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  • Two Articles in Scientific American October 2013. Vol.24, No.4. How To Be A Better Student How We Learn. What Works and What Doesn't

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    Two articles in Scientific American October 2013. vol.24, no.4. How to be a Better Student; How We Learn. What Works and What doesn’t

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    Two Articles in Scientific American October 2013. Vol.24, No.4. How To Be A Better Student How We Learn. What Works and What Doesn't

    Uploaded by

    Kshitij Pal

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    (contents) SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Volume 24, Number 4, September/October 2013 FEATURES 26> Letting Go of Set Esteem rar eotemtnceneniecrniree Piha tear outset hexlonsebeur on Sumereaoon ape sro pereatn oe cee 3.4> Listening to Voices Asta Rone Tea erat a Suen arcane sorccren evr oni sane reg Setanta 40> what a Hoax Caples EST can snare Se iat eens tatere eer. ee ees SPECIAL REPORT 44> How We Learn Insights from psyhology can make us better readers, witers and thinkers. By THE EDITORS 46> what works, What Doesn't ‘Some study techniques accelerate Jeaming, whereas others are just ‘a waste of time—but which ones are whion? BY JOHN DUNLOSKY, KATHERINE A, RAWSON, ELIZABETH J. MARSH, MITCHELL J. NATHAN AND. DANIEL T. WILLINGHAM > The Science of Handwriting {As we jettison the pet and penn a gal wort, we oe changing the way furbrain thinks about writing Syenmtoon nee 60> For the Love of Math {Win the nt osson no, teachers can Samarra neonate Peon 2 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND. September/October 2013 Head Lines = How to Be a Better student ‘Atew years ago, after writing a self. help book for young women with binge- eating issues, | played around with the idea of getting a social work or family therapy degree. How wonderful to help people fora ving! But the nitty-gritty (of going back to school and having 10 study again scared me to death. | used to be a damned good student— but now? I'm so wiped from earning a living and keeping up with my toddler that my brain feels like Swiss cheese. Siti, educators and researchers say that you do not need the carefree mind of grade-schooler or the late: right stamina of a teenager to be ‘a good student. All you need is the ‘determination to learn something new ‘and the right tools. Read of FFT] Cts eer comings ytoscnaing otreseocn,seletets Fotain what they have leaned better than rapticnovelsis about to become | st the University o lina at Urbana It they simply spend more tne stucying ‘he nextbigthing. na recent study in Gus. | Champaign set uprats' habitats inavariety | ut recent research has revealed a sur ress Communication Quarter; University | ofways—some wih bright colorsandlets | ingtwist: works even better if you take ‘of OKahoma professor Jeremy Short found | of aeivties and toys, some with ts of the test before you know anything about that comicbooks were better atheiping | dferentfoods and sms, others witha | a subject, so you ae all but guaranteed to business majors remember things wordfor_| running whee. Inthe end, the ony factor | get the answers wrong. One experiment. \word than trastional textbooks. tmekes | thatmatteredtothe rats’ brainpower was | from 2008, for instance, found thet st sense, when you thnk about t."Icanrecte | thewheel, and therats that xprisedaid | dents who tried to answer neurology test lines from movies end iterature but icatt | etteron cogitne esis and had heather | questions before reading upon the tome vwakaround quoting textbooks,” Short says. | brains than the others, recalled more information a week later He used the graphic novel approach himsett than students who were glen a lst of ‘obras wpanmath nnn e was geting Stresourpepresses2e/"E | (Symonds and apes beforehand and even is Ph. "lbought the Cartoon Gute to class notes or writing out students who were given the same test but itappears that tryig—and faling— ta recall the informations Wey you don't ‘Statistics. It was a really interesting book ‘questions and answers always helped me guard Ma tovansie tan. The. i Semoaumnecs™ | Sewnaamaistnest” | foreman | ‘should've already learned.” Such graphic Sean en ee ‘this counterinturtive learning trick works, = pabiemerm cers. | Semmtremrauntars : might wantto lean more about—genetis, | Such as Twiter could be the 2013 version ‘the ervronnent. the history ofthe universe, | ofthat practice. Researchers at Michigan | 0 resdl ne fone Kaplan even has an SAT vocabuiary study | ‘State Univesity revent found that stu Heres bra est Sider coeloneck torn. dents who reguary tweet asa part oftheir | {rare ue Be Hees uve tere gneiss A OP Receetntrt comment tee fentmecitrgsoremcne™ | fetimemettetrgaies Pct | Goran ertmene rt tone, Improves cognitive function, memory and | onnectingandtalking witnotnertweeters | Neadings into questions Lea’ on page, erctaens pater cardovareasr’ | Srovingond org vin oe byasirgyourot what petheperd aptinrarrell Deneyweas meen inthe moment and as you age, and some EDM pet roccet tes reeset ‘Take your best guess— teach uns cura eect Prorat nora er | Wan foU RSA a ar yt Mpbavaonronneatn noe pertcume | cecnses tamrigeuctnapssome | neta tne feet 10 scienTiFiC AMERICAN MIND. ‘September/October 2013 AY hen we pack our children off ro school, we envision them embarking on a life- long career of learning, Yet one thing they typically never study is the at of studying itself. Our intuitions, it turns out, do not always map to reality. In “What Works, What Doesn',” by John Dunlosky etal, on page 46, we ‘comb through the vast scientific literature on learning techniques to iden- tify the two methods that work best. In an increasingly digital world, one shift in learning has largely evaded notice: the decline of handwriting. Different brain activity accompanies a hand