Diagnosing Study Problems Strengthening Student Success

Richard Baiardo, MS

Evergreen Valley College

I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems....

First Interview

Surface Learning Problem

Explain How Learning & Memory Work

Introduce Remediation Steps

Understand Study Approach

Three Key Questions

First Question

“Was all the exam information contained in your notes?”

– Purpose: determine if complete notes?

(Student is required to bring lecture notes to the appointment.)

Second Question

If No – – “Do you have difficulty deciding when

something important has been said?”

– Listening or note-taking problem

Third Question

If Yes– “Describe everything that happens with

notes from time you walk out of class?”

– Study technique problem

Subjects Requiring Different Approaches and Techniques

Some academic disciplines present special study technique problems such as:– Mathematics – Accounting– Chemistry

Chemistry

Subject with symbols, formulas, definitions, and lawsIdeas presented in: – mathematical terms in a sequential and hierarchical way

First task: memorizing symbols– Symbols for elements* formulas (compounds) chemical

reactions (equations) stoichiometry

*Fe (iron), Cl (chlorine) = FeCl3 (i.e., FeCl3 + 3NaOH Fe(OH)3 + 3NaCl)

Foundation topics must be learned early.

How Learning & Memory Work

Central Problem Every Student Must Solve

Pavlov of Memory

Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850 - 1909)

Owe fundamental understanding of human memory to one man.

1885 published On Memory – Described memory experiments on

himself.

First scientific study of memory.

Research Method

Constructed lists – 20 “nonsense syllables.” CVC

DAR

FOT

BEL

MUK

LIM

KIR

VUZ

HUQ

PIW

RUJ

MAF

LEV

ZAD

Research Method

Practiced list by repetition until correct two times in row.

Counted number of times took to master list.

Varied lengths of time before trying to remember.

Forgot, practiced until remembered list perfectly again.

Ebbinghaus’ Data

Delay Savings immediate 100% 20 minutes 60% 1 hr 45% 9 hr 35% 1 day 30% 2 days 25% 6 days 22% 30days 20%

Forgetting

Most rapidly soon after end of practice.

Rate slowed as time went on.

Retention pattern = first forgetting curve.

Retention Curve

Time Spent Reviewing

More times practiced list on day 1, fewer repetitions required to relearn on day 2.

Amount remembered depended on:

– Time spent on repetition.

– When started rehearsal.

Ebbinghaus’ Findings

Three Principles

Principle I

Memory decays as a function of time.

Rate of forgetting:

– Fastest after initial learning

– Slower for more meaningful material

Principle II

Amount remembered depends on multiple times spent learning.

Principle III

Effect of “overlearning”:

Information practiced beyond mastery more resistant to disruption or loss.

What Does Not Work!

Pseudo Learning Strategies

Strategies With Limited Value

Listening in class.Taking notes.– Only taking notes using the lecture outline.

“Rote” rehearsal (memorizing facts and conclusions).– Examples: rereading and repeating.

Shallow processing.

Shallow Processing

Recopying or retyping your notes.

Waiting until after lecture to read textbook assignment.

Waiting until last minute to review.

Why Do They Not Work?

ISSUE IS NOT TIME SPENT ON TASK

NOR EFFORT SPENT TO REMEMER

Graph of Forgetting Curve

Brain Basics

BrainLearning Memory

Human Brain

About 3 pounds

78% water, 10% fat, 8% protein

Less than 2.5% of body’s weight

Uses 20% of body’s energy at rest

Brain Numbers

100 billion neurons

Each neuron has 10,000 connections

1,000 trillion synaptic connection points

280 quintillion memories

Diamond & Hopson, 1998

“The nerve cell, or neuron resembles a miniature tree…” (p. 21)

How does Brain Lay Down and Retrieve Memories?

Grow and develop, neurons are 'wired up' to each other.Communicate through thousands of connections - synapses. Memories formed when

certain connections are

“strengthened.”

Synaptic Density

Natural pruning process– Pruning of unused

connections– Most of pruning

occurs between 10-16 years

– Synaptic density reduced

Connections

To maintain connections, cells must stay active

“Strengthening” means:– Neuron grows more dendrites– Adds more receptors on

dendrites/cell body

Disintegrate/disappear if cell doesn’t use

Brain Modified by Environment

Dendrites can grow at any age

Synaptic connections occur at any age; easier earlier in life

Brain is adaptable

Plasticity

‘Use it or Lose it’

The Only Way We Learn

is by

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Memory is “Associative”

Memory of new information is increased if:

Associated with previously acquired knowledge

Meaningful association = effectively remembered.

