Is Bloom's Taxonomy Still Relevant Today?

This week's article summary is It May Be Time to Dump Bloom's Taxonomy.

I vividly remember in graduate school discussing ad nauseam the classroom uses of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

You probably remember the basic idea behind the taxonomy: different kinds of teacher questions (Bloom's verbs) result in different levels of student thinking from the simplest (remembering, understanding) to the most complex (applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating). When I taught World History to 8th graders, I used Bloom’s verbs to make sure test questions challenged students with different levels of thinking.

Even though my teaching was influenced by Bloom, I was a never a total zealot to the taxonomy. As with any idea in education, I use what I think makes sense to me but rarely adopt all aspects of it. One negative of the taxonomy was the idea that thinking is one-dimensional and progressive when we all know thinking is much more multi-dimensional and complex.

I’ve seen a lot of educational fads and trends come, go, and then return again (often re-packaged with new terminology to make the old seem new): curriculum mapping, right/left brain use, class management systems, learning styles, 21st century skills, problem-based learning, design thinking, reading/writing workshop. My bookshelves are filled with educational books that promised to revolutionize the art and science of teaching; they all had kernels of good advice yet fell short of dramatically changing how we teach or how students learn.

As we know from experience, most ideas in education have some attributes while also containing some detriments. 

As educators, we all continue to further hone our teaching philosophy and skill set. We take a little from various education ideas but should always be skeptical of the promise of one perfect solution for the multitude of individuality we meet—and celebrate—in the classroom.

Joe

--------

Over my 40-year career in education, I have come to recognize that what I was taught back in college about being an effective teacher is not necessarily true today. 

It’s not just because times have changed (they have), students have changed (they have), or the world has changed (it has). It’s because, over the past 30 years, more research has been done on what works best in teaching and learning than in all the years before that. And the results of all of that research are startling, to say the least. One of the most astonishing findings has to do with the value of following Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The taxonomy was created in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom and some of his colleagues as a way to leave behind behaviorist theories of learning that were being used at the time (memorization, rote learning) and embrace higher-order thinking skills. They incorporated aspects of cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor domains into the taxonomy to make it more all-encompassing. It was a radical change in how educators were taught to teach. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy is easy to implement. We are all familiar with the “verb chart” that lets us select the level of thinking we want our students to work at. We pick a content standard, decide what level it is best learned at, find a verb at that level in the chart, create the learning activity, and we’re done. But is this approach still valid today?

The first reason to reconsider using Bloom’s Taxonomy in the classroom has to do with how the brain works. Thinking does not operate within hierarchies (as outlined in the taxonomy). All of these “levels” happen simultaneously in a variety of places in the brain.

The second reason to stop relying on Bloom’s is that it was created before rigorous research into its effectiveness was put in place. At more than 60 years old, the taxonomy is simply not supported by any empirical research on learning. The only piece of this hierarchical approach that is validated today is the existence of factual-conceptual knowledge, often called prior knowledge. But there is no clear research on its basic assumption that there are lower- and higher-order thinking skills. The brain doesn’t look at a problem to be solved and decide that it only needs a lower-order process.

The third reason Bloom’s may not be the approach you want to follow in your classroom has to do with new research on the social relation of persons in the creation of knowledge. The taxonomy does not consider the learner and the differences that each learner brings to the table. Motivation, their intellectual values, their past experiences with the content, their differences in cognitive processing: none of these are considered. The approach is based on the belief that all learners are at the same place in their learning, which is inherently false. In short, Bloom’s Taxonomy focuses on abstract cognitive domains and not on the individual learner. It is teacher-centered and not student-centered.

We need to put time, effort, and focus into instructional strategies and approaches that we know will work best for our students. And I believe that we must stay current with what the latest (and verified!) research says in order to do so. Be open to new ideas and new ways to help your students master the content. Question the strategies that are your “favorites” and ensure that they are based on valid, current research. And talk with your colleagues and administrators about professional learning and research on the most effective teaching methods.

The Challenges for Today's Colleges and Universities

 This week's article summary is Has Higher Education in the US Lost Its Way? and it's an apt follow-up to last week's article Happiness and Success that focused on the disconnect between what parents say they want for their kids (happiness) and the message they too often send to their kids (the better college you attend, the better job you get, the more successful you’ll be, and success leads to happiness).

This week’s summary calls this the difference between viewing college as a ‘transactional’ endeavor, i.e., ‘I go to college to get a high-paying job after graduation’ versus a ‘transformational’ one, i.e., ‘I attend college to learn how to think, better communicate, and mature physically, intellectually, and social-emotionally.’

The article below explains that as colleges today market themselves more from a transactional angle, they have fallen prey to mission sprawl in that they promise many different things to many different people. The problem with this is it dilutes a school’s reason for existing. It reminds me of the ancient Greek parable about the hedgehog (that can do one big thing) and the fox (that can do many things); often it’s best to stay true to what you can do well.

