Posts from — January 2011

Good old-fashioned testing and a comprehensive reading theory developed in 1946 remain great learning tools.

It is a practice born of yesteryear and quite frankly appears to be giving way to concept-mapping and other forms of study habits. But yet another new study has confirmed that the practice known as forced retrieval today continues to be one of the best methods for learning new material.
In the latest report, “Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping,” researchers Jeffrey D. Karpicke and Janell R. Blunt actually cast a negative light on one of the most popular current practices. They contend that educators rely “more heavily on learning activities that encourage elaborative studying” and do so at the expense of the traditional and extremely successful practice of “retrieving and reconstructing knowledge.”

And when these researchers say learning, they include three extremely important elements. First, forced retrieval continues to be one of the best methods for helping students retain new material.

But even more importantly than this retention, forced retrieval was deemed to be the best method for helping teach students to draw inferences as well as apply concepts to new settings.

Forced Retrieval

The term forced retrieval is used to describe the practice of formal testing or quizzing. In the case of the most recent study, forced retrieval is used to describe the process by which a student studies a specific passage for a fixed length of time, then sets that material aside to write down everything he or she can remember about the passage.

Of course, educators essentially use that same concept when they cover material for a period of time then give a written assessment. The assessment takes the place of self-quizzing and thus forces students to retrieve the information they have been studying.

Those who worry today that in testing students we are harming their learning will be extremely disappointed with the results of this study. In fact, these researchers reveal that tests, when used appropriately, are much more than a passive learning activity and thus are great tools for helping students learn new material.

In essence, the very method educators use to assess the current level of student understanding requires students to employ the forced-retrieval technique. So this research expresses strong support for testing students at appropriate points in time.

In fact, if you dig deeply into the results, the researchers support the idea that frequent, low-stakes classroom quizzes with multiple options to make up marginal work could well be one of the most viable learning tools educators can use.

The Recent Study

In coming up with their support for forced retrieval, the researchers compared this form of learning with two other learning formats. One involved repeatedly reading the material over and over again while the other involved one of the latest educational techniques, concept mapping (whereby students create detailed diagrams that theoretically help them understand and make connections among the various facts they have read).

For one of the experiments, the researchers divided students into four groups. To get at the heart of the basic idea of studying material, one group spent five minutes reading a text while a second group was provided four consecutive five-minute sessions to read and reread the passage.

The third group utilized the “concept mapping” technique and arranged the information in a diagram while the text was in front of them. The fourth and final group, after being given time to read the passage, was asked to take a simple “retrieval practice” test where they were tasked with writing down what they remembered. However, that fourth and final group was then allowed to reread the passage yet a second time, then asked to repeat the retrieval practice test.

To determine the best learning approach, one week later the researchers gave each group a short-answer test that focused on both the students ability to recall facts as well as draw logical inferences and conclusions. The fourth and final group of students, those who first read the passage and wrote down the material they had read retained about 50 percent more of the information one week later than those students who used the other two methods.

Why retrieval testing helps is still unknown. Perhaps it is because by remembering information we are organizing it, creating our own cues and making critical connections within our own brains. It might just also be that the struggle to recall information is critical to further reinforcement within our brains. Lastly, perhaps by practicing the recall of information, the information then becomes easier for us to recall it at a later time.

For students, the latest study supports that critical ingredient so many professors espouse: to determine what you know, put your book and notes aside and try to recall everything you can. During the recall attempt, it does not seem to matter whether or not students write it down or say it out loud – it is only the idea of self-quizzing or forcing recall that matters.

Past Practice

This latest study also reinforces a practice that many teachers employed before the turn of this century. Veteran teachers reading the study will no doubt recall a recitation-based learning practice dubbed “SQRRR” or “SQ3R.” The concept is indeed one from the past having been popularized in the book, “Effective Study,” written in 1946 by Francis P. Robinson.

SQ3R or SQRRR was generally used as a method to teach reading comprehension to children. The letters represented the five step process: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review.