Closely Studied Memory Factors

IntentionRepetitionEmotionDeep Processing

Four Closely Studied Memory Factors

Intention - how much effort you expend.Repetition - how often material is repeated.Emotion - whether material brings emotional response.Depth of processing - whether related to known material.

Shallow vs. Deep Processing

Simple rehearsal– Definition: Repeating information

Elaborative rehearsal– Definition: Actively reviewing and connecting to

knowledge already stored.

Remediation Steps

How to Take NotesReview: How & When

How to Take Notes

Cornell note-taking system.– Important features:

• Red line– Position on the page

indicates importance.– Only a major point touches– Everything else is indented – Further from red line, less

important.

• Cue column– Key words & phrases– Permits review by recall

Cues Students Use to Decide They Know Something

Cognitive science: two cues important in guiding judgments of what we know:

– (1) our “familiarity” with a given body of Information.

– (2) our “partial access” to that information.

Getting a Complete Set of Notes

Start a Study Group Advantages:– Get a complete set of lecture notes.

• Immediately after class, meet with your group to fill in any gaps in your lecture notes.

• Won’t matter how hard you study if you missed an important point in the lecture.

– Opportunity for review and exam preparation.• You can ask questions.• Explain to others what you know.• Gain emotional support.

Review by Recall

When How

Multiple Reviews Are Essential

1st review: within minutes

2nd review: within 24 hours

3rd review: within the week

4th review: within the month (before the test)5th review: within the semester (before final exam)

Graph of Forgetting Curve and Effect of Review

Deeper Level Processing

Review by recall not by recognition

Establishing more connections with LTMs – Making associations.– Attaching meaning.– Forming relationships.– Creating hierarchies.

Deep Processing Techniques

Techniques:– Writing outlines.– Self-examination during learning.– Review questions.– Previews.

Encourage integration of material and thereby process (i.e., think about) meaning.

Second Interview

FeedbackModeling

Review Recent Set of Notes

Student brings recent set of lecture notes – (taken within 24 hours)

What worked; what did not? Review notes togetherAdditional Suggestions

Sleep and Stress

Effect on Memory

Deprivation

Stress

Role of Sleep

Brain uses to process the day’s experiences– Compensates for inadequate sleep with:

• Shorter attention span• Lowered creativity • Reduced memory capacity• Rigid viewpoints• Irritability• Increased appetite

In both animals and humans: – Increase in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep during night

following learning experience.

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation adversely effects learning.

Low-frequency sleep - mainly at start of night– Plays a role in memory consolidation

REM sleep - mainly at the end of a night’s sleep– Plays role in problem solving

Interference and Sleep

Without interferingevents, recall isbetterAfter sleep

After remaining awake

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Hours elapsed after learning syllables

90%

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Percentageof syllables

recalled

Stress and MemoryP

erf

orm

an

ce

Stress

Low Moderate High

Final Thoughts

Adult LearningCharacteristic of “A” Students

Graph of Learning

“A” Students

What is the single behavior that distinguishes an “A” student from a “B” or “C” student?

“A” students start early!

References

Bloom, Benjamin S. Developing Talent in Young People, 1985, Ballantine BooksEricsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Romer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363-406. Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College. 2005, Houghton MifflinRoss, Philip E. “The Expert Mind” Scientific American, August 2006Willingham, Daniel T., “Inflexible Knowledge: The First Step to Expertise,”American Educator, Winter 2002 Willingham, Daniel T., “How Knowledge Helps: It Speeds and Strengthens Reading Comprehension, Learning—and Thinking,” Am. Educator,Spring 2006Willingham, Daniel T., “Why Students Think They Understand—When They Don’t,” American Educator, Winter 2003-2004 Willingham, Daniel T., “Practice Makes Perfect, But Only If you Practice Beyond the Point of Perfection,” American Educator, Spring 2004 Willingham, Daniel T., “Students Remember...What They Think About,” American Educator, Summer 2003

Supplementary Material

Types of Knowledge

RoteShallowInflexibleFlexible

“Rote” Knowledge

Memorizing form in absence of meaning.– Knowledge devoid of meaning.

– Memorizing something you do not understand.

“Shallow” Knowledge

Meaning - understand each isolated part.– Unlike rote knowledge

Lacks deeper meaning that comes from understanding relationship among parts.

“Inflexible” Knowledge

It may appear as rote, but it’s not.

Knowledge - meaningful but narrow.

Doesn’t translate to other relevant situations.– Example: classical conditioning.