The past two articles remind me of why I so prefer working in an elementary independent school where we’re able to remain laser focused on our mission: We cherish childhood as we develop in our students a strong academic and character foundation they will use in middle school and beyond. 

Our focus is clearly transformational, not transactional.

Joe

 -----

 For their book “The Real World of College,” Wendy Fischman and Howard Gardner spent five years visiting 10 college campuses, carrying out many interviews with students, alumni, faculty, administrators, parents, trustees, and others. What they found challenged characterizations in the media: Students are not preoccupied by political correctness, free speech, or even the cost of college. They are most concerned about their GPA and their resumes; they see jobs and earning potential as more important than learning. Many say they face mental health challenges, fear that they don’t belong, and feel a deep sense of alienation.

The authors’ regretful conclusion: Many, perhaps most, U.S. colleges have lost — or lost sight of — their principal reason for being. “By virtue of the many activities available on campus, motivations for attending college, often unhelpful expectations generated in secondary school, and the myriad of mixed messages on traditional media and social media,” the authors write in the book’s introduction, “colleges are overwhelmed by mission sprawl.” They contend that to remedy this, schools must focus sharply on their core educational mission.

Below is a summary of the Q and A we had with the authors:

How did you decide to embark on this comprehensive study of the state of higher education?

For a quarter of a century, both of us have been studying the nature of good work (see thegoodproject.org). When we worked with young people, we found that they typically knew what good work was and admired it from afar. But they felt that they could not afford to do good work, because if they behaved properly, they would be scooped by peers who cut corners. Good work was “for later” in life, after success had been assured.

Of course, this disturbed us. 

What was the most unexpected thing you learned?

First, students have similar goals and concerns and even use the same words to describe their experiences. We find few, if any, differences based on background or where they currently attend school. Second, what you read about in the news is not on the minds of most students — free speech, political correctness, and even the cost of college rarely came up. Rather it was issues of mental health, and a sense of belonging or alienation. The exceptions to the point about free speech occurred right before or after a controversial speaker came to campus. We have continued to interview students after our study was completed — and it is true that at select schools, students sometimes feel silenced, afraid to say what they think. They are afraid that they will be misinterpreted, judged, and cancelled. We find that, on the whole, students are uncomfortable discussing ethical issues.

In terms of the cost of college, this rarely came up organically as a topic of concern among students (adults assume that this is more of a concern for students). The cost of college was indeed a determining factor for students in deciding where to enroll (once they received their acceptances and learned about financial assistance decisions), but once they were in college, it did not seem to come up much for them. The only exception is when some students talked about tension with students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Lastly: the misalignment between students and parents on the one hand, and faculty and administrators on the other. It is striking that students are mostly in agreement with the adults with whom most of them do not see on a daily basis, whereas they differ greatly from those with whom they are in contact. For example: the bulk of students are transactional (they see college as a means to an end) while almost all faculty and administrators are transformational (they see college as an opportunity to reflect, grow, and possibly change). 

Your study focuses heavily on nonvocational higher education, a sector associated with general education and the liberal arts. Why did you choose to focus on these schools, and what is the use of this type of education in the 21st century?

The genius of American education has been the college — an institution which purports to present a broad general education, giving students the knowledge and understandings that will serve them no matter what work they do. This form of education is vital for any democratic society. Alas, this form of education is in jeopardy in this country, largely because of the signals given by many parents, many teachers, and the broader society. We believe it would be tragic should this tradition be undermined. We have no objection to vocational education. However, if a student chooses a liberal arts and science school or program, they ought not to be focused simply on jobs or vocation. Note that all over the world, other countries are trying to implement liberal arts education. They admire what our country risks losing.

You propose two general approaches to improve nonvocational higher education: onboarding and intertwining. Can you describe these terms?

Onboarding is the concept we use to describe how to get all students aligned with the goal of the college or university, higher learning. From the first interaction on campus — whether this be at an admissions tour, orientation, or the first day of class, the mission of the institution needs to be clearly conveyed. Too often, students (and their parents) know more about internships, jobs after college, study abroad programs, residence and dining halls, and the gyms on campus.

What are the biggest challenges facing schools and students today?

Unfortunately, there are many challenges. For students, the two main challenges they speak about are mental health (now deemed a “crisis”) and lack of belonging. We also see other challenges for students, mainly the preoccupation with achieving “external measures of success” (grades, acceptances, jobs) over learning. In other words, students feel it is more important to get an A or to build their resume to get a particular job than it is to be exposed to new, different, or challenging content material — or even to do their own work (cheating is rampant on the college campus and by all accounts has intensified post-COVID because of online tests and exams). This “uber transactionality” has been instilled in students early on their education. Therefore, some of the biggest challenges colleges face is not with just college itself, but also with the high schools and parents where these students come from. In terms of the institution, challenges include: misalignment between faculty and administrators and the “customer,” prioritizing the mission of higher education (and not the fancy buildings or athletic departments on campus), and justifying the value of higher education to students and their parents who worry about their “return on investment” (the number of college students is declining, as is the number of male students).