Of course, most sophisticated college reading material requires strong reading comprehension skills. As SQ3R reveals, internalizing and retaining what one has read demands much more than simply rereading passages multiple times or reading and providing an accompanying concept map.

As for questioning, it can of course be done by the teacher but the prior learning practice encouraged students themselves to lead the way by self quizzing. In doing so, students themselves can determine the extent to which they need to reread and review.

The latest study in fact reinforces this longstanding practice fully.

Tried and True and Still Valid

There are no doubt still many educators who believe that the forced retrieval method focuses too much on testing and an excessive emphasis on memorization. But it is clear that the demands of college require students with the necessary knowledge base to do higher order thinking and inquiry-based problem-solving.

First, testing can help teachers and students identify gaps in existing knowledge. Such recognition can then lead students to revisit those elements that may not have been clear and subsequently help them gain further insight.

In addition, when information is internalized, it can be more easily recalled when necessary, especially when it comes time to make connections with new ideas. That is where the reciting comes in SQ3R. In writing out or reciting aloud, students can actually discern what elements they can retrieve from memory when asked and which elements remain elusive.

The bottom line of course is that if we could create totally reflective students, teacher assessments could give way to self-quizzing. But given the nature of young people, having a teacher pushing the assessment process may well be necessary to ensure that youngsters take this critical step.

And that is precisely what these researchers determined: the external pressure that leads students to exercise the forced retrieval technique continues to be a viable approach for educators to employ.

On Monday, the day most of America celebrated Martin Luther King Day, Maine Governor Paul LePage told reporters he did not want to discuss his “kiss my butt” response to concerned leaders of the NAACP. He also insisted that his last minute scheduling change to attend an Martin Luther King event in Waterville had nothing to do with the hullabaloo over his insensitive comments and his prior declination to attend any MLK events even if it was vintage material for the likes of Steven Colbert.

This very troubling trend by Maine’s Governor (on the campaign trail he had told fishermen that President Barack Obama could “go to hell”) continues an ugly pattern of verbal missteps. Unfortunately, barely two weeks on the job, Mr. LePage reinforced many of the concerns that the man’s sharp tongue was exceeded only by his quick temper.

But dare I say it. I have a dream and I am trying to remain hopeful. After all, this Republican Governor has expressed support for an educational idea that is so far removed from the Republican party we might expect members of his own party to utter a similar expletive in the Governor’s direction.

Putting Maine Back on the Educational Map

It seems that Mr. LePage is a strong proponent of the early college concept. For those unfamiliar with the term, early college refers to the transformation of four-year high schools to five-year programs whereby students can earn both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.

This idea is contrary to current Republican rhetoric for three reasons. First and foremost, creating this initiative will require additional state spending on education. All Republicans, Mr. LePage included, recently ran their 2010 campaigns pledging to cut bloated government spending.

This idea also runs smack dab against the individualism the party promotes. It instead focuses on actions that would have the government investing in individuals so as to collectively benefit society.

And third, it is all about the future, about spending money now in an effort to build a better world for our children. It is the complete antithesis of the recent legislation, supported by both parties, a tax cut mantra that is all about the here and now.

Benefits of Early College Initiatives

Likewise, the concept has three significant benefits for students. First, the process eliminates one critical transition period for students. The success of the K-8 format over any other grade configuration is thought to be due to the reduction in transitions for youngsters.

Second, it focuses on small schools with high expectations and real rigor. The bottom line is that most students will rise to the expectations set forth for them if they are asked to do real, meaningful work that they can see truly relates to their future.

And allowing students the chance to earn an associate’s degree, free of charge, means that those of limited means could still have access to post-secondary education options. In fact, early college appears to be having the greatest impact on the traditionally under-served population, minorities and those without the monetary means to pursue higher education.

Corny, I Know

So yes, I have a dream, that maybe Mr. LePage has some of the vision that made Angus King so popular in our state. Early college could well be the single best way to begin to reduce the disparity in college attendance rates among the various socio-economic classes and minority students.

