Lessons about optimizing learning

By Patrick Conraads, doctoral student, OSU College of Liberal Arts

“Optimizing Learning in College: Tips from Cognitive Psychology,” (Putnam et al.,2016) explores the reasons why some students are unsuccessful in college by using psychological analyses to make recommendations for students to be successful. The article discusses time management techniques, identifies some of the common mistakes students make, and suggests strategies based on this research. More specifically, the authors advise students to space their study sessions on a topic and use active learning strategies like quizzing themselves and using other techniques such as staying organized and working in a quiet place. Some of the study tips recommended seem counterintuitive at first, such as trying to answer comprehension questions before starting on the readings. The article is structured so that it addresses study tips for students to use before, during, and after classes.

The major takeaways of “Optimizing Learning in College” are that students need to begin the semester properly organized, adopt active learning techniques, and properly space out their studying. Many of the article’s recommendations involve removing distractions, such as not bringing laptops to class or being sure to work without social media apps open. The authors also strongly encourage students to take an active role in their education, doing things like taking handwritten notes to help with retention, quizzing themselves between study sessions, and making sure that studying is done repetitiously and at regular intervals. Beginner college students tend to rush through the reading and study sessions or attempt to cram all the work in at the last minute, and studies show these methods are not very successful.

“Optimizing Learning in College” is important for instructors because it demonstrates many of the bad habits students can easily develop, giving instructors a starting point to go about ameliorating some of these bad habits. For example, instructors could employ in-class quizzes based on the readings or ask students to participate in a brief online discussion within 24 hours of the class period to ensure they review class material within a time frame that is shown to help with retention. Instructors could also simply provide students with the information in this article at the beginning of class to make students aware of the bad study habits they can easily develop. In sum, I think this article provides a lot of valuable information to instructors about the bad habits students can develop, which provides a good place to start looking for ways that instructors can help students be successful in college courses.

References

Putnam, A. L., Sungkhasettee, V. W., & Roediger, H. L. III. (2016). Optimizing learning in college: Tips from cognitive psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(5), 652–660.

Author’s bio: My name is Patrick Conraads. I am pursuing a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy Science with the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion. I am earning the Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching. This term, I am enrolled in GRAD 516 Graduate Teaching Seminar Track 2. This is an article summary I wrote for Module 3 Optimizing Learning.

Editor’s note: This post is based on an Ecampus GRAD 516 Graduate Teaching Seminar assignment from Dr. Funmi Amobi, CTL instructional consultant and college liaison. This response is posted with the permission of the author. The opinions expressed in guest posts are solely those of the authors.