Hacking your memory

Question 1

No laptop orders: technophobia?

Answer 1

Putnam et al. (2016) recommend not using a laptop

Some lecturers forbid their use in class

Question 2

Distractions in class:
1- How much less might students multitasking on a laptop during class learn?
2- what might it also affect?

Answer 2

1- 11%
2- May also affect comprehension of students near you

Question 3

Note-taking and memory encoding:
1- Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014- what can taking notes on a laptop encourage?
2- BUT
3- what is note taking useful for?

Answer 3

1- taking notes on a laptop is faster but encourages verbatim notes rather than summary. This is ‘shallow’ processing- repeating things without knowing what they mean

2- BUT less clear cut in replication + mini meta-analysis

3- However, note-taking IS useful in preventing mind-wandering

Question 4

What is note-taking for?

Answer 4

• Promote deep and elaborative encoding of the material
• Provide external storage of information that is in the lecture but is not on the slides
• (Processing and adding this surrounding material may help elaborative encoding)
• Good notes can also support later study and revision

Question 5

Tips for note-taking

Answer 5

1. Use lecture slides to organise notes
   Be selective; paraphrase if you can
2. What are the main messages?
   - Include your takeaways and relate to prior knowledge
   - What isn’t clear?
   - Look up later, or ask the lecturer
3. How will you make the argument in an essay?
   - What is the evidence supporting each message?
   - Any conflicting data or limitations? Opposing theories?

Question 6

What is elaboration?
+ 3 strategies?

Answer 6

Actively relating incoming material to existing knowledge
Usually implies a deliberate strategy

Example of 3 strategies:
1. Elaborative interrogation = Generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true (but in your own words)
2. Self-explanation = Explaining how new information is related to known information, or explaining steps taken during problem solving
3. Keyword mnemonic = Using keywords and mental imagery to associate verbal materials (can involve explanation)

Question 7

The keyword mnemonic
+ example and application

Answer 7

How to learn the word hippocampus

Keyword mnemonic: hippo + campus

A hippo visits her old Uni campus, this brings back lots of memories

Making the name make sense and linking the 2 units. Giving it a cue that it is to do with memories.

Application- Richmond has shown this has helped higher-order thinking on MCQ by Psychology students, as well as recall

Question 8

Elaborative interrogation

Dunlosky et al. (2013)

Answer 8

Generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true – much less clunky than keyword mnemonic

Elaboration depends on understanding- your prior knowledge

Helps more if you already have higher knowledge but it does help anyway even if you are in the lower knowledge group.

Question 9

Van Kesteren et al. (2013) conducted an fMRI study of schema effects on learning at University.

What did their behavioural results show?

Answer 9

They found the Medial PFC is found to be involved in encoding memories that are related to prior knowledge where as the hippocampus is more involved in encoding memories that are not related to prior knowledge.

Medial PFC (mPFC):
- link to schema
- integrate
- generalized
- semantic (gist)
- false memories

Hippocampus:
- link (parts of) memories
- separate
- specific/ detailed
- episodic

Question 10

Schemas in education: van Kesteren et al. (2018)

Answer 10

1. People had to encode pairs of pictures and words - these were A-B pairs
2. Then they were tested on their memory for the AB pairs by being shown the words and asked to pick out which picture that word went with. (associative memory)
3. Then they had to encode new pairs- A-C (this involved linking the drug to its clinical use)
4. They varied the relatedness between B and C
5. In the final memory test, they tested what they inferred about B going with C (the two that were not studies with each other). They were first asked to recognise the C item to check they had actually encoded it as an item and then they were asked what picture went with it.

B-C is not directly studied but is inferred from learning A-B and A-C; as model of generalisation during learning

Question 11

Schemas in education: van Kesteren et al. (2018)
1- Associative memory better for inferred B-C pairing if it was….
2- also better remembered if?
3- People’s judgements of what they would remember (metamemory) depended on?
4- people underestimated the importance of

Answer 11

1- Associative memory better for inferred B-C pairing if it was schema-congruent

2- Also better if remembered the B picture during A-C learning

3- People’s judgements of what they would remember (metamemory) depended on reactivation but not schemas

4- … Partially accurate but people underestimated the importance of prior knowledge- (insights are not always rights)

Question 12

Schemas at university

Answer 12

Connecting material to what was learned before helps new learning and generalisation. Some of this is tutors’ job but doing readings and revision of key ideas before lectures can help students to assimilate lecture material

So can reading over slides, e.g. to understand main messages, spot what will need most clarification, relate to readings and prior study (Marsh & Sink, 2009)

Question 13

Limits of improving encoding

Answer 13

• Keyword mnemonic involves work, and needs suitable material – as do other elaboration strategies
• Elaborative interrogation “…effects are often larger when elaborations are precise rather than imprecise, when prior knowledge is higher rather than lower […] and when elaborations are self-generated rather than provided” (Dunlosky et al., 2013)
• Dunlosky et al interpret as distinctiveness effect on encoding
• BUT surprisingly (to many in 2013) not very effective for long-term learning

Question 14

What can add to the potential cues that are able to retrieve something?

Answer 14

Elaboration
I.e., you also generate your own cues when studying!

Question 15

Self-generated cues

Answer 15

• You make the connections! Create cues that connect with your personal knowledge and cognitive context
• E.g. “when remembering that Rutherford was the first person to show that each atom has a nucleus in its center, a chemistry student can create a cue that says “Ruth is my grandma’s name and grandmas are the center of the family.””
• From Tullis & Finley’s (2018) review
• Note that cue is semantically related to target fact
• Use interests, hobbies etc e.g. sport, or music etc

Question 16

Self-generated cues:
1- likely to overlap with?
2- what helps you remember the material better?
3- works well with?