Knowing particulars of an example– Meant to illustrate a principle not the principle.

New Knowledge

Tends to be shallow and inflexible when it is first learned.

– Normal

– Usefulness is limited.

“Flexible” Knowledge

As continue to work with knowledge, you gain expertise.

Knowledge no longer organized around examples

Organized around principles.

Where Knowledge Seems Flexible

Suppose know how to find the area of a rectangle.That knowledge is probably generalizable:– Can apply it to any rectangle.

– Formula not tied to specific examples in which learned.

– Can use formula in novel situations: determining total square footage of a: hallway kitchendining room

Testing for Flexible Knowledge

Multiple Choice Questions

Types of Multiple Choice

A blood pressure reading of 200/96 mmHg is considered:

A. HypotensionB. HypertensionC. Cardiac hypertrophyD. Renal hypertension

Types of Multiple Choice

A newly admitted client has a blood pressure of 200/96mmHg. The client has a family history of diabetes mellitus. Which nursing action is most appropriate at this time?

A. Call the doctorB. Retake the blood pressureC. Assess for other signs and symptomsD. Ask the client if he/she is taking antihypertensives.

What’s the Difference?

First question - recalling factual information

Second question - clinical decision using critical thinking skills.

– Clinical scenario-type questions are commonly used in nursing exams.

Testing for Factual Knowledge and Critical Thinking

You are the nurse on a med-surg. unit who has just received report. Which patient should you assess first?a. A 35 yo admitted 3 hours ago with a gunshot wound; 1.5cm area of dark drainage noted on the dressingb. A 43 yo s/p mastectomy 2 days ago with 23cc of serosanguinous fluid noted in the drain.c. 59 yo with a collapsed lung due to an accident; no drainage in the chest tube over the previous shift.d. A 62 yo s/p abd-peritoneal resection 3 days ago; pt now with complaints of chills.

Background Knowledge Needed

Medical terminology:– yo– S/p– Pt– Abd

Vocabulary:– serosanguinous– Peritoneal

Nature of the four surgeries

What is normal and expected?

What do you not expect to see?

“d.” - huge surgery - big, deep-bowl cancer.

Chills =– Internal bleeding– infection

Effective Strategies

Spacing EffectSustained PracticeExpertiseOverlearning

Spacing Effect

Cognitive research evidence: – Distributing study time over several sessions:

• better long-term retention than a single study session.

Short periods of practice daily are better than cramming.

“mass vs. distributed practice”

Sustained Practice

= Regular, ongoing review or use.

Practice beyond one perfect recitation.

Practice past point of mastery is necessary to develop expertise.

Useful for developing automaticity.

"Practice makes perfect"

Obvious that practice is important.

Unexpected finding:

practice does not make perfect.

Practice until perfect – perfect only briefly.

STM or LTM requires ongoing practice.

Developing Expertise

Practice involves more than repetition.

Experts engage in “deliberate practice:”

– Setting specific goals

– Obtaining immediate feedback of results

– Concentrating on technique more than outcome

– Exerting effort to improve performance

Expert’s Attitude

Approaches everything with need to learn more.Never loses intensity of a beginner. Never feels finished or satisfied.

Engages in ongoing effortful study:– Continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond

one's competence.

Overlearning

Overlearning – Studying material one already knows.

For a new skill to become automatic or for new knowledge to become long lasting, sustained practice, beyond the point of mastery, is necessary.

Developing “Automaticity”

Permits higher levels of competence.

Become more skillful in mental tasks.– Effective writer knows:

• Rules of grammar and usage • To begin a paragraph with a topic sentence• Include relevant detail automatically

Developing “Automaticity”

When cognitive processes automatic, demand very little space in working memory.

– In any field certain procedures used again and again.

– Procedures must be learned to point of automaticity so they no longer consume working memory space.

Major Point

Will only remember what extensively practiced.

Only remember long term what practiced in a sustained way over many years.

Background Knowledge

Comprehension

Take In New Information

Comprehension of new information depends on what you already know that can be connected.

More basic knowledge = easier to build new knowledge– Easier to fix in memory when have knowledge about topic.

Deeper processing, comprehension, and listening all depend on background knowledge.

Think About New Information

Language is full of semantic breaks where knowledge is assumed.

Making correct inferences demands background knowledge.

Information Stated vs. Implied

“John’s face fell as he looked down at his protruding belly. The invitation specified “black tie”and he had not worn his tux since his own wedding 20 years earlier.”

What is John concerned about?

