The Learning Scientists Podcast

Exploring the effectiveness of dual coding in learning and debunking the concept of learning styles. Study on second language learning and the impact of word choice on sentence meaning. Using visuals to teach the difference between words. Study on confusable words and learning styles. The impact of visual information on learning styles.

This podcast explores the concept of dual coding, which involves combining words and pictures to enhance learning. It discusses the benefits of making information concrete and providing multiple retrieval cues. The podcast also distinguishes dual coding from learning styles and discusses its effectiveness in different subjects. It explores strategies for effective use of visuals in education and highlights the benefits of using drawings and pictures as a learning strategy. The podcast also introduces a method of using pictures for retrieval practice and combining all six strategies for effective studying.

Discover the power of multiple concrete examples in learning! Different surface details help students grasp underlying concepts effectively. Research shows that when provided with varied examples, students greatly improve their ability to solve novel problems. Insights from Gick and Holyoak reveal that while spontaneous transfer is low without support, the right guidance can boost comprehension dramatically. Tune in to uncover the secrets of enhancing knowledge transfer!

Discover how using concrete examples can demystify abstract ideas in education. The hosts reveal that novices often fixate on surface features, missing core concepts. They share memorable teaching moments, like using candy to illustrate operant conditioning—only for students to remember the sweets. The podcast delves into applying economics principles like scarcity through relatable scenarios. Also discussed are visual aids and turning everyday objects, like fidget spinners, into engaging learning opportunities. Tune in for valuable insights on enhancing student understanding!

Discover the benefits of interleaving in studying, including improved comprehension and problem-solving skills. Learn how interleaving different paintings by different artists aids in learning and how it can be applied to subjects like chemistry. Explore the advantages of interleaving categories during studying, highlighting improved performance and understanding of basic properties in subjects.

This episode was funded by The Wellcome Trust.Show Notes:Over the past few decades, cognitive psychologists have found evidence for the following 6 strategies for effective learning:Spaced PracticeRetrieval PracticeElaborationInterleavingConcrete ExamplesDual CodingToday, we are talking about interleaving. Be sure to listen to our spaced practice and retrieval practice episodes, as those are the most important strategies!Interleaving is a learning strategy that involves switching between topics and ideas, which has been shown to improve long-term learning relative to blocking study of the same idea or topic (1). We recently spoke with a 12-year-old student in the UK, who described a similar strategy that he uses, and called it "jumbling it up". We loved this term so much, that we wrote a blog post about it!Early research in interleaving focused a lot on motor skills (2), but more recently there has been renewed interest in this strategy as it applies to problem-solving, for example in maths (3), as well as how it applies to music (4). In the podcast, Yana talks about an adorable concrete example of interleaving involving her 5-year-old daughter who was trying to interleave addition and subtraction problems.Interleaving might work because it helps students learn to distinguish between concepts and learn when to apply which strategy (5). Machine learning studies have also attempted to simulate the processes involved in interleaving (6). However, there is still much we do not know about interleaving! For example, while we know that it's not worth interleaving completely unrelated material from different subjects (7), we don't yet know exactly how related the interleaved material should be, or what effect interleaving has on attention. Yana recently submitted a grant proposal with Dr. Sophie Forster at Sussex University to explore these unanswered questions.  We hope you enjoyed this podcast! Check back in 2 weeks, when we’ll be releasing a “bite-size research” episode describe an interesting paper about interleaving. Subscribe to our Podcast!Go to our show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.RSS feed: http://www.learningscientists.org/learning-scientists-podcast/?format=rssReferences:(1) Taylor, K., & Rohrer, D. (2010). The effects of interleaved practice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24, 837-848.(2) Shea, J. B., & Morgan, R. L. (1979). Contextual interference effects on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of a motor skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 5, 179-187.(3) Rohrer, D., Dedrick, R. F., & Stershic, S. (2015). Interleaved practice improves mathematics learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107, 900-908.(4) Carter, C. E., & Grahn, J. A. (2016). Optimizing music learning: Exploring how blocked and interleaved practice schedules affect advanced performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 7.(5) Rohrer, D. (2012). Interleaving helps students distinguish among similar concepts. Educational Psychology Review, 24, 355-367.(6) Li, N., Cohen, W. W., & Koedinger, K. R. (2012, June). Problem Order Implications for Learning Transfer. In ITS (pp. 185-194).(7) Hausman, H., & Kornell, N. (2014). Mixing topics while studying does not enhance learning. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 3, 153-160.