scribbling on paper or fingers tapping keys, with che former invoking neuronal circuits of movement and spatial processing more strongly. As we abandon our pens and pencils in favor of the keyboard, is our engagement with words becoming mote superficial? ILLUSTRATIONS BY CELIA JOHNSON In “The Science of Handwriting,” starting on page'34, Brandon Keim investigates this question. ‘Yet we need not fear change. As education data illustrate all roo well, the number of degrees in mathematics, science and engineeringis not keeping pace with demand, To better prepare students for the world they will one day encounter, a dramatic rethinking of how math and science are taught ‘may be in order. “For the Love of Math,” by John Mighton, starting on page 60, describes one ap- proach that has helped struggling students discover an untapped aptitude. ‘Strong foundations can nurture exploration at all ages, far beyond the classroom. But for an abiding love of learning, the 49-year-old Julia Child would not have published the cookbook that launched her career. Grandma Moses would not have taken up painting in her late 70s. And {wo octogenarians would not have spent 2013 vying to become the oldest climber to summit Everest, Whatevor your quest, the science of earning can help you reach it.The Editors Mind.SclentificAmerican.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 45, MINS OE HOW | LeaRN WHAT ". WORKS, WHAT DOESN’T Some study techniques accelerate learning, whereas others are just a waste of time—but which ones are which? An unprecedented review maps out the best pathways to knowledge PCT Cae ar Marte mana] TGS MOLL tee AN GPW ANID WN LE LR OC one ILLUSTRATIONS BY CELIA JOHNSON ‘Mind.ScientitieAmerican.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 47 ducation generally focuses on what you study, such as algebra, the elements of the periodic table or how to conjugate verbs. But learning how to study can be just as important, with lifelong benefits. It can teach you to pick up knowledge faster and more efficiently and allow you to retain information for years rather than days. Cognitive and educational psychologists have developed and evaluated numerous techniques, ranging from rereading fo summarizing ro self-testing, for more than 100 years. Some common strategies markedly improve student achievement, whereas others are time-consuming and ineffective, Yet this information is not making its way into the classroom. Teach- crs today are not being told which learning techniques are sup FAST FACTS: Rating the Best Ways to Study ‘Some study methods work in many different situations and across topics, boosting test Performance and long-term retention. Learning how to earn can have lifelong benef. 2D: Solftesting and spreading out study ses- sions—so-called distributed practice—are excellent ways to Improve learning. They are efficient, easy to use and effective, 3 Undertining and rereading, two methods that 2 many students uso, ae ineffective and can be time-consuming. Other learning techniques need further test- ing and evaluation. In the meantime, stu- Promising Orections from Cognitive and Educational Psychology" on mich his stor for Seentne American Mind is base, at the Association for Psychological Science's Web site: www. psychologicalsclence.org 52 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND September/October 2013 Comte etevag lowe wudonsto STUDENTS ARENOT [yrstes ty ouwsin. Tose te wince md BEING TAUGHT THE ‘Aen rn tulinkotgeicn SUB ESTSTRATEGIES) (7 eucttannti a PERHAPS BECAUSE _ ofproblemis introduced, iis mixed in WHEN SHOULD I USEIT? When the types ‘with examples of earlier subjects. It may of problems are similar, perhaps be- TEACHERS THEM- take a little more time than blocking cause juxtaposing them makes teaser. ~SELWES ARE NOT practic, but such slowing mos likey is to see what is different about them ‘worthvrhile, reflecting cognitive pro- Blocked practice—doing all the items. SCHOOLED IN THEM. cscs uarhoose performance. from one category in a row—may be ‘more effective when the examples are RATING: Moderate utility. Interleaved not very much alike because it high- nose cardiac disorders. Yet ewo studies practice improves learning and reten- lights what they have in common, of foreign-vocabulary learning showed tion of mathematical knowledge and I is possible that interleaved prac- no effect for interleaved practice. Nev- boosts other cognitive skills. The ltera- tice benefits only those who are already ertheless, given how much difficulty ture on interleaved practice is small, reasonably competent. Outcomes are many students have in mathematics, it however, and includes enough negative also mixed for different types of con- may still be a worthwhile strategy for results to raise concern. It may be that tent. It improves performance on alge- that subject. the technique does nor consistently. bra problems and was effective in a work wel, or perhaps it is not always study thar trained medical students 10 IS ITPRACTICAL? It seems to be. A moti- used appropriately—topics for future interpret electrical recordings to diag- vated student could easily use interleav- research. What We Have Learned trained or reminded, still require further ~ Why don’t students use more effec- research. But even now teachers can in. (Further Reading) tive study techniques? It seems they are corporate the most succesful approach- Tan Bonet of Testing and Their not being raughe the best strategies, per- es into lesson plans so that students could ‘Applcations to Edveationl Practice. HL. Rood Il AL hhaps because teachers themselves rent adopt them on their own, For instance, Putnam and M.A Smath in Psycho schooled in them. In oursurvey ofsixed- when moving to.a new section, a teacher | teat pehclog textbooks ony Ganrtbyskngsieno deny) select ove tehnime—‘heyword macaw ctardcoeeimperaniacin ff Secon tex ies"

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