Reference

“He was a real Benedict Arnold about it”

Thinking About New Information

Read through one time, then look away and recall letters:

CN

NFB

ICB

SCI

ANC

AA

“Chunking”

Most people get about 7 correct.Demands background knowledge:

CNN

FBI

CBS

CIA

NCAA

General Education Prerequisites

Purpose is to create a larger body of general knowledge.

Some researchers maintain prior knowledge actually makes up or replaces aptitude.

Motivation

“Motivation is a more important factor than innate ability.”

“The preponderance of psychological evidence indicates that experts are made, not born.”

- Philip E. Ross

A Common Student Mistake

Thinking We Know Something

Feeling of Knowing

Familiarity & Partial Access

How Do We Know That We Know Something?

Psychologists distinguish between:

– Familiarity - knowledge of having seen or otherwise experienced some stimulus before, but having little information associated with it.

– Recollection - characterized by richer associations.

Feeling of Knowing

If believe know material, likely to divert attention elsewhere.– You will stop:

• Listening• Reading• Working• Participating

Mentally “checking out” is never a good choice.

Feeling of Knowing

Some common causes:– Rereading.– Shallow processing.– Recalling related information.

Feeling of knowing becomes a problem if have feeling without knowing.

Rereading

Prepare for exam by rereading class notes & textbook.

Encounter familiar terms – know you’ve heard these terms before– become even more familiar to you as you reread

“Yes, I’ve seen this, I know this, I understand this.”

Feeling you understand material as it is presented not same as being able to recount it yourself.

Feeling of Knowing

Some students quit once some facts have been memorized, believing already done quite a bit of studying.

Cues Students Use to Decide They Know Something

Cognitive science: two cues important in guiding judgments of what we know:

– (1) our “familiarity” with a given body of Information.

– (2) our “partial access” to that information.

Guarding Against “Familiarity”

Insidious effect of familiarity: – Feeling know something when really don’t.

– Fools mind: think know more than do.

Guarding Against “Partial Access”

Knowing a lot of related information

– Makes feel as though know the target information.

Mind fooled when know part of material or related material.

The Test!

Standard of “knowing:”

– “ability to explain to others,” not “understanding when explained by others.”

Process information as if preparing to teach it to another.

“To teach is to learn twice.”

Source: “Thinking You Understand When You Don’t” by Daniel T. Willingham

Bloom’s Study of High Achievers

Five-year study

120 nation’s top artists, athletes, & scholars

Research goal - understand keys to high achievement.

Case Studies

Conducted in-depth anonymous interviews with top 20 performers in six fields.

Research hypothesis:

Expected to hear tales of great natural gifts.

Findings

Heard accounts of an extraordinary drive and dedication not great natural talent.

Bloom’s study concluded drive and determination are keys.

Training a Future Expert

Bloom proposed training involved four stages:Stage 1– introduced to area under playful conditions as a

child – promise was noted

Stage II– Lessons were provided, usually with a teacher or

coach who worked well with children– regular practice habits were established.

Training a Future Expert

Stage III– internationally recognized teacher or coach

engaged– requires significant commitment of resources

from parents– dedicated and likely exclusive study by the child.

Stage IV– student absorbs all that he or she could from

teachers – began to develop his/her personal contribution to

the field.

Summary

Start earlyReview new material by recall at least 3X/wkStudy in shorter spaced periods vs. massed effortIncrease background knowledgeStrive for automaticityUse overlearningJoin a study groupTutor othersGet 8-9 hours of sleep per night

Final Thoughts

Assume Nothing;

When in Doubt, Always Check it Out!

Final Thoughts

Confident →Cocky →Lazy →Dead!

-Scott Swaby

References

Bloom, Benjamin S. Developing Talent in Young People, 1985, Ballantine BooksEricsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Romer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363-406. Ross, Philip E. “The Expert Mind” Scientific American, August 2006Willingham, Daniel T., “Inflexible Knowledge: The First Step to Expertise,”American Educator, Winter 2002 Willingham, Daniel T., “How Knowledge Helps: It Speeds and Strengthens Reading Comprehension, Learning—and Thinking,” American Educator,Spring 2006Willingham, Daniel T., “Why Students Think They Understand—When They Don’t,” American Educator, Winter 2003-2004 Willingham, Daniel T., “Practice Makes Perfect, But Only If you Practice Beyond the Point of Perfection,” American Educator, Spring 2004

References

Willingham, Daniel T., Ask the Cognitive Scientist “Students Remember...What

They Think About,” American Educator, Summer 2003