Answer 16

1- likely to overlap more with your personal cognitive context (thoughts stored at time of encoding)And self-generated cues may be more diagnostic point more uniquely to the information in memory
2- due to transfer-appropriate processing, you will remember the material better
3- Works well with the testing effect (trying to retrieve info and retrieving it helps you remember later down the line)

Question 17

What cues are better than standard cues?

Answer 17

Self-generated cues

Question 18

The testing effect:
Roediger and Karpicke (2006) memory for ‘ideas units’ in prose passages
Study and Results

Answer 18

SSSS = study 4 times for 5 mins
SSST = study 3x then recall test
STTT = study then repeated tests

After 1 week:
10% forgetting instead of 52%

Testing yourself between learning and retrieval has a huge effect

Question 19

Thomas et al. 2020
Study

Answer 19

Structured the course around having interim memory tests.

They had 20 min lectures followed by a 10 min quick quiz

4 classes in one block with 2x short lecture then test

Block exam after the classes (45 mins)

Students were split into groups who either- restudied info, did a test quiz or did a test quiz with feedback

Then there were 2 more blocks

Across the 3 blocks, each student was swapped into each test format

Final exam at the end

Question 20

Thomas et al. (2020)
What did they assess?

Answer 20

Compared study with quizzes (MCQ), quiz with feedback

Outcomes

1. Unit exams x 4 – repeated, new MCQs & short answers Final exam – more MCQs, & essays
2. Included MCQs from quizzes, unit exams & new

Analysis

• Transfer of learning to related concepts
• Transfer of learning to different test forma

Question 21

Thomas et al. (2020)
Results

Answer 21

Conceptually related MCQs:
12-14% better
Quizzing (ie testing) better than studying
(but quiz with feedback F/B not better than quiz without)

Conceptually related short answers (different format):
13-21% better
Quizzing (ie testing) better than studying
(but quiz with feedback F/B not better than quiz without)

Question 22

What did the study by Thomas et al. (2020) support?

Answer 22

Testing aids concept development and generalisation from leaning episode (semantic) as well as memory for instances (episodic)

Question 23

Why do exams at all?

Answer 23

Prof. Ayanna Thomas from Tufts puts the case that using exams and tests at uni is a good think because it helps learning

Question 24

Evidence-based revision at University
Least to most useful

Answer 24

Least useful
- Summarisation (written)
- Imagery for text
- Re-reading

Moderately useful
- Elaborative interrogation (generating explanations)
- Self-explanation (relate to knowledge)
- Interleaved practice (with other material)

The most useful
- Testing yourself (the testing effect)
- Is there a ‘down-side’?

Question 25

A small conundrum 1- _________ at the time of revision does not seem to impact long-term retention 2- what variables seem to be useful in revision

Answer 25

1- imagery 2- elaboration and other meaning-processing-related strategies

Question 26

What are the theories of the testing effect?

Answer 26

Semantic elaboration theory: So a studied item can be retrieved with a different (semantically related) cue at test versus Context theory: A harder initial memory test has more benefit, suggesting more mental reinstatement of context Both relate to memory updating and storing updated context in the updated memory trace

Question 27

But why give feedback, if Thomas et al. found that it had no (significant) effect?

Answer 27

So that testing does not introduce misinformation 

Question 28

Where is more research needed?

Answer 28

On when feedback is useful with retrieval practice and in non-WEIRD countries

Question 29

When is the best time to do practice tests?

Answer 29

- it depends on how far into the future you exam is going to be - space it out

Question 30

What revision technique helps memory?

Answer 30

Revisiting information after a break helps memory = spaced learning (compared to massed learning) ‘Expanding’ spacing is probably best but depends on retention interval (to exam).

Question 31

What did Meta-analysis by Cepeda, Pashler et al., 2006 reveal?

Answer 31

When ISI was increased, participants retained more information. However, for long ISIs, in proportion to retention interval, further increases in ISI reduced accuracy. Thus, for a given retention interval, there was a nonzero value of ISI that optimized accuracy. (This is known as a nonmonotonic lag effect.) Moreover, the optimal ISI increased as retention interval increased. For instance, at retention intervals of less than 1 min, ISIs of less than 1 min maximized retention; at retention intervals of 6 months or more, ISIs of at least 1 month maximized retention. These results clearly show that a single ISI does not produce optimal retention across a wide range of retention intervals. The nonmonotonic effect of ISI upon retention and the dependency of optimal ISI upon retention interval both appear to characterize the literature as a whole, as well as a few well-known specific studies.

Question 32

Academic Learning and Episodic and Semantic Memory Conway et al. (1997) Test and results

Answer 32

- Tested psychology students immediately after a lecture course and in a delayed test (exam) - Immediately after lectures, better performing students ‘Remembered facts in a particular lecture’ - At delayed test, they ‘Knew the Facts’ rather than ‘Remembered the lecture’ - Suggests a shift from Episodic to Semantic Memory and generalisation beyond initial context. - (NB different for methods courses – ‘just know’ more impt.)

Question 33

Academic Learning and Episodic and Semantic Memory Elibol-Pekaslan and Sahin-Acar (2017)

Answer 33

- Tested first year and final year students in 2014 and 2017 and assessed ‘remember-know’ following Conway et al. - 100+ students per cohort, exam — Specific memory for learning episode versus ‘just know’ - more Know at end of course — From equal to Know > Remember at 3 years (in 42 students)

Question 34

More evidence needed + what is relation to study strategy? Why?

Answer 34

Episodic memories become semanticised over time, e.g. Harand et al. (2012) - Repeated retrieval likely important - Sleep is also important!