacher moves on to another
unit of study following the occasion of the student's initial mastery,
the student will forget much of the content of that unit of study after
only a few days' time. One of the best tactics to combat forgetting is
over learning. Over learning refers to practice beyond the point of initial
mastery. For instance, if the student achieved initial mastery following
the 10th session of original learning, we could practice half again as
long as it took to reach initial mastery (i.e., five additional sessions,
or 150% over learning). Or, we could practice for ten additional
sessions following initial mastery (i.e., 200% over learning). The
degree of over learning has an crucial influence on forgetting and greatly
increases retention of previously learned material. Over learning
should always implemented to at least the 150% level. On the other hand,
research shows that over learning beyond the 200% level costs more in time
and effort than it benefits retention.
Type
of Retention Measure
Estimates
of how much material a student remembers depend on the type of measure
used. For example, a recognition measure requires the student to select
from among an array of choices (e.g., a multiple-choice test). A
structured-recall measure requires the student to produce or supply responses
within a specific context (e.g., short-answer and essay tests). Finally,
relearning or savings measures estimate the time it takes for the student
to relearn previously learned material. The different measures provide
different estimates of retention even when they are based on the same learned
material. Recognition produces the highest estimates of retention, structured-recall
produces the lowest estimates of retention, and relearning falls in the
middle. Ultimately, the retention measure to use is the one demanded
in real-life situations. Frequently, that measure is structured recall,
the most difficult estimate of retention to attain. As an intermediate
tactic, the teacher may use easier recognition tests in order to promote
self-esteem and confidence, so long as ultimate mastery and retention is
measured by structured recall tests.
Instructions
to Recall
Instructions
to recall refers to explicit directions to the student regarding what to
remember. This may take the form of simply informing the student that there
will be a test covering the day's material on Thursday, or the directions
may refer to a set of objectives for which the students are responsible.
Although many teachers find it aggravating when students ask, "Will this
be on the test?," the student has a point if significant amounts of class
time are devoted to material for which the student is not responsible.
Just as students learn best when they learn intentionally, they also forget
less when they are explicitly instructed to remember.
Reminiscence
Reminiscence
is the increase in performance that occurs during a rest period that follows
a lengthy massed practice session. With large amounts of massed practice,
interference and confusion increase. Such massed practice leads to more
proactive and retroactive inhibition, which decreases performance. For
instance, when students study all night preparing for an important examination
and complete the examination with little or no sleep, their performance
suffers because of extraneous and harmful effects that mask learning (e.g.,
they feel tired, hungry, grubby, and unmotivated). With rest, the
effects dissipate, and previous learning is unmasked. Teachers can explain
the influence of reminiscence to their students, and can warn them against
long study sessions. They can encourage short, but frequent, study sessions.
In addition, they can be sure to allow a rest period following a lengthy
practice session in school before measuring students' retention.
........................................................................................................................................
One
of a series of documents prepared by Auburn University special education
faculty
as
contracted by the Alabama State Improvement Grant to promote positive change
in the public schools.
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