 

Happiness and Success

This week's article summary is Kids Are Getting the Wrong Message About Happiness, written by William Stixrud who also wrote The Self-Driven Child.

For a number of years, Stixrud has been a strong proponent of not putting too much pressure on high school students to focus on getting accepted into the highest-rated college/university possible. 

While the majority of parents in America espouse that they want their kids to be happy above all else, most of us also want them to maximize their opportunities by applying to and ideally getting into a ‘reach’ school. Many parents see graduation from an elite college as the connection to a successful, well-paying first job professional which then lead to their child’s happiness.

The problem with this is we as adults often erroneously think that success leads to happiness while in fact happiness actually precedes success.

Additionally, when we focus too much on the future (which I am guilty of), we neglect to savor the present moment and the up-and-down journey toward our future. 

Stixrud suggests that what makes all of us the happiest are strong, deep, trusting relationships and meaning and purpose (both personal and professional). This is why family and friends are ultimately so important to most of us.

Especially since the Great Recession of 2008, there has been more pressure (overt and covert) on high schoolers to choose a college and major that provides immediately marketable skills and entry to a great job.

When most of think back to when we teenagers, we hadn’t yet found our meaning and purpose in ourselves or in a profession; in fact, most of us—definitely me--probably struggled with self-doubt. It was during those college years when most of us gradually became more independent and confident and started to figure out how we would make a difference in the world. It wasn’t until almost by happenstance that I took a job as a middle school English teacher and coach right out of college (ostensibly a gap-year before heading off to law or med school) that my professional epiphany occurred and I knew teaching was my calling. A good example of happiness preceding success: if I hadn’t found meaning, purpose, and happiness in teaching, I don’t think I would have worked hard to further learn and hone my craft.

I know we live in a more competitive world yet we adults need to help our students and children enjoy the moment more, be less focused solely on the future, and take the time to find purpose and meaning in their lives and profession.

Joe

 -------

When we ask parents what they want for their kids’ futures, most answer: “I want them to be happy.” 

But if you ask most kids what they think their parents want for their future, the answer is usually something like “To get into a good college.” 

It seems like a disconnect, but it’s not. Many parents we meet in the course of our work with kids believe that acceptance to a good college will lead to a good job, financial security, and happiness ad infinitum. Their kids come to believe this, too. The problem is that we tend to be very poor predictors of what actually makes us happy.

Research tells that we’re happier if we prioritize having time more than things, giving more than getting, and appreciating what we have more than trying to get what we don’t. When we equate academic achievement and career success with happiness, we do so potentially at the cost of our kids’ well-being. 

While no one wishes mental health issues on their kids, some parents think that if their child is exhausted and miserable in high school in order to earn a coveted admission spot, and adolescence isn’t expected to be a happy time. 

Our response is threefold: 

First, we’ve lowered the bar too far when it comes to the adolescent and teen years, thinking of them as merely a time to endure and get through safely, rather than a time to enjoy. Even adolescents feel happiness when they act kindly, get enough sleep, are physically active, do things for others, focus on the positive things in their lives, and spend time in nature. 

Second, young brains that are stressed, tired, and unhappy all the time can get wired in a way that makes them more vulnerable to anxiety and depression and thus unable to appreciate the success they’ve worked so hard for. 

And finally, happiness begets success. So by focusing on happiness, you’re actually making it more likely that your kid achieves whatever he or she wants.

A wealth of research offers insight about what does bring happiness. And there’s broad agreement that in any happiness equation, what happens to you—which includes a letter of admission to that coveted school—matters surprisingly little. Two of the things that do matter a lot: 1) strong relationships, and 2) a sense of meaning or purpose. And yet we so seldom talk with our kids about either.

On the relationships front, a recent study found that teens are experiencing a dramatic increase of loneliness around the world. And yet we meet parents all the time who say things like, “What’s hanging out with friends going to get her?” Or, “I know she has a great friends at her current school, but this other school will put her in a more competitive stance for college.” The importance of kids’ relationships continues to be downplayed throughout college. When a friend of ours spoke on a panel offering career advice to undergraduates, she was afraid to share her most important insight—that in her early twenties, she prioritized jobs where she could be near her boyfriend, who is now her husband of almost twenty years. It’s not a message she felt was safe to express, but she went for it. “I’d tell my younger self I was right to make career decisions based on my relationship. Because the truth is that nothing has mattered as much to my happiness as the person I chose to go through life with.” Something has gone awry in our world when a statement like this feels risky. It is a problem if parents and other adults so prioritize career and the success trajectory for their kids that they leave the people part out of the conversation altogether, or when they prioritize learning advanced math but don’t teach how to resolve conflict in relationships.

