Chapter Resources

2.1 The second paper, where participants were randomly assigned to study while listening to music or in silence, answers her research question. Molly’s research question asks whether listening to music while studying causes better test scores. The term cause means a true experiment is needed. The first paper simply measures music listening behavior while studying and test scores, making it a study that looks at a relationship, but not causality. Looking at relationships between factors is useful, but cannot determine cause-and-effect relationships.

2.2 The second paper is an applied laboratory experiment. The participants come into the laboratory, but they are learning educationally relevant material, a textbook chapter. A basic laboratory experiment would involve very simple materials, like word lists. An applied classroom experiment would take place in an authentic learning environment, like a true lesson with students enrolled in the class.

Hint 2.3: Make sure to (1) manipulate gum chewing, (2) use random assignment, and (3) control for other variables. 2.3: There are a few ways to answer this question. Because the research question asks about cause, we need a true experiment. Therefore, it is important to manipulate chewing gum. We would need an experimental condition, chewing gum while studying a textbook chapter, and a control condition, perhaps not chewing gum or even eating a mint before studying a textbook chapter. It would be important for the participants in the experiment to be randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. For example, the researcher could flip a coin. Each participant that gets heads could be in the experimental group (the chewing gum group), and tails could be in the control group. Everything else about the experiment would need to be the same. All students should learn the same textbook chapter, and take the same test to measure learning. The environment should be the same, with the same level of background noise. The only difference should be the thing that is manipulated, chewing gum.

3.1 Theo is scheduling time for homework, but she is not scheduling time for additional studying.

3.2 Theo should add a few brief study sessions to her consistent schedule. During study time, she should use the strategies in this book to help her learn and retain the information she is learning in addition to doing her homework.

3.3 Tiara has a consistent schedule. She always does her homework, completing her practice problems and her weekly quiz, after class and on Fridays. She is studying on Tuesday and Thursday when she goes over her notes from the current week and completes additional practice problems on her own. Completing the additional practice problems is an effective strategy from this book, retrieval practice (Chapter 8).

3.4 Both homework and studying will help Tiara learn.

4.1 Hamaad is not taking care of his body, and this affects his brain and his learning. He is probably having trouble concentrating because he is not taking breaks, or refueling his body with snacks and water.

4.2 Hamaad could take short breaks while he studies. Short breaks will help him regain his focus. During his breaks, he should get up and move around because physical activity can help his cognition. He should also make sure he drinks enough water so that he is not dehydrated. Dehydration can lead to some memory and thinking impairments. Finally, he can eat a healthy snack, like fruits or vegetables, can help his cognition and keep his energy up.

4.3 Kiana will probably do better on the exam because she sticks to her bedtime routine and gets the sleep she needs. Bedtime routines help with getting enough quality sleep. Sleep is important for our bodies to stay healthy, and getting enough quality sleep can actually help us remember the information that was studied the day before!

5.1 There are a few things that Riley could do to be more efficient during study. Riley could try using the pomodoro technique, setting a timer for 25 minutes of focused work and then check the group chat during the 5 minutes of break. During the 25 minutes of focused work, Riley could use an app to block the messages from distracting them, or they could simply put their phone on do not disturb or leave their phone in another room altogether.

5.2 Riley could be more efficient while maintaining the social interaction by forming a study group with their friends. The group could get together, either in person or over video chat, and all study at the same time. They could work on whatever assignments or studying they need to for that week. The entire group could set goals and use timers to stay focused. With the pomodoro technique, the group could all chat together during the 5 minutes of break, taking longer breaks after two or three rounds of pomodoros.

5.3 There were a few things that were distracting Soquania. She was distracted by text messages, online videos, and even her environment like wanting to clean her room. Soquania was likely just avoiding studying after a block of time and needed a scheduled break.

5.4 Soquania used timers and used the pomodoro technique in a flexible way. She started out studying for less than 25 minutes, but worked up to studying for more than 25 minutes before taking the break. She also used checklists to help her stay on task. She adjusted the technique so it worked for her.

6.1 Esmée was likely overconfident because they used highlighting and repeated reading that made the terms feel very familiar and studying felt very easy. When the terms seemed very familiar it tricked Esmée into thinking they knew the terms and definitions.

6.2 Esmée felt very confident that they would remember the information on the exam (awareness) so they stopped studying (action).

6.3 Esmée could use retrieval practice, or any of the other strategies in this book, as a study strategy after reading to make their judgments more accurate. They could also wait after reading and highlighting and close their book before making their metacognitive awareness judgments.

