Intended and Actual Changes in Study Behaviors in an Introductory and Upper-Level Psychology Course

2020 ◽  
pp. 009862832097989
Author(s):  
Shaina F. Rowell ◽  
Regina F. Frey ◽  
Elise M. Walck-Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Study Time ◽  
Study Behaviors ◽  
Exam Scores ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Psychology Course ◽  
Over Time

We examined self-directed studying of students in an introductory (Study 1) and upper-level (Study 2) psychology course. Students reported their study behaviors for Exam 1 and 2, and wrote Exam 2 study plans. In both studies, students planned to and ultimately did use more active strategies for Exam 2 than Exam 1. However, they struggled to follow through on plans to space studying over time. In Study 1, we also found that greater use of active strategies (e.g., retrieval practice) was associated with higher exam scores when controlling for factors such as study time. Our findings highlight that students across course levels are interested in changing their study behaviors and we note implications for instructors.

The Use of Flashcards in an Introduction to Psychology Class

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Golding ◽  
Nesa E. Wasarhaley ◽  
Bradford Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Specific Component ◽  
Psychology Class ◽  
Exam Scores ◽  
Psychology Course

Four hundred fifteen undergraduate students in an Introduction to Psychology course voluntarily reported their use of flashcards on three exams as well as answered other questions dealing with flashcard use (e.g., when did a student first use flashcards). Almost 70% of the class used flashcards to study for one or more exams. Students who used flashcards for all three exams had significantly higher exam scores overall than those students who did not use flashcards at all or only used flashcards on one or two exams. These results are discussed in terms of retrieval practice, a specific component of using flashcards.

Generation and Retrieval Practice Effects in the Classroom Using PeerWise

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Kelley ◽  
Elizabeth K. Chapman-Orr ◽  
Susanna Calkins ◽  
Robert J. Lemke
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
College Classroom ◽  
Exam Performance ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Online Tool ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Psychology Course

The present study explored the generation and retrieval practice effects within a college classroom using a free, online tool called PeerWise (PW). PW allows students to create their own multiple-choice questions, share them with peers, and answer the shared questions written by their peers. Forty students from two sections of an upper level cognitive psychology course authored and answered multiple-choice questions as part of a semester-long assignment. Analyses showed reliable generation and retrieval practice effects following PW usage, along with a significant improvement in exam performance.

scholarly journals The refinement of flipped teaching implementation to include retrieval practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-137
Author(s):  
Chaya Gopalan ◽  
Andrea Fentem ◽  
Anna L. Rever
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Exercise Physiology ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Team Based Learning ◽  
Exam Scores

There has been growing evidence that flipped teaching (FT) can increase student engagement. Traditional lecture-based teaching (TT) method was compared with FT and FT combined with retrieval practice (FTR) in a 400-level Exercise Physiology course over eight semesters. In the FT format, lecture content was assigned for students to prepare before class along with an online quiz. During class, the assigned content and quiz questions were reviewed, and a team-based learning (TBL) activity was conducted. Students found FT implementation three times a week (FT3) to be overwhelming, which led to reconfiguration of the FT design to minimize the quiz and TBL sessions to one per week. Subsequently, FT was combined with retrieval exercises (FTR), which involved recalling information, thus promoting retention. The students in the FTR format were given weekly quizzes in class, where no notes were allowed, which affected their quiz grade negatively compared with FT ( P < 0.0001). Again, no resources were permitted during FTR’s TBL sessions. When exam scores were compared with TT, student performance was significantly greater ( P < 0.001) with the FT and FTR methods, suggesting these methods are superior to TT. While both male and female students benefited from FT and FTR methods compared with TT ( P = 0.0008), male students benefited the most (( P = 0.0001). Similarly, when the exam scores were organized into upper and lower halves, both groups benefited from FT and FTR ( P < 0.0001) approaches. In conclusion, both FT and FTR methods benefit students more compared with TT, and male students are impacted the most.

