At the top of the chart during focus lessons and guided instruction, there is much teacher responsibility and little student responsibility. The responsibility distribution is completely switched at the bottom of the chart during collaborative and independent work, where there is little teacher responsibility and much student responsibility.
To maximize student learning, the best methods of learning must be applied. Much research has been completed on aspects of student learning, but their findings have not been utilized universally in today's classrooms.
Teachers must structure classes, tests, and group projects to benefit the students. However, students need to study correctly, get corrective feedback, and put in sufficient effort to succeed.
The main aspects of student learning studied were testing versus restudying, test format and corrective feedback, cooperative learning, the blended learning environment, and obstacles to student learning. These obstacles include sleep patterns and teaching to the test. The following is a summary of the key information learned:
- Taking intervening tests improve long term retention better than repeated studying
- When corrective feedback is given, short answer tests are more effective than multiple choice
- Cooperative learning increases student achievement only when there are group rewards based on group members' individual learning
- In a blended learning environment, students' satisfaction was positively correlated with their perception of collaborative learning
- When teachers only teach items on their test, students' overall learning is decreased
Taking practice tests is better than repeated studying for student's long term retention because students can practice the skills they need while they are learning
In two experiments performed by Henry L. Roediger, III and Jeffrey D. Karpicke of Washington University in St. Louis, results indicated taking tests before taking a final exam at least two days later was more beneficial than restudying the material. This has been attributed to testing's ability to provide practice for the necessary skills to succeed.
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These results indicate that to improve student learning, students should take practice tests before their actual tests, and teachers should make these practice tests available or do them in class. If this is not done, students will start to forget concepts very quickly, as shown in the graph on the right.University of Maryland Accounting Professor Stephen Brown agrees with this responsibility that teachers have to improve student learning. He gives many quizzes in class before each test and also provides his students with past test questions for them to review.
In the following video, Brown discusses his logic behind feeling great responsibility to improve student learning.
The experiment had students read passages and then either take a test or restudy. A final test was given later. When this final test was given just five minutes later, restudying was more helpful.
However, when the final was given two days and one week later, testing proved to be more beneficial. These options test long term retention, whereas the final test five minutes later focuses on short term retention. Clearly long term retention is more crucial to student learning.
Short answer quizzes with feedback is the best method for learning due to its greater retrieval demands and the opportunity to correct mistakes
Another study by Sean H. K. Kang and colleagues investigated short answer and multiple choice test format with the condition of corrective feedback. They found that when there was no feedback, those who took an intervening multiple choice test before the final test scored better than those with an intervening short answer test.
However, with corrective feedback, an intervening short answer test was more beneficial and this final exam score was the best overall out of all the conditions.
With this knowledge, it would make sense then that every class should be giving short answer quizzes with feedback. However, this is not the case very often, as professors tend to give multiple choice tests more often because the grading is much quicker.
In the video below, Stephen Brown articulates this point, and adds that the only place he would be able to utilize short answer quizzes and tests would be in small class sections.
However, with corrective feedback, an intervening short answer test was more beneficial and this final exam score was the best overall out of all the conditions.
With this knowledge, it would make sense then that every class should be giving short answer quizzes with feedback. However, this is not the case very often, as professors tend to give multiple choice tests more often because the grading is much quicker.
In the video below, Stephen Brown articulates this point, and adds that the only place he would be able to utilize short answer quizzes and tests would be in small class sections.
If it is not realistic to give short answer quizzes in class, the professors should at least give corrective feedback because the final exam scores were better with this condition regardless of test format. Short answer intervening tests with corrective feedback is the overall best method for learning because short answer tests have greater retrieval demands than multiple choice tests.
Thus, there is a more thorough encoding of feedback with a short answer test than with a multiple choice test. However, without corrective feedback, short answer tests can be detrimental because their scores are usually lower than multiple choice tests.
Thus, there is a more thorough encoding of feedback with a short answer test than with a multiple choice test. However, without corrective feedback, short answer tests can be detrimental because their scores are usually lower than multiple choice tests.
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