The remedy is simple. Talk to your kids about the relationships in your life that have contributed to your happiness, and how you’ve made decisions around those relationships. And talk to them about how they feel around others—how their relationships contribute to their happiness. Ask questions like, “Who do you feel most close to on this planet?” “Who do you feel like you can be yourself the most with?” “What would happen if you put more time and energy into these relationships that make you feel good?”

A happy life also benefits purpose and meaning. We need to tell kids the truth: that there are many ways to contribute in this world, and many ways to be happy that do not involve making a lot of money or achieving every brass ring. We can also help our children see that what they do doesn’t have to be meaningful to everyone. While many kids find tremendous meaning through involvement in bigger movements like environmental or social activism, many find meaning in smaller communities like their church or school clubs. Or to think even smaller, for most kids, meaning is tied to a few people—their friends, or in volunteering at an animal shelter or helping their elderly grandparents.

In the end, the most important rule of thumb for talking to kids about happiness is to talk about happiness. But these conversations aren’t explicit nearly as often as you would think. It just doesn’t come up, and so kids form their impressions about happiness from listening to their parents emphasize the importance of grades and building a résumé for college. They supplement this with messages from their peers, teachers, or from the culture around them, which, by and large, increasingly promotes competition and materialism. So if you do nothing else, break these dangerous assumptions down, one conversation at a time. If we truly want our kids to grow into happy, fulfilled adults, we have to tell them the truth.

What to Say to Your Kids Instead of 'Good Job'

This week's article is What to Say to Your Kids Instead of 'Good Job'.

Whether at school with our students or at home with our kids, most teachers and parents are prone to overuse the compliment ‘good job.’ I’ve caught myself saying ‘good job’ over and over to my granddaughters for simple things like pouring milk into a glass without any spillage just like I did with my boys when they asked me to watch them practice diving (mostly cannon balls) into a pool.

We’re way past Christmas, so I’m not going to be the Grinch (like Alfie Kohn below) and recommend we adults completely stop using the term ‘good job’ with our students and children. Yet just like last week’s article summary on how embracing a growth mindset can support student writing, the same holds true for limiting our praise to our kids for expected behaviors and actions. (I was somewhat stunned by the University of Florida research below that shows too much praise for expected behavior in the classroom can lead to less student academic risk-taking.)

The more we can help our kids be more self-reflective and evaluative of their efforts, the more they will embrace a growth mindset and strive to be better at what they’re doing.

The alternatives below to the generic ‘good job’ are great ways for us adults to help kids continue to learn and grow and, most important, improve.

Joe

--------

We’ve all said it. When our child climbs a rock wall for the first time, does a cartwheel, or brings home some less-than-stellar art, it’s almost instinct to toss out an enthusiastic, “Good job!” And while it seems like we’re doing the right thing—offering encouragement and positive reinforcement—parenting experts caution that over time, a litany of knee-jerk, non-specific “good job” comments can do more harm than good.

Parenting author and lecturer Alfie Kohn states: Rather than bolstering a child’s self-esteem, praise may increase kids’ dependence on us. The more we say, “I like the way you….” or “Good job,” the more kids come to rely on our evaluations, our decisions about what’s good and bad, rather than learning to form their own judgments. It leads them to measure their worth in terms of what will lead us to smile and dole out some more approval.

Kohn points out that the phrase, while well-intentioned, can unwittingly be used to control our kids’ behavior, exploit their desire for approval, and eventually help create praise junkies who perform tasks only for accolades. In the long run, this reliance on external motivation and approval can dilute their joy and cause them to lose interest in activities they previously enjoyed.

Mary Budd Rowe, a researcher at the University of Florida, also found that students who received lavish praise from their teachers responded more cautiously and presented their answers in a questioning tone of voice. Fearing failure, they did not share their ideas or persist with difficult assignments as readily.

Kohn concludes, “In short, ‘Good job!’ doesn’t reassure children; ultimately, it makes them feel less secure.” 

So what can we say instead? Here are some alternatives.

Describe what you see: While it may feel awkward at first (we are so used to praising, after all), try a simple statement free from any evaluation or judgment. Phrases like, “You brushed your teeth by yourself!” or “You did it!” let your child know you noticed their achievement and invite them to take their own pride in it.

State the features of their work: When a child shows you their art, comment on the colors they used or any dominant features. “That sun is wearing sunglasses!” or “Wow, I see you used a lot of blue today.”

Ask questions: While a genuine “I love this! It’s so beautiful,” is certainly not going to scar our kids for life, it’s beneficial to incorporate questions as well. “What was the hardest part of making this Lego structure?” or “How did you choose this color for the house?”

Praise effort, not results: Praising results can lead a child to believe the only thing that matters is the outcome of their work. Offering acknowledgement of their effort, however, leads to what Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset;” the belief that persistence and practice will allow them to do hard things. Observations like, “You are really concentrating” or “You ran so hard to score that goal” both fall under that umbrella.