Evaluation of College Level Coursework for the Gifted Adolescents: An Investigation of Epistemological Stance, Knowledge Gain and Generalization

1988 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Petersen ◽  
Paul J. Brounstein ◽  
Gregory A. Kimble
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Gain ◽  
College Level ◽  
Psychological Issues ◽  
Course Retention ◽  
Career Plans ◽  
Summer Session ◽  
Duke University ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
Psychology Course ◽  
Over Time

The investigation evaluated the proximal and distal effects of an innovative course of study, a college level Introductory Psychology course which was offered to precocious adolescents in a three-week summer session at the Talent Identification Program at Duke University. More specific purposes of the study were to assess level of mastery of the content of the course, retention over time, ability to generalize this content and use it to interpret psychological issues, noncognitive impacts of the course on students' orientation toward psychology and its influence on the students' future plans. The design of the study involved immediate post-course assessments and follow-up assessments at points at six months and 1.5 years remote in time. The same measures were obtained from similar students who did not take the course. Results demonstrated that knowledge gain from course participation was substantial and long-lived. There was a dramatic effect on the quality of the students' understanding and their ability to generalize and apply psychological concepts to real world situations. Although there was loss of factual content over time, level of understanding and ability to generalize and apply material remained relatively constant. There was a slight shift in the students' outlook on psychology as a discipline. Students just completing the course were quite “humanistic” in their outlook. After a six month period their orientation had moved toward the “scientific” pole. In addition, large proportions of students reported that the course had affected their educational plans (50.0%) and career plans (36.7%). This study suggests a model of evaluation for educational programs. By focusing on several factors potentially affected by education we can better understand the full effects of tailored interventions on participants. Such information can serve as a guide to developing more focused and effective educational efforts.

Can Teaching Data Analysis In-House Improve Psychology Students’ Skills?

2021 ◽  
pp. 009862832199284
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Vittengl ◽  
Karen L. Vittengl
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Psychology Students ◽  
Psychology Programs ◽  
Quantitative Psychology ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Level Statistics ◽  
Statistics Courses ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Psychology Course

Background: Acquisition and generalization of data analysis skills are perennial challenges for psychology students. Teaching advanced data analysis in a psychology-specific context might improve students’ learning. Objective: At a mid-sized public university, we evaluated student outcomes after a new quantitative psychology course taught in the psychology department compared to upper-level statistics courses taught in the statistics department. Method: Undergraduate psychology majors ( N = 80) completed quantitative psychology and/or upper-level statistics courses in preparation for their capstone research course. Participants also completed a brief data analysis skills assessment and the Major Field Test for Psychology. Results: Controlling for prerequisite grades and ACT composites, participants who completed quantitative psychology compared to upper-level statistics had significantly better academic outcomes, on average (standardized mean difference = 0.37). Conclusions: Psychology students completing an upper-level data analysis course within versus outside the department demonstrated better learning outcomes in psychology. Teaching Implications: Psychology programs that outsource data analysis courses should consider whether teaching these skills in-house holds potential to improve student outcomes. Alternatively, statistics departments might consider developing psychology-themed courses taught by faculty with expertise in psychological science.

scholarly journals Low-Stakes Quizzes Improve Learning and Reduce Overconfidence in College Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin L Kenney ◽  
Heather Bailey
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Psychology Course ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Retrieval practice is a straightforward and effective way to improve student learning, and its efficacy has been demonstrated repeatedly in the laboratory and in the classroom. In the current study, we implemented retrieval practice in the form of daily reviews in the classroom. Students (N = 47) in a cognitive psychology course completed a daily review at the beginning of each class. These consisted of 2-4 questions that encouraged students to practice retrieving material covered in lectures from the previous week. Then at the end of the semester, students took a comprehensive final exam consisting of content that was either on a daily review, a unit exam, both or neither. We replicated previous work such that retrieval practice improved memory. Specifically, we found that students performed significantly better on questions whose information had been covered on both a daily review and unit exam. However, student performance did not differ amongst items covered only on a daily review, a unit exam, or on neither. Additionally, we extended previous work and found that students were significantly less overconfident for information covered on both a daily review and unit exam. The current results indicate that retrieval practice helps college students remember material over the course of a semester and also improves their ability to evaluate their own knowledge of the material.