6.4 When Quentin made the flashcards, he was able to see the terms and equations right in front of him. They probably seemed familiar, and copying them probably felt easy, and so he felt more confident. However, when he was using the flashcards he did not have the answers right in front of him, and this made him less confident, though probably more accurate in his judgments.

6.5 Quentin should embrace the difficulty of using his flashcards. He should keep making metacognitive awareness judgments based on how well he thinks he knows the material when the answers are not right in front of him (like when he is quizzing himself). His decision to keep using the flashcards was a great one based on good metacognitive awareness judgments. He could make sure there is a space between when he is looking at the answers to his flashcards and making his awareness judgments, if he is not doing this already.

A 7.1 Lindsey knows that waiting until the last minute is not a good approach to studying. She is trying to avoid cramming by studying multiple weeks before the math exam, not just the night before. By scheduling it into her calendar, she is more likely to actually sit down and make it happen!

A 7.2 It is unclear exactly what Lindsey is doing during her study sessions. To get the most out of her study time, she should consider not just reviewing the most recent content, but also material that is older. She could also consider using some of the other strategies from this book instead of just repeatedly reading. For example, she could take practice tests (see Chapter 8).

A 7.3 There are a few good answers to this question. Doing daily homework is important for learning, and so is getting exercise. So, Gabriel probably should not change that part of his routine. Gabriel might consider scheduling study sessions before his class or in the mornings if he can. He could also study before bed instead of watching his favorite show. Looking at a screen can negatively affect sleep (see Chapter 4).

A 7.4 Gabriel could introduce a space in between his class and his homework to benefit from spreading out learning over time. Gabriel could exercise before work, and then do his homework after work. He could also use an effective study strategy during this book, instead of just looking over his notes. For example, he could put his notes away after his homework and try to write down as much as he can remember (called retrieval practice, Chapter 8).

8.1 Nayelie is using retrieval practice and spacing because she is bringing to mind what she can remember from memory, and she is doing this spread out over multiple days. She is also trying to retrieve information from that day’s class and previous classes, which adds more spacing. (If you have not yet read about spacing, check out Chapter 7.)

8.2 Nayelie is using effective study strategies, and the student using repeated reading really is not. If their exam is in one week, Nayelie will probably do better than the other student because she is practicing retrieval (and spacing).

8.3 When Spencer and Calvin are explaining the concepts in their own words from their memories to one another, they are practicing retrieval. The key is that they bring the information to mind from their memories. It is also good that they then go back to their materials and check for accuracy after practicing retrieval.

9.1 Annabelle was having trouble understanding the abstract concept of negative reinforcement and so she searched for multiple concrete examples to help her understand. It is good that she found multiple examples to help her understand.

9.2 There are a couple of things that Annabelle should do next. Because she found the examples online, she should double check with her teacher tutor, or teaching assistant to make sure they are correct. She can also try to come up with her own examples, either by herself or with a study group.

9.3 There are a couple of things that Sunita could do. She should first look at her course materials - notes, a textbook, etc. - to see if she can figure out what the example meant. If she is still struggling, she should ask her teacher about the example and what it has to do with the course material.

9.4 This is a really common problem and Sunita is likely to encounter it again. The next time she is in class and her instructor uses a funny or interesting example, she should write down in her notes both the example and how it is a good example of the concept they are talking about. This will help her to make the connection again later or give her a good place to go back and find that connection when she needs it.

10.1 It seems like Aoife spends time making sure her visuals are a good representation of the concepts she is trying to understand. Making connections between visuals and verbal information (e.g., from textbooks or when her teacher explains concepts) is a good thing and will help her obtain a better understanding of the material. The additional decorative doodles may keep her motivated, but are not necessary for understanding the material.

10.2 Joaquin thinks that the visuals he comes up with need to be pretty and look good. However, this is not the case. As long as the visuals represent the concepts he is trying to wrap his head around, he is on the right track. Visuals can be as simple as boxes and arrows to highlight links between ideas. Different students will come up with different ways to express the same idea in an image - and this is a good thing.

10.3 Liu is restricting herself by only using verbal information. She is thinking about her preferences, but is ignoring information that, when combined with the verbal information, will help her learn.

10.4 It is okay that Liu likes reading and writing summaries, but should also engage with the visuals and illustrations. Combining both the visual and verbal information will help her learn.

11.1 Saad is using elaborative interrogation. We know this because Saad is asking how and why questions.

11.2 Using elaborative interrogation will help Saad understand how the different events of World War I are connected, and how World War I and II are similar and different. Overall, this will help Saad organize his knowledge. It will be important for Saad to find the answers to these questions, or come up with the answers from his own memory.