Point out their effect on other people: If your child does something kind-hearted for another person, rather than emphasizing how we feel about it (“I’m so happy you did that”), shift their attention to the effect their caring act had on someone else. “Wow, Max looks so happy you shared with him!” This leads them to notice and appreciate how their actions positively impact others.

A short list of additional phrases:

• You worked so hard on that
• You are getting really good at...
• That is so creative / That took a lot of imagination
• I noticed your bed was made so neatly today
• You look excited
• What is your favorite part of what you made?
• Thank you for being so patient
• That was very thoughtful/brave
• That took a lot of strength
• I can see you are really trying to make a good choice
• You put so much effort into this
• I couldn’t have done this without you
• You did that all by yourself

It’s important to keep in mind, of course, that a few “good jobs” aren’t going to permanently damage our kids. We don’t need to approach our children like emotionless androids, either. But if we focus on their effort, personal qualities, and making non-evaluative observations of things they do, they may be better equipped to feel independent, secure, and confident in their talents, whether they gain approval or not.

Creating a Vision for Teaching Writing

This week's article summary is Creating a Vision for Teaching Writing.

To me, writing instruction is one of the biggest challenges teachers face because there are so many steps and components to a well-crafted piece of writing, including its need for frequent practice, its slow process, and its essential complement, reading.

Near the end of the article, the author imagines a third grade teacher explaining to parents at back-to-school night that her class will be devoting at least one hour a day to writing. That’s a tall order with a curriculum packed with so much stuff. (As an aside, it’s interesting to me that almost every discipline curriculum comes with the recommendation of one hour a day of concentrated focus. In a vacuum, sure, but there are many competing needs in schools, including time for mental and physical breaks.)

For me there are three aspects of writing I particularly follow:

• First, I read a lot, usually 2 or 3 books at the same time: fiction (one in hard cover—which I still prefer--and one that’s digital—which is more convenient), non-fiction (history is my favorite genre) and something relating to education. I don’t subscribe to the idea you have to finish every book; if a book doesn’t captivate me after 50 pages or so, I move on to something else. When I’m reading, I’m not overly conscious of the style of different writers, yet I know I pick up via osmosis writing techniques, especially sentence construction. (This is why ‘mentor sentences’ are an effective tool in the classroom.) 
• Second, I have learned to embrace the slow process of writing. When Stephen King finishes a first draft of a novel, he locks it in a filing cabinet for a few months before going back to revise it. The first part of writing is idea inspiration, followed by revision and finally editing. Like King, I let my ideas flow freely when I’m drafting and I don’t worry about sentence construction/vocabulary, usage/mechanics, or overall unity/coherence. Different parts of the brain are used for different aspects of writing.
• Third, I cherish revision, which is very different from editing (a necessary yet mundane and mechanical procedure). Revision allows me to take the idea I had and further model and shape it so it’s readable and understandable to others. Writing’s initial focus is inward then evolves outward, i.e., to be shared with others. Sometimes this means reorganizing, reshaping, and rewriting much of my first draft. This is the part of writing I like the most but it’s taken me a long time to understand its importance, savor its slowness, and view my work through a constructively critical lens. This is often where young writers (our students) struggle. I’ve had students who love to write and write but then don’t have the patience or perspective to revise. They can’t yet see the bigger picture of what they’ve already written as a great start but an imperfect end.

There’s been so much research about the importance of stressing a growth mindset for our students and writing is a perfect example. It takes much practice, trial and error, persistence, and self-evaluation.

Joe

------

Three things are necessary for children to learn how to write well: 

• Teachers need a theory of action for writing instruction. Writing is a social activity and needs to be embedded in and shaped by the classroom and community in which it’s enacted.
• The teaching of writing should be guided by the best research evidence, which includes the need for frequent writing, pre-writing, skills and usage instruction, writing on a computer, and lots of feedback and support.
• Teachers need to bring their own knowledge and experience to writing instruction.

Collectively, these three ingredients make it possible for teachers to make informed, judicious, and intelligent decisions when conducting a vision for teaching writing. 

Imagine a third-grade teacher who has these elements in place being asked by a parent at back-to-school night how she teaches writing. “Writing is central to everything I do in my classroom,” says the teacher with a smile. “Children will write frequently and for many different purposes:”

• To sharpen their understanding of what they read
• To extend their thinking about social studies and science
• To communicate with each other and with students in other classrooms and schools
• To persuade and argue, gather information, explore the meaning of events, chronicle personal experiences, and create imaginary worlds
• Students will write about their own experiences and culture and use writing to explore the experiences and cultures of others
• They will share the writing they create with you, and they will ask you to share things you have written with them
• I will make sure they know why writing is important

 The teacher then explains how students will be taught to write:

• Discussing the purpose of each type of writing (informative, persuasive, stories, personal narrative) and its basic features
• Using these same features in their own writing
• Learning spelling, handwriting, grammar, and sentence construction so students can do their own best writing
• Learning to plan, assess, revise, and edit what they write
• Facilitating the brainwork of invention, speculation, deliberation, reflection, and evaluation
• Reading each other’s papers and giving constructive feedback, in the process developing an understanding of what makes good writing
• Using reading to reinforce good writing – for example, why authors use specific words or devices like cliffhangers
• Using writing to reinforce good reading.