Improving students’ summative knowledge of introductory chemistry through the forward testing effect: examining the role of retrieval practice quizzing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaylee Todd ◽  
David J. Therriault ◽  
Alexander Angerhofer
Keyword(s):  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Testing Effect ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Introductory Chemistry ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
High Achieving Students ◽  
Exam Scores

Building domain knowledge is essential to a student's success in any course. Chemistry, similar to other STEM disciplines, has a strong cumulative element (i.e., topic areas continuously build upon prior coursework). We employed the testing effect, in the form of post-exam retrieval quizzes, as a way to improve students’ understanding of chemistry over an entire semester. Students (n = 146) enrolled in Introduction to Chemistry were presented with retrieval quizzes released one week after each during-term exam (that covered that exam's content). We measured students’ level of quiz participation, during-term exam scores (a control variable), and cumulative final exam scores to determine the effectiveness of implementing a post-exam retrieval quiz system. Most critically, students completing more than 50% of the retrieval quizzes performed significantly better (i.e., more than a half letter grade) on the cumulative final exam than those who were below 50% participation as determined by one-way between-subjects ANOVA and planned follow-up analyses. We found no significant differences between the participating groups on during-term exam scores, suggesting that high achieving students were not more likely than struggling students to participate in the practice testing (and thus benefit from it).

Retrieval Practice and Distributed Practice: The Case of French Canadian Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Gagnon ◽  
Stéphanie Cormier
Keyword(s):  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Distributed Learning ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Term Retention ◽  
Self Testing ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Long Term Retention ◽  
Over Time

Much evidence suggests that long-term retention can be maximized by practicing the recall of information and spreading out one’s learning over time. Nevertheless, previous surveys have shown that undergraduates often ignore the benefits of such strategies and engage in less efficient techniques such as repetitive reading and massed studying. To date, however, this research has focused exclusively on Americans and has paid little attention to potential gender differences. The present study addressed such limits by using a web-based survey of the rereading, self-testing, and distributed learning habits of 1,371 French-speaking Canadian undergraduates. Overall, the results are consistent with American data, suggesting that their original observations extend beyond American campuses. Furthermore, chi-square tests followed by standardized residual analyses suggest that females are more likely to engage in distributed learning than their male counterparts. On the contrary, there was little evidence of such an advantage in the context of self-testing.

Intercessory Prayer in Psychological Well-Being: Using a Multiple-Baseline, Across-Subjects Design

2002 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Tloczynski ◽  
Sonja Fritzsch
Keyword(s):  
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Baseline Period ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Sequential Presentation ◽  
Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Psychology Course ◽  
Manifest Anxiety

Undergraduates from an upper-level psychology course were volunteer participants in the study. The 8 participants were to be prayed for in a Multiple Baseline Across Subjects research design, which included a 1-week minimum baseline period for all subjects followed by the sequential presentation of the independent variable so that every two weeks, two additional subjects were being prayed for until all but 2 participants, who maintained baseline, were exposed to being prayed for at 7 weeks. All participants were prayed for by one of the experimenters using a nondirective method of prayer where no specific requests were made. All subjects completed the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale on a daily basis for 5 weeks and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 on a weekly basis for 7 weeks. Analysis of data identified significant reductions in anxiety scores on both the tests for subjects who were prayed for but not for those who were not prayed for Subjects' lower mean anxiety scores somewhat matched the sequential timing of being prayed for.

A Multisite Study of Learning in Introductory Psychology Courses

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 170-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regan A. R. Gurung ◽  
David B. Daniel ◽  
R. Eric Landrum
Keyword(s):  
Introductory Psychology ◽  
Study Time ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Surface Approach ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Approach To Learning ◽  
Study Behaviors ◽  
Metacognitive Activity ◽  
Placement Exam

Four hundred and fifty-four students enrolled in introductory psychology at different institutions across the nation participated in a study of factors related to learning. Key measures included an instructor rating, ratings of textbook quality and helpfulness, study time, student self-evaluations of study behaviors, approach to learning, self-report of learning, and a measure of quiz performance using biopsychology and learning chapter questions from a College Board Advanced Placement exam. The authors found significant predictors of both self-reported learning (deep approach, less surface approach, instructor ratings, student self-evaluations, and study behaviors) and quiz performance (grade point average, study time, metacognitive activity, and less use of a surface approach to learning). These results are discussed in the context of optimizing student learning and providing a foundation for future research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document