Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

A Practice Guide

NCER 2007-2004

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

IES Practice Guide

SEPTEMBER 2007

Harold Pashler (Chair) University of California, San Diego Patrice M. Bain Columbia Middle School, Illinois Brian A. Bottge University of Wisconsin?Madison Arthur Graesser University of Memphis Kenneth Koedinger Carnegie Mellon University Mark McDaniel Washington University in St. Louis Janet Metcalfe Columbia University

NCER 2007-2004

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, under contract no. ED-05-CO-0026 to Optimal Solutions Group, LLC.

Disclaimer

The opinions and positions expressed in this practice guide are the authors' and do not necessarily represent the opinions and positions of the Institute of Education Sciences or the U.S. Department of Education. This practice guide should be reviewed and applied according to the specific needs of the educators and education agencies using it and with full realization that it represents only one approach that might be taken, based on the research that was available at the time of publication. This practice guide should be used as a tool to assist in decision-making rather than as a "cookbook." Any references within the document to specific education products are illustrative and do not imply endorsement of these products to the exclusion of other products that are not referenced.

U.S. Department of Education Margaret Spellings Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences Grover J. Whitehurst Director

National Center for Education Research Lynn Okagaki Commissioner

September 2007

This report is in the public domain. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be:

Pashler, H., Bain, P., Bottge, B., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., and Metcalfe, J. (2007) Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning (NCER 2007-2004). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from .

This report is available for download on the IES website at .

Alternative Formats On request, this publication can be made available in alternative formats, such as Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette. For more information, call the Alternative Format Center at (202) 205-8113.

Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

Contents

Preamble from the Institute of Education Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v About the authors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Disclosures of potential conflicts of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Scope of the practice guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Checklist for carrying out the recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Recommendation 1: Space learning over time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Recommendation 2: Interleave worked example solutions

and problem-solving exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Recommendation 3: Combine graphics with verbal descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Recommendation 4: Connect and integrate abstract and concrete

representations of concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Recommendation 5: Use quizzing to promote learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Recommendation 5a: Use pre-questions to introduce a new topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Recommendation 5b: Use quizzes to re-expose students to information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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Recommendation 6: Help students allocate study time efficiently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Recommendation 6a: Teach students how to use delayed judgment of learning techniques to identify concepts that need further study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Recommendation 6b: Use tests and quizzes to identify content that needs to be learned . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Recommendation 7: Help students build explanations by asking and answering deep questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Appendix: Technical information on the studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

List of Tables

Table 1: Institute of Education Sciences Levels of Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Table 2: Recommendations and corresponding Level of Evidence to support each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

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