 The teacher then describes the amount of writing students will do and the support they will get. “My goal,” says the teacher, “is to create a positive and enthusiastic writing environment where your children are encouraged to try hard and do their best, feel comfortable taking risks, and work together in a positive manner:”

• At least one hour a day will be devoted to writing and writing instruction
• Students will do additional writing in other subjects and in their homework
• Students will get clear directions and goals for their writing geared to individual ideas and needs
• Feedback will be constructive and not overwhelming
• Students will have time to plan and improve what they write

The teacher closes by encouraging parents to visit the class during writing time and giving feedback as the year progresses.

This teacher has successfully combined vision and action, and quotes the American futurist Arthur Barker on the possibilities that creates:

• Vision without action is merely a dream
• Action without vision just passes the time
• Vision with action can change the world. 

The Importance of Retrieval Practice for Long-Term Memory

This week's article summary The Five Things to Know About Retrieval Practice is a follow up to last week's summary on how to make semantic memories stick in long-term memory.

When it comes to learning, people often focus on getting facts into their heads, yet experts recommend that to really make learning stick, we should focus more on practicing extracting information out of our heads, i.e., retrieval practice.

While the term ‘retrieval practice’ is currently in vogue in educational jargon, it simply means using teaching/studying strategies like brain dumps, summaries, and quizzes that ask learners to recall information without any cues, aids, or prompts like note cards. 

By recalling information frequently and over time, our brain establishes that this information is important and hence develops more synapses and further myelinates those synapses so they remain in long-term memory and can more easily and quickly be recalled and applied when needed. Like mastering a physical skill, memory is the result of frequent practice and repetition.

The article points out a number of classroom techniques to help students practice retrieving information and warns against popular but ineffective strategies like highlighting and re-reading material.

The bottom line is the more active, frequent, and unprompted retrieval practices can be, the more effective we are in storing information in long-term memory. 

Joe

--------

These types of active learning strategies are known as retrieval practice.

The rationale behind retrieval practice is three-fold. First, actively trying to remember something or perform some skill is a more effective way of learning than passively re-reading about it. Second, learning practice provides people with better ways of monitoring what they know. In other words, retrieval practices help engage metacognition. Finally, retrieval practice keeps people focused. The act of re-reading a textbook, for instance, often encourages mind wandering, but retrieval practice can keep individuals engaged in the task at hand.

Many studies have shown that when people attempt to recall or retrieve information, they are actually improving their memory. In this sense, the brain works like a muscle: recall exercises the brain to strengthen memory. Also, much like exercise, retrieval activities build habits that lead to long term learning.

Retrieval Practice Works: Retrieval practice is one of the most-well researched learning strategies. Research has established that repeated retrieval enhances learning with a wide range of materials, in a variety of settings and contexts, and with learners ranging from preschool ages into later adulthood.  “Spacing,” or pausing between retrieval exercises, allows for the brain to rest and forget some information. Self-testing after “spacing” increases information recall and promotes long-term learning.

Retrieval Practice Makes Learning Active: Not long ago, I was rereading my notes in an attempt to get ready for a speech. In a room by myself, I realized that I was using my notes like a warm blanket. They were there just there to keep me feeling confident about the speech. This is a weak approach to learning. It’s too passive, and I quickly realized I should be doing retrieval practice instead. It is a powerful strategy that boosts learning by pulling information out of students’ heads (e.g., quizzes, clickers, and flashcards), rather than cramming information into students’ heads (e.g., lectures). It’s a no-stakes learning opportunity that is flexible and quick, with a huge impact on long-term student achievement. One of the reasons that retrieval is so effective is that memories are not “fixed” objects. Instead, our brains can mold memories at any point in time. Thus, it is essential that newly learned information is given permanence. When practicing retrieving a memory, the brain can strengthen that memory by filling in the blanks with any missing information while also connecting the memory with new ideas. In this regard, retrieval practice takes the basic skeleton of a certain idea from past learning and allows it to be expanded upon, which helps the information stick into the mind long-term instead of just short-term. One of the easiest ways to incorporate retrieval practice into learning and teaching is via low-stakes tests or quizzes. According to learning scientist. The effect of bringing information to mind from memory is going to increase learning. Teachers need to view retrieval practice as a learning activity, not an assessment, i.e., keep it formative not summative. Also, retrieval practice is more effective when it occurs in short spurts versus one long study session. This allows learners to have time to forget some of the information and attempt to recall it, which helps the information stick. 