Yes, I have a dream, that Mr. LePage might be capable of seeing his vision through. This would be great news for the children of Maine, returning the state to a position of leadership nationally.

We understand that Mr. LePage is a man of his word – that may be why so many people were so upset with his comments to the NAACP. If he is in fact a man of his word in regards to early college educational initiative, he could well be known nationally for something other than his sarcastic comments.

Should he pull it off, bringing about the early college concept would bring him national recognition from very important people. I am thinking of those other than Stephen Colbert.

There are growing concerns about an out-of-control college athletic environment. Most of them center upon the enormous sums of money involved and the impact that these sums are having on common sense.

At the same time, many feel these sums of money, made from the sweat and efforts of young amateurs, have these institutions taking unfair advantage of their scholarship athletes. Some folks would contend that it is time to even pay these youngsters while they are toiling on the fields or in the gyms.

Bruce Smith has an idea that would actually provide the scholarship athlete a fair return on their services. After all, those 85 football players at Auburn and Oregon certainly created an awful lot of revenue for their universities.

Smith notes that the term student-athlete is a classic oxymoron. He quotes Charles Clotfelter (Is Sports in Your Mission Statement?) who had the audacity to suggest that for many colleges, sports might be “a core function of these universities” and that today several hundred American universities “are members in good standing of the commercial entertainment industry.”

But instead of attacking the current institution for what appears to be blatant hypocrisy, Smith offers a unique solution to one of the current problems, the fact that the demands of playing a college sport generally leaves precious little time for these young men and women to do what they are attending higher education for in the first place, to be a student.

For example, college football teams are theoretically limited in how much time a coach can demand of players, that 20-hour limitation (which excludes the time to travel to games) is by no means a realistic measure of the time commitment. A recent NCAA survey revealed that football players devoted more than 40 hours a week to practicing, playing, and training. Most agree that such a time commitment and level of effort is necessary for these individuals to be successful on their respective playing field.

As Smith notes, playing a college sport is the equivalent of a full time workweek for the average adult. But of course, there is that other lingering issue for these individuals, taking courses.

If one of these athletes were to take a full academic load of 15 credits, that athlete is supposed to expect a minimum of two hours of work outside of class for each one in. In tougher subjects, the expectation is often three to one. So a full course load theoretically translates to a minimum of 45 hours, or another typical workweek.

Smith asks simply, “Under such conditions, how crisply can anyone attack a problem set of nasty-looking differential equations?” But instead of criticizing the system, he states simply “what we ask of them strikes me as too much—or, at least, too much at once.”

He further notes that few of these athletes will have the ability to turn their game into a professional career yet they likely do not have the time to “take advantage of the array of opportunities college campuses offer them to develop both intellectual talents and leadership skills.”

Given that scenario, Smith suggests that universities “offer every scholarship athlete a voucher that would be redeemable for up to five years of free education and living expenses at the university that signs him or her to play a sport.” The number of free years would directly correlate to how many years the athlete was involved in the athletic program.

But instead of the athlete having to use it during his or her playing days at the school, Smith proposes that the voucher be good for a lifetime. In addition, Smith proposes that these scholarship athletes be able to also take courses tuition-free during their time they are playing their respective sport. Those courses would have no bearing on the lifetime voucher that has been promised.

In this way, those who have given their all to their university athletic program but do not make it to the professional level would actually be guaranteed the opportunity to get a full-fledged college experience even if it came after their playing days came to an end.

But even more radical, and the reason the proposal will go nowhere, is Smith’s idea that these athletes be allowed to take as few courses as they desire during their competitive season. During such time, Smith wants it to be the choice of the individual whether to be “either a student or an athlete, or a little of both.”

This of course comes up against the current notion that all athletes must carry a minimum number of credits to be eligible to play each season. But then again, while taking and passing courses is required, there are no specific requirements by the NCAA as to what rigor these classes must contain. Therefore it is no surprise that the vast majority of students playing college athletics are not earning a degree in engineering or computer science (the Wall Street Journal could not find a single college football player majoring in Physics).

