Connections to personal life and/or field of study

This is connected to my field of study because middle school is when students begin learning study techniques. Middle-level learners and students of all grades need to know study techniques and study habits that go beyond rote memorization, which will help them retain it in their long-term memory. This book is suitable for all learners at all different levels.

Suggestions for student implementation

The preface was written to focus the reader's attention on what is to come in the following chapters. Middle-level learners need to understand where they are going and what they want to accomplish. To get students to think about their learning, I would have them write down their goals. This will be like the preface in the sense that it will give students the directions they want to head down for the coming school year.

Suggestions for Instructor Implementation

It is essential to scaffold for middle-level learners, so I would take the time to lay out our classroom goals. I would then have students tell me what goals they find to be the most important for our class.

The authors discuss how new learning should come from a foundation of prior knowledge to address these misconceptions. They suggest that in order for learners to commit the content to memory, they should recall facts, concepts, and events from memory (Peter Brown, 2014). Using these retrieval practices allows the brain to make new pathways and builds a foundation for the learner because they can build upon their prior knowledge. Mental models are an example of this practice because they allow the learner to mentally make connections from their prior knowledge to the content they are learning. The authors give the example of a baseball player at-bat. While at-bat, the player only has a moment to distinguish the various types of pitches being thrown at them.  The batter can build a mental model by calling their prior experiences at-bat to determine the pitch and how they should hit the ball to score a run. Mental models allow learners to formulate thoughts and use creativity in a problem-solving manner (Peter Brown, 2014).  

In conclusion, researchers discuss testing as a method to help learners retain the information they are studying. They urge learners to consider testing as a retrieval practice to enhance learning rather than use it to measure learning. They state that there are benefits of retrieving learning from memory. The first benefit is that as a learner, you can see what you know and what you do not know and gain insight into where you should focus your studying. The second benefit it has is that it strengthens what you know and allows you to recall it easier when you need it in the future (Peter Brown, 2014). For this reason, researchers suggest that instead of rereading a text, learners should get into the habit of quizzing themselves often.

Connections to personal life and/or field of study

I recently finished my undergraduate degree this past May. I can say that I would have been among the 80% of students who answered that they reread the text as their primary study technique. I used this strategy for many of my history courses. Although I got decent grades, I now realize I could have done much better on my exams had I gotten in the habit of quizzing myself often. Although I used to reread the material and highlighting to study for my history classes, I did the opposite for my science courses. When taking my science courses, my classmates and I would often engage in active learning. We would also utilize the quizzes at the end of the chapter or sections in the book. Looking back on my courses, I can see that I did learn more by quizzing myself rather than just rereading. Additionally, I received higher grades in science and feel that I better understand the material than I do for social studies. This chapter has taught me that learning is all about how we approach it.

Suggestions for student implementation

Knowing that learners will recall the information better if there is more effort to retrieve the information, I will encourage students to participate in the following activity:

Create a set of flashcards online using terms and definitions discussed in class and found in the textbook. Once students have finished creating their flashcards, they will need to practice/review their cards. After they showed a mastery of the cards they have created, I would encourage them to explore the terms and definitions by using other retrieval techniques found on the same website (Weidner, 2020).

This site includes the following activities:

·         Crossword puzzles

·         Matching

·         Quizzing 

·         Unscramble the term to reveal the definition

·         The Chopped activity where students will have to take two chunks of the word to create the term and then find the corresponding clue that matches.

Suggestions for Instructor Implementation

To ensure that students are using useful study techniques, I would suggest that instructors lead a class discussion on what constitutes a good study strategy. This allows the instructor to learn the students' current study strategies in the class and can help the instructor know how to scaffold useful study techniques to the students.

They also ensured that all teaching methods, lesson plans, and test structures stayed the way the teacher intended. The only difference between the classes was the introduction of quizzes. These quizzes were designed to cover at least one-third of the material covered in class, and the quizzes were used as a tool; therefore, students were not graded. This experiment's result was eye-opening because those students who had been given the small quizzes over the course of the semester tested a grade above the material they have been tested on verses the material they had not been quizzed on (Peter Brown, 2014). After the school research concluded, researchers surveyed students to gain feedback on how they felt about having regularly scheduled quizzes. Many of the students stated it reduced the anxiety they had before tests. Overall, they believed the quizzes aided in their learning. The principal agreed with students about the significance of retrieval practices, such as quizzes, and believes instructors should incorporate retrieval practices when necessary.  

In conclusion, when using retrieval methods in the classroom, it is essential to remember that repetition and effort be combined to commit the material to long term memory. Additionally, retrieval practices should not only be initiated by the instructor, but students should be encouraged to use them on their own.  Incorporating retrieval practices within the classroom allows students to receive feedback and aids them in correcting the misconceptions they have. Finally, retrieval practices give learners the ability to go beyond the content and make connections to other material. This allows students to be creative, synthesize, and apply what they know to all study areas (Peter Brown, 2014).

Connections to personal life and/ or field of study

I have always been one of those students who suffer from test anxiety. I can study the material and get to the test and forget everything I learned. This chapter opened my eyes to the importance of quizzing students and myself in order to relieve anxiety. I have always seen testing in a negative way due to my anxiety. I would have been one of those students who would have benefited from low/no-stakes tests and quizzes to help relieve anxiety and learn the areas that I could improve in.

Suggestions for student implementation

To implement this with students, I would:

·         Have students create their own quiz questions. Once they have finished making their questions, they can pair off with another student and switch questions and   quiz each other.

·         Have students create flashcards over the material to practice.

·         Have students’ complete self-assessments at the end of the chapter. 

Suggestions for Instructor Implementation

         My suggestion for instructor implementation is to make retrieval practices apart of the culture of the classroom. This can begin by having a class discussion on the importance of self-testing and then find ways to scaffold this to students. One way to demonstrate the importance of self-testing is to incorporate questions covering the lecture material that allows students the opportunity to answer as a group (this sparks discussion), or students can use whiteboards to display their answers. Also, there are many online resources such a Kahoot, Poll Everywhere, and Book Widgets that allow instructors to have an interactive quiz, activity, or poll before, during, and after the lecture (Renard, 2017). Incorporating retrieval practices within the lecture or class discussion can help students measure what they know and do not know. It also helps them to begin making connections to the material during the lecture.

Peter Brown, H. R. (2014). Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Renard, L. (2017, May 17). 20 Fun Apps to Put Your Students' Smartphones to Good Use. Retrieved from Book Widget Interactive Learning: https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2017/05/20-fun-apps-to-put-your-students-smartphones-to-good-use

Weidner, J. (2020). Study Stack. Retrieved from http://www.studystack.com