Retrieval Practice Encourages Knowing About Knowing: Generally, people tend to believe that they are more knowledgeable about specific topics than they actually are. Most people believe they are better looking than average. They also tend to think they are smarter and know more information than the average person. Participating in retrieval practice combats this sort of overconfidence. It allows learners to see exactly what they can remember and gives educators a chance to provide tips and feedback along the way. For example, some learners suffer because they are overconfident in what they believe they have retained, often having notes as a crutch. When convinced that they have all of the required knowledge on a certain subject, learners tend to become, well, lazy. They study less and don’t try to assess or correct themselves while learning. Retrieval practice helps prevent this sense of false security, which in turn allows learners to study efficiently, targeting the information they cannot recall. Retrieval practice causes learners to measure what they are familiar with against what they actually have learned. In other words, retrieval practice forces learners to think critically about what they have learned instead of simply repeating the first piece of information that comes to mind.

Retrieval Practice Encourages Higher-Order Learning: Research shows that we gain expertise by producing what we have learned. Retrieval practice creates higher-order learning, which leads to long-term retention. Learning is a generative activity. First, people need to pinpoint what exactly they’re going to learn—like psychology for example. Then people need to create some type of mental connection between their current knowledge and the new information they have yet to absorb. The power of “mentally doing” (creating value in an area of expertise) is clear in basic memory tasks. Trying to remember the Spanish word for “door”, or “la puerta?” It’s easier to recall the word if a letter is missing from it. For example, “p_erta” creates an activity to engage in. When someone has to add the “u,” they’re completing the word. It is the act of finishing the thought—and this strengthens learning, in turn, making it more meaningful. This idea also branches into more complex cognitive tasks such as problem-solving. Encouraging yourself to overcome difficult obstacles or dissect complex issues helps the brain retain more information in the long run. This is because practicing your ability to solve problems teaches you to apply the knowledge already in your brain that is waiting to be put to use, thus aiding in its permanence. The research on learning as a type of “mental doing” has altered the wisdom surrounding how people retain knowledge. For example, studies show that highlighting is an ineffective means of learning new information. This act does not push people enough mentally to influence any meaningful learning. Re-reading text is not very beneficial either. The activity doesn’t spark enough “mental doing,” which means the brain needs more stimulation. The most effective techniques are the ones that require more effort, self-quizzing, or self-explaining for example. This is a fundamental feature of how our minds work. To learn, we can’t just copy the information. We need to make sense out of facts.

How to Encourage Retrieval: Retrieval practice makes learning a bit of a struggle, but it also makes learning more effective. Here are some examples: 

• “Brain Dumps” are useful for exercising retrieval practice. In this exercise, learners write down everything they can think of on a topic to test their knowledge. 
• Concept maps are another useful tool. A learner may fill out a concept map to encourage retrieval. They are beneficial since they allow a person to see the bigger picture instead of just individual pieces of a puzzle. Concept maps also allow learners to group important information together and establish meaningful connections
• Flashcards. One of the most familiar ways of using retrieval practice is through flashcards. These can be very effective if used the right way. Students should keep cards in their deck until they have retrieved the information at least three times. They should also consciously and vocally recall the information before turning the card over to review the answer.
• “Repeat backs” are also great, and the next time a person gives you a set of detailed instructions, take time to repeat the instructions back to them. When you repeat back everything in your own words, you’re taking steps to generate knowledge, and you’ll be far more likely to remember the information long-term.
• The “Think-Pair-Share” exercise can be powerful. In this approach, learners think about a topic, jot down what they have learned, and share it with a partner. Learners should be allowed to think independently before exchanging information. 

How to Optimize Our Students Remembering (and Hence Learning)

 This week's article summary is Why Do Students Remember Everything That's on Television and Forget Everything I Say?

An article summary from last year focused on the different ways episodic (more emotional) and semantic (more repetitive) experiences get stored in long-term memory.

Emotional experiences are placed in our long-term memory because our brain is stimulated in a variety of ways. Our brain stores big, emotional events (like weddings, births, UGA football winning this year’s college football championship) because our brains experience them via many senses. We don’t have to do any studying, reviewing, or thinking about these emotional experiences: they naturally get placed in our memories because they are so unique and dramatic.

Learning in school, on the other hand, primarily results from semantic experiences. To store in long-term memory what we experience in school, we must intentionally and frequently think about them, reflect on them, and review them. Just because you may not be able to remember much about your third grade classroom doesn’t mean you didn’t learn a lot that year. It’s just not stored in your brain as an episodic experience.

As the article below attests, for semantic experiences to stick, kids need to think over and over again about the material, what it means, and, most importantly, practice retrieving and using it. It’s basically what metacognition is: having kids think about their thinking, why the information matters, and how it connects to prior knowledge. The article provides a number of ways teachers can help guide students to think, reflect, retrieve, and remember. 

Joe

 ----

Memory is mysterious. You may lose a memory created 15 seconds earlier, such as when you find yourself standing in your kitchen trying to remember what you came there to fetch. Other seemingly trivial memories (for example, advertisements) may last a lifetime. What makes something stick in memory, and what is likely to slip away?