11.3 Tobi’s prior knowledge, the amount they remember from their previous classes, is not as high as it could be. It is not enough just to ask how and why questions. It is important to be able to describe and explain the concepts, by finding the answers or bringing them to mind from memory.

11.4 Tobi should try one of the other strategies in this book first. Tobi could try going back to their textbook or notes and taking effective notes on the material to help improve their prior knowledge (Chapter 13). They could try to find concrete examples of physics problems and see how they are being solved (Chapter 11), and can jumble up different types of problems (called interleaving, Chapter 12) while studying. When Tobi feels more confident, they can try going back to elaboration.

12.1 During independent studying, Katrin could mix up the order in which she answers the practice questions from the weekly homework assignments. That way, she is jumping between concepts that were covered in different weeks, and this will help her to distinguish between the different ideas.

12.2 There are a number of things Katrin could do. For one example, Katrin is completing the weekly homework assignments immediately after they are assigned, but to introduce some spacing she could wait a little bit to complete these assignments. She does not need to wait very long, and should not wait until the last minute before they are due. However, if her schedule allows, she could wait one day to complete them. She could also use a note-taking strategy from Chapter 13, like the Cornell note-taking technique, and then use the keywords from the notes to practice retrieval after class (Chapter 8).

12.3 Joseph is using interleaving, and as a result is introducing some spacing as well. He is also using retrieval practice when he flips through his notebook and tries to recall information from memory and when he recalls from memory using his flashcards.

12.4 Joseph is mixing up very different topics (Spanish, biology, and history). This is probably not the most effective. Joseph should focus on interleaving or mixing up concepts within the same subjects. So, in Spanish, Joseph should make sure to interleave different tenses and vocabulary, and remix the cards to go through in a different order each time.

13.1 Emil is focusing on paraphrasing his notes, or writing them in his own words. This helps him integrate the new concepts that he is being taught with knowledge he already has.

13.2 Emil might consider recording the lesson so that he can go back and paraphrase the sections he struggles with more easily after class. He could also take a few verbatim notes during these times when he struggles and go back and paraphrase later.

13.3 Keiko is already doing a portion of Cornell note-taking. She can create Cornell note-taking sheets and fill out all three sections. Then, she can use the keywords or cues section to quiz herself before she rereads her summary section. If she does this repeatedly over time, she is engaging in both retrieval practice and spacing. These are both really effective strategies from this book (Chapters 7 and 8)!

14.1 Nicolás was used to repeatedly reading, which tends to make students overconfident. When they tried bringing information to mind from memory (retrieval practice, Chapter 8), it felt more challenging. That’s okay, because the challenge is good and helped them learn.

14.2 There are a lot of ways to answer this question! They could try sketching what they know from memory, which would add in visuals and words (dual coding, Chapter 10). They could schedule multiple study sessions with one another consistently so that they are spreading out their studying over time (spaced practice, Chapter 7). They could find concrete examples in their textbook, and then come up with their own and share them with each other (Chapter 9). They could also generate how and why questions and answer them together (elaborative interrogation, Chapter 11).

14.3 By reading the chapter first and then going back a second time for outlining and highlighting, Chioma and Xīn are making it more likely that they will identify the most important information and highlight useful information. Doing this will help them avoid highlighting too much (or too little).

14.4 Once they are done highlighting only the key concepts, and identifying the main points, they could use the main points they have identified as prompts to try to write out as much as they can remember from their memories. The key is to try to recall as much information as they can without looking things up. Then, after they have recalled as much as they can, they can go back to the textbook and see what they got right and what they might have missed.

15.1 Teddy’s friend is providing social support. Self-efficacy can increase when we get positive messages from others like telling us we can be successful.

15.2 Teddy’s friend Penelope has already reminded Teddy that he did really well on his last test, so Teddy can think about his previous successes to help improve his self-efficacy. Teddy can also try to improve his psychological state by getting more sleep before his exam, and even having a healthy snack and getting some exercise. Finally, he could also talk to others who have been successful taking tests, especially other people who are similar to him.

15.3 Ava is believing in themselves! She is looking to her friends who are also successful, and this is helping them believe that she also can be successful. She is also using self-affirmations, telling themselves that she can do it and improving their own mood.

15.4 Research shows that when we believe in ourselves it can improve our performance on academic tasks. Ava is likely to do better on their math tests in this class because she is improving her self-efficacy.