This weekend I read an article by Gary Wolf in the book The Best American Science Writing 2009. The article was about how we remember things and Piotr Wozniak, the inventor of the computer program SuperMemo. Wolf takes us back to memory research of the late 1800s when clinical psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus drew the first learning curve and discovered the spacing effect. The spacing effect is the theory that key to remembering anything is spacing the repetition and presentation of the material to be learned at just the right time intervals. Over the intervening 130 years many psychologists have done research that support the theory of proper spacing. They discovered the optimal time to repeat material is right before it will be forgotten. For a while this seemed like a relatively useless discovery since identifying just when something is going to be forgotten was close to impossible, but apparently Wozniak’s program (SuperMemo) can do this.
The article discusses in a few paragraphs how clinical psychologists (proud of this discovery of spacing effect) were very disappointed that it was never applied in education. They must have never looked at a textbook series that repeats material every year. But then the material would have already been forgotten by the new school year, so I guess the textbook companies weren’t applying spacing effect properly.
I’m not familiar with the computer program, so I won’t try to explain how it works. The author writes about the regimen and discipline that Wozniak follows in setting goals and prioritizing what he wants to learn, so his computer presents the material to be learned at his optimal learning moment. I’ve spent a bit of time this weekend thinking of what I want to learn and what are the key bits of knowledge that I should impart to my middle school students this year. I fear some to them might need repetition at less than 24 hour intervals. I only see them for 45 minutes 5 days a week, so I might already be fighting a losing battle. Maybe I could talk to some of the other teachers to see if I could pop into their classes just to shout out a few things I want to remind the kids of before they go home or out to P.E. I’m still pondering what those shout-out bits might be.
I haven’t come up with anything about which I’m particularly interested in organizing my own learning. I’m relatively happy with my random approach to what happens to stick in my memory. I did set up 3 lists of ten Spanish verbs to explore my spacing effect. One list I’m going to study every day, one every 2 days, and one every 3 days. Amazingly I remembered 7 out of 10 of my one day list the next day. I think when I began studying the second list, though, it caused me to forget the 1st list. When I started thinking that I was forgetting the 1st list and tried to recall some of it, I feel like I forgot the 2nd list. Tomorrow I start on my 3 day list.
In the words of Edward Spencer (I think that is his name) , “What knowledge is of most worth?”
Possibly not the Spanish verb for mixed-up – triscar?
There is a way to use the SuperMemo algorithm (an older version, at least) using paper flashcards, though the record keeping is cumbersome: http://supermemo.com/articles/paper.htm
ReplyDeleteAnother analog system that is easier to use is the Leitner system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system
But you won't regret trying spaced repetition software. The gains are incredible to experience.
There are two pieces of software that utilize an older version of the Supermemo algorithm that are available for free. They are Mnemosyne and Anki and are easy to find online.
SuperMemo is heavily criticized for it's non-standard and kludgy GUI, but it is incredibly powerful. I can't remember if the Wolf article mentions it (I haven't read it since it came out in Wired in '05), but incremental reading is the feature that sets it apart. It is difficult to master, but wielded properly, it can radically change how you take in and process information.
Your students are in a privileged position if you could teach them how to take advantage of freely available spaced-repetition software. I wish I could redo my entire academic career with it.
Steven, Thanks! I'll check out your suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to get my head around how to use spaced repetition and the software possibilities, and (as my blog says) I'm at the end of my career. Teaching this dog this new trick is intriguing but daunting.
Any suggestions on what you would do with the software and say 8th graders studying the electromagnetic spectrum for 2 weeks and then moving on to Newton's Laws of Motion?
To get the most out of SRS software, you need to use it daily for an extended period. It is not as useful for short-term gains. Cramming is actually a fairly effective technique for passing tests, but not anything else.
ReplyDeleteBut even for short term gains, the value of SRS is not in the cards themselves, but the way you have to break down the knowledge to make those cards. It allows you to see how you're constructing the knowledge map in your head.
So, let's look at the electromagnetic spectrum so you see what I mean. It's good to start out with the main ideas first. Then look for the evidence that supports those ideas. Then define terminology that may stand in the way of your comprehension. After that, add whatever details you think will help you better understand the topic.
So for the main ideas of the electromagnetic spectrum, I'd add some cards that illustrate that radio waves, visible light, and gamma rays are really just different forms of the same energy. Perhaps one that illustrates the relationship of frequency and wavelength.
At this point, it would be useful to have a card that asks what "frequency" means. Then another to define "wavelength".
It would be overkill to do this for every type of radiation, but a card for the range of visible light would be useful, as would some more general ones like "is infrared light of a higher or lower frequency than visible light?"
Then you would think about what other properties of electromagnetic radiation are important to know. This would lead me to create a couple more cards that illustrate how the size of the energy's wavelength would lead it to be absorbed or reflected.
So, to reiterate the cards should test you on the big ideas, and then focus on the details that buttress those ideas. At that point, I try to explore the concept by asking "why" and "what if" questions. Those types of questions help you really understand the concept. While SRS is a great aid, the best way to remember information is to truly comprehend it. And to improve your comprehension, you have to aware of what you don't know or fully understand, and know what questions will fill in the gaps.
Also, a tip when devising questions. Sometimes I have trouble formulating a question/answer pair that will represent a piece of knowledge. In those cases, I find that a simple True or False question suffices.
I should also note that you get a lot more mileage out of making your own cards. Otherwise, you find yourself memorizing information that you don't truly understand.
Thanks. I usually put the type of info you mention on a one sheet study guide in the form of questions and the students find the answers to the questions which (hopefully) constructs the understanding. We do some experiments and demonstrations related to some of the concpets. They review the answers with their teams and we play a game to check the answers. Then test and time to move on. If I understand your suggestion correctly it is to take the info (possibly the questions and answers I now have on the study guide) and have the students make cards that they review on a schedule. Next step would possibly be to take the really big idea cards and have them reviewed weekly?
ReplyDeleteI tried to download Anki but it was taking a long time and I had to stop.