It also sounds a bit like you would be paying players, at least providing an in-kind form of wages. But of course, that is precisely what the current system does; it just limits the in-kind remuneration (free tuition and room and board) to the years of athletic eligibility.

The idea would be extremely costly, but then again there appears to be little holding back the expenses currently being accumulated by big-time college programs. More importantly, it would provide athletes real additional flexibility and vastly increase each individual’s chance of succeeding.

It would of course also do one other thing according to Smith – it would put an end to the use of that oxymoron, the term student-athlete. And for that reason it deserves firm consideration – with a little tweaking regarding the expectations around taking courses while in season, the voucher option would finally give these athletes the return on their time and effort they truly deserve.

Have you been wondering if the latest Fockers movie is something your youngster should see?

Thinking about a Wii or Kinect Box so as to get your child out from behind the computer and up and moving?

Or have you been wondering just what steps you should be taking to ensure your child is safe online?

Better yet, have you wondered why Doritos, Oreo’s and M&Ms have such significant levels of brand equity among 8-12-year-olds?

Digital Generation

We cannot kid ourselves. When it comes to digital media, our children are hooked.

Today, our children spend more time interacting with digital media than they do with their own families. They also spend more time daily with digital media than they spend in school.

But thankfully, parents as well as educators have an excellent resource to assess all things digital: Common Sense Media.
Under the leadership of CEO and founder James Steyer, Common Sense Media seeks to provide trustworthy information that can help families make educated decisions regarding the media their children will consume.

First and foremost, Common Sense Media recognizes that our children are smitten by all the digital opportunities being provided today. Therefore, the organization’s core beliefs set aside any notion of censorship and replace it with sound advice that allows for effective decision-making.

Among their ten belief statements, two in particular make clear the philosophical stance from which the organization operates:

• We believe in teaching our kids to be savvy, respectful and responsible media interpreters, creators, and communicators. We can’t cover their eyes but we can teach them to see.

• We believe that the price for free and open media is a bit of extra homework for families. Parents need to know about the media their kids use and need to teach responsible, ethical behavior as well as manage overall media use.

Family Resources

On the web site families will find links to exemplars: Best Movies, Best Video Games, Best Apps, Best Websites, Best TV, Best Books, and Best Music. In addition to those best lists, the site offers parents interested in a particular movie, game, web site, book, or television that did not make the best lists hundreds of additional reviews on the site.

As but one example as to the insight available, video game reviews feature a 1-5 rating system on each of the following basic categories: ease of play, educational value, online interaction and role models. Furthermore, parents will find a second set of basic assessments on items that frequently cause concern: messages provided, level of violence, sex, language, consumerism and drinking, drugs, & smoking.

In addition, parents will find Common Sense Media’s suggested age for which the game is appropriate and one of three overall basic ratings: on, iffy, or off. But also included on the site is feedback from users, parents, educators, and of course, kids.

For parents wanting to promote a more active lifestyle, the site offers a number of links to games that help everyone in the family stay active. Recommendations are set forth for the new hands-free active gaming with Microsoft’s Kinect as well as Best PlayStation Move Games, Best Wii Games, and Best Wii Balance Board Games.

A multitude of other resources are available and grouped by grade level, topic, and type of digital media. Once registered parents can participate in community based discussions regarding a topic or question of their own concern.

Educational Resources

In addition to helping provide parents insight about specific digital products, the site offers a number of educational related links. The idea is to help provide resources for both parents and educators around the issue of new media.

Thus parents will find a number of instructional videos on such topics as Tuning Out Junk Food Ads, Setting TV Time Limits, Talking About Advertising, Cartoon Violence, Setting Internet Filters, All About Avatars, Staying Safe Online, Checking Browser History and The Truth About “Sexting.” Links to additional resources for educators can be found on the site including grade level appropriate learning materials to help provide youngsters digital lessons in Safety and Security, Digital Citizenship and Research and Info Literacy.

If there is a question to be had regarding media and children, Common Sense Media addresses it or provides visitors a forum space to seek an answer.