We can’t store everything we experience in memory. Too much happens. So what should the memory system tuck away? 

Your memory system lays its bets this way: if you think about something carefully, you’ll probably have to think about it again, so it should be stored. Thus, your memory is not a product of what you want to remember or what you try to remember; it’s a product of what you think about.

The cognitive principle that guides this article is memory is the residue of thought. To teach well, consider what an assignment will actually make students think about (not what you hope they will think about), because that is what they will remember.

We all know that students won’t learn if they aren’t paying attention. What’s more mysterious is why, when they are paying attention, they sometimes learn and sometimes don’t. What else is needed besides attention?

A reasonable guess is that we remember things that bring about some emotional reaction. Aren’t you likely to remember really happy moments, such as a wedding? You are, and in fact if you ask people to name their most vivid memories, they often relate events that probably had some emotional content.

If memory depended on emotion, we would remember little of what we encounter in school. So the answer Things go into long-term memory if they create an emotional reaction is not quite right. It’s more accurate to say, Things that create an emotional reaction will be better remembered, but emotion is not necessary for learning.

Repetition is another obvious candidate for what makes learning work. Repetition is very important, but not just any repetition will do. Material may be repeated almost indefinitely and still not stick in your memory.

It’s equally clear that wanting to remember something is not the magic ingredient. How marvelous it would be if memory did work that way. Students would sit down with a book, say to themselves, “I want to remember this,” and they would! You’d remember the names of people you’ve met, and you’d always know where your car keys are. Sadly, memory doesn’t work that way.

Your brain lays its bets this way: If you don’t think about something very much, then you probably won’t want to think about it again, so it need not be stored. If you do think about something, then it’s likely that you’ll want to think about it in the same way in the future.

There are a couple of subtleties to this obvious conclusion that we need to draw out. First, when we’re talking about school, we usually want students to remember what things mean.

The second subtlety (again, obvious once it’s made explicit) is that there can be different aspects of meaning for the same material. For example, the word piano has lots of meaning-based characteristics. You could think about the fact that it makes music, or about the fact that it’s expensive, or that it’s really heavy, or that it’s made from fine-quality wood, and so on. 

The obvious implication for teachers is that they must design lessons that will ensure that students are thinking about the meaning of the material. A striking example of an assignment that didn’t work for this reason came from my nephew’s sixth-grade teacher. He was to draw a plot diagram of a book he had recently finished. The point of the plot diagram was to get him to think about the story elements and how they related to one another. The teacher’s goal was to encourage her students to think of novels as having structure, but the teacher thought that it would be useful to integrate art into this project, so she asked her students to draw pictures to represent the plot elements. That meant that my nephew thought very little about the relation between different plot elements and a great deal about how to draw a good castle. 

Now you may be thinking, “OK, so cognitive psychologists can explain why students have to think about what material means—but I really already knew they should think about that. Can you tell me how to make sure that students think about meaning?” 

When we think of good teachers, we tend to focus on personality and on the way the teachers present themselves. But that’s only half of good teaching. The jokes, the stories, and the warm manner all generate goodwill and get students to pay attention. But then how do we make sure they think about meaning? That is where the second property of being a good teacher comes in—organizing the ideas in a lesson plan in a coherent way so that students will understand and remember.

The human mind seems exquisitely tuned to understand and remember stories—so much so that psychologists sometimes refer to stories as “psychologically privileged,” meaning that they are treated differently in memory than other types of material. I’m going to suggest that organizing a lesson plan like a story is an effective way to help students comprehend and remember.

Before we can talk about how a story structure could apply to a classroom, we must go over what a story structure’s four principles, often summarized as the four Cs. The first C is causality, which means that events are causally related to one another. The second C is conflict. A story has a main character who is pursuing a goal but is unable to reach that goal. The third C is complications. The final C is character. A good story is built around strong, interesting characters, and the key to those qualities is action.

Using a story structure brings three important advantages. First, stories are easy to comprehend, because the audience knows the structure, which helps to interpret the action. 

Second, stories are interesting. Reading researchers have conducted experiments in which people read lots of different types of material and rate each for how interesting it is. Stories are consistently rated as more interesting than other formats (for example, expository prose), even if the same information is presented.

Third, stories are easy to remember.

Structure your lessons the way stories are structured, using the four Cs: causality, conflict, complications, and character. This doesn’t mean you must do most of the talking. Small-group work or projects or any other method may be used. The story structure applies to the way you organize the material that you encourage your students to think about, not to the methods you use to teach the material.

For my teaching, I think of it this way: the material I want students to learn is actually the answer to a question. I sometimes feel that we, as teachers, are so focused on getting to the answer, we spend insufficient time making sure that students understand the question and appreciate its significance. To us, the question and its importance are obvious. To them, they aren’t.

Thinking about meaning helps memory. How can teachers ensure that students think about meaning in the classroom? Here are some practical suggestions.

Learning is influenced by many factors, but one factor trumps the others: students remember what they think about.