Make It Stick: Part 3

I’ve just finished reading “make it stick” (which I borrowed from the library), and have decided I need to buy my own copy so I can refer to it regularly during the semester. The book’s final chapter covers tips for students, teachers and trainers. For the students reading my blog, here are some of the habits of a very successful student profiled in the book. (There are more. Also I have paraphrased in some cases.) For the teachers, go get your copy of the book and read it.

·      Always does the reading prior to class

·      Anticipates exam questions and their answers while reading/studying

·      Answers rhetorical questions to test retention of the reading

·      Reorganizes the course information into a self-designed study guide

·      Writes out concepts that are detailed or important, posts them near bed/desk, and self-tests regularly from time to time.

However the topic of today’s post outlines the two things that jumped out at me from Chapter 7, which is subtitled “Increase Your Abilities”. The first is linked to something I discussed in my previous post about the potential illusions of “knowing”. Asking someone to vividly imagine an event can lead to the planting of a false memory. The person later recalls that the imagined event took place when it actually did not. What’s interesting is that this can be used to one’s advantage in trying to remember things, and it works like a mnemonic device or memory cue. This is the famed “memory palace” I first encountered when watching BBC’s Sherlock. Yes, Sherlock’s memory palace strategy really does work and there is evidence! By vividly associating objects in a particular location (a familiar room or a café), one can hang topics, concepts and details in such a way that recalling a large number of details becomes quite facile. Apparently this is one of many strategies employed by world-class Memory Championship participants. (I didn’t even know such championships existed.)

The second is related to Carol Dweck’s studies on the relationship between how one one’s notion of intellectual ability (either as naturally fixed or something that can be improved) and actual learning and task performance. As the authors write, there is much truth to the old saw “If you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.” Dweck’s studies are quite interesting, but I won’t describe them in detail here. (An internet search will turn up many of the famous ones.) Instead I want to quote the book’s authors describing some of the conclusions. They say it much better than I could. Below I’ve stitched together sentences from several paragraphs that I’m quoting. This is just to give you a gist. To read it in full, go get the book!

“Dweck came to see that some students aim at performance goals, while others strive toward learning goals. In the first case, you’re working to validate your ability. If your focus is on validating or showing off your ability, you pick challenges you are confident you can meet [so you] look smart. But if your goal is to increase your ability, you pick ever-increasing challenges, and you interpret setbacks as useful information that helps you to sharpen your focus, get more creative and work harder. Paradoxically, a focus on performance trips up [stars who] praised for being naturals, believe their performance is a result of innate gifts. [They believe] they shouldn’t have to work hard to excel [and] avoid practicing, because a need to practice [might suggest] their natural gifts are not good enough. [They] hold back from risk-taking where they [may] have to break a sweat to deliver the critical outcome. When you praise [kids] for intelligence, [they] get the message that being seen as smart is the name of the game. [However it’s] more than IQ, it’s discipline, grit, and a growth mindset that imbue a person with the sense of possibility, and the creativity and persistence needed for higher learning and success.”

To get there however, “the active ingredient is the simple but nonetheless profound realization that the power to increase your abilities lies largely within your control.” So it looks like it’s important to have the right attitude and work hard using effective strategies, many of which seem counter-intuitive (such as interleaved practice and spaced retrieval). It feels, at least in the very short-term, “less effective” than massed practice and cramming-style re-reading and repetition. That’s why many students use it even though it does not serve them well in the long run (which may be as short as a semester, or even until the next midterm exam).

One thing the book makes clear is that it is important for the teacher to explain the strategies used in class (frequent low-stakes quizzes, working on problems before the material is “taught”, reflective meta-cognition writing assignments, etc.) otherwise there tends to be much grumbling and complaining from students, at least initially until they see the dividends pay off. Of course if a student is not willing to work hard (or the teacher for that matter), then good, solid, effective learning isn’t going to take place.