This bite-size research episode explores the effectiveness of elaborative interrogation in improving learning of science facts for middle school students. The study shows that elaborative interrogation works well for both independent and partnered learning. It compares different study strategies and finds that collaborative interrogation leads to the most learning. The episode also highlights the importance of considering students' background knowledge when implementing collaborative interrogation as a teaching strategy.

This episode was funded by The Wellcome Trust.Show Notes:Over the past few decades, cognitive psychologists have found evidence for the following 6 strategies for effective learning:Spaced PracticeRetrieval PracticeElaborationInterleavingConcrete ExamplesDual CodingToday, we are talking about elaboration. Be sure to listen to our spaced practice and retrieval practice episodes, as those are the most important strategies!Elaboration is a really broad concept - at its core, it just means connecting or adding information. "Elaborative interrogation" is a strategy within this broad idea, and it involves asking “how" and “why" questions and finding those answers (1). Students can do this independently, with the teacher helping, or in pairs of groups. Once they come up with the questions, students must also find the answers!For example, how might you learn about the physics of flying? You could do it by answering lots of fact-based questions, but you can also supplement this by asking and then answering elaboration questions, such as "why does a plane need an engine?" and "how does a plane take off?"Elaborative interrogation can be a tricky strategy to implement, because students won’t always focus on the right information, or have the content knowledge necessary to carry out the task effectively. In the podcast episode, we use lots of examples from younger and older students, demonstrating how hard it can be to pick out the right information to ask questions about, or even come up with “how” and “why” questions at all. Students may also produce incorrect explanations in answer to their own questions. Elaboration has been shown to help students who are more familiar with the topic, while those who are less familiar don’t benefit as much (2); some studies (3) have even found elaboration to be less effective than re-reading, when students are unable to produce useful elaborations (see this guest blog post). Teachers will need to guide students towards the right kinds of questions, and give feedback on explanations. Ideally, students would be able to describe and explain ideas from memory - that is, retrieval practice using elaborative interrogation!We hope you enjoyed this podcast! Check back in 2 weeks, when we’ll be releasing a “bite-size research” episode describing an interesting paper on elaborative interrogation. Subscribe to our Podcast!Go to our show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.RSS feed: http://www.learningscientists.org/learning-scientists-podcast/?format=rssReferences:(1) Pressley, M., Symons, S., McDaniel, M. A., Snyder, B. L., & Turnure, J. E. (1988). Elaborative interrogation facilitates acquisition of confusing facts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 268-278.(2) Woloshyn, V. E., Pressley, M., & Schneider, W. (1992). Elaborative-interrogation and prior-knowledge effects on learning of facts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 115-124.(3) Clinton, V., Alibali, M. W., & Nathan, M. J. (2016). Learning about posterior probability: Do diagrams and elaborative interrogation help? The Journal of Experimental Education, 84, 579-599.

This episode discusses the benefits of spaced retrieval practice for higher order learning. An experiment showed that spaced retrieval practice improves performance on both factual and application questions. It also reveals that taking a review quiz after eight days is more effective than after one day. Spaced retrieval practice enhances memory and boosts performance on unpracticed questions.

This podcast discusses spaced practice as an effective learning strategy. They talk about the benefits of spacing out studying over multiple sessions and how it enhances learning. They also provide tips for helping students implement spaced practice and share their own experiences. Additionally, they explore combining spaced practice with retrieval practice for even better learning outcomes.