12. Improving Memory

12. Improving Memory

1. Improving Memory

   • Methods to improve the way we remember and retrieve information
   • Dunlosky et al (2013)
     • High utility methods = practice testing, distributed practice
     • Moderate utility methods = elaborative, self-explanatory and interleaving
     • Low utility methods = summarising, highlighting and re-reading

2. Concrete Examples

   • When studying concepts, illustrating them with concrete and specific exmaples
   • Berry (1953) found students perform well when given examples, regalrdless of verbalisation
   • Can consicely convey information, provide concrete information in an easy to remember way and take advantage of the memorability of pcitures
   • issues = may only rmember the examples and novices tend to remember surface details while experts remember underlying information of the concept
   • Bladassari & Kelley (2012) suggested fun exmaples and jokes are very memorbale and boost memory for the joke, but not the underlying concepts

3. Elaboration

   • Elaboration Interrogation
     • asking why/how questions
     • Prompts to generate explanations for explicitly stated facts
     • Clinton, ALibali & Nathan (2016) suggested poor elaboration of information can actually hurt memory
     • Presseley et al (1987) compared particiapants in 3 conditions = elaboration, explanation or read group. Particiapnts in elaboration group remembered 72% of information, comapred to 37%
   • Craik & Lockhart (1972) suggested information is better remembered is deeply processed
   • Connecting new information with pre-existing knowledge / schema's
   • Mandler (1979) suggested improvements in organisation involves integrating and organising information
   • Asking and explaining why things work
   • Hirshman (2001) suggested elaboration is a conscious and intentional process that associates to-be-remembered information and new information into memory

4. Interleaving

   • Switching between topics while studying, noting connections between them
   • Can interleave between issues or test opportunities
   • Rohrer & Taylor (2007) found shuffling math problems resulted in better test performance i week later
   • Kornell & Bjork (2008) students matched paintings to the painters = either studied interleaved or paintings by painter = those interleaved did betetr

5. Spaced Practice

   • Creating a study schedule that spreads activities out over time
   • Bude et al (2011) learning over 8 weeks or 6 months statistics = those over 6 months did better on final exam
   • Cepeda et al (2008) suggested longer lags are better
   • Ebinghaus (1985) tuaght himself non-sense syllables, finding spaced partcie over 3 days halved the number of repitions needed to relearn
   • Lorge (1930) mirror drawing, perfromance of practice improved tack, 1 minute intervals improve but 1 day intervals inprove the most
   • Bjrork (1999) students may feel less confidence but the desirable difficulty is better for memory
   • Bjork & Bjork (1992) theory of disuse = memories have retrieval and storage strength. = the ease memory can be recalled and the extent memory is truly embedded in the mind

6. Retrieval Practice

   • When expecting to be tested, we do better, and when tests are better quality and frequent we do better
   • Bringing learned information into the mind from LTM storage
   • Has low/no stakes
   • Smith et al (2013) considered covert or overt retirval = both benefit memory performance = suggesting it is the process of bringing information to mind not feedback that causes benefits
   • Test anxiety issues (Hinze & Rapp, 2014)
   • some researchers suggest if retrieval success is low we are unlikely to imrpove, but others sugegst as long as the correct information is given in feedback, its helpful
   • Roediger & Karpicke (2004) repeated tested particiapnts had the highest recall over a delay than particiapnts who had 1 test or repeated study
   • Weinstein et al (2016) short-answer questions should be integrated into modules. They benefit students, especially when interspersed

7. Dual Coding

   • Combining words with visual information
   • Combining strategies is very effective
   • Pictures are more memorable and more information can be conveyed in an image
   • McNiell et al (2009) using visual exmaples decreases the number of conceptual errors made
   • Pavio & Csapo (1973) suggested verbal and image codes have independent but additive effects on memory = which have had success in professional domains
   • Pavio (1971) sugegsted theory to account for the integration of mutliple modes of information, providing multiple representations of the same information enhances learning and memory

8. Highlighting

   • Highlighting alone, not note-taking as well
   • Little effect to boost memory, limited to text information, becomes less distinctive if lots of information is highlighted and information not highlighted may be worse remembered
   • Folwer & Barker (1974) gave participants a long article to read in 3 groups: active highlighted information, passive read text already highlighted and control simply read. Highlighting groups were not better at recall than control