Exploiting multisensory encoding of names via name tags facilitates remembering

Associating names to faces can be challenging, but it is an important task that we engage in throughout our lives. An interesting feature of this task is the lack of an inherent, semantic relationship between a face and name. Previous scientific research, as well as common lay theories, offer strategies that can aid in this task (e.g., mnemonics, semantic associations). However, these strategies are either impractical (e.g., spaced repetition) or cumbersome (e.g., mnemonics). The current study seeks to understand whether bolstering names with cross-modal cues—specifically, name tags—may aid memory for face and name pairings. In a series of five experiments, we investigated whether the presentation of congruent auditory (vocal) and written names at encoding might benefit subsequent cued recall and recognition memory tasks. The first experiment consisted of short video clips of individuals verbally introducing themselves (auditory cue), presented with or without a name tag (visual cue). The results showed that participants, cued with a picture of a face, were more likely to recall the associated name when those names were encoded with a name tag (i.e. a congruent visual cue) compared to when no supporting cross-modal cue was available. Subsequent experiments probed the underlying mechanism for this facilitation of memory. The findings were consistent with a benefit of multisensory encoding, above and beyond any effect from the availability of multiple independent unisensory traces. Overall, these results extend previous findings of a benefit of multisensory encoding in learning and memory, to a naturalistic associative memory task.

Engagement and learning in an electronic spaced repetition curriculum companion for a paediatrics academic half-day curriculum

Postgraduate residencies utilize academic half-days to supplement clinical learning. Spaced repetition reinforces taught content to improve retention. We leveraged spaced repetition in a curriculum companion for a paediatric residency program’s half-day. One half-day lecture was chosen weekly for reinforcement (day 0). Participants received 3 key points on day 1 and a multiple-choice question (MCQ) on day 8. On day 29, they received two MCQs to test reinforced and unreinforced content from the same day 0. Thirty-one (79%) residents participated over 17 weeks, but only 14 (36%) completed more than half of the weekly quizzes. Of all quizzes, 37.4% were completed, with an average weekly engagement of 5.5 minutes. Helpfulness to learning was rated as 7.89/10 on a Likert-like scale. Reported barriers were missing related half-days and emails, or limited time. There was no significant difference in performance between reinforced (63.4%, [53.6–73.3]) and unreinforced (65.6%, [53.7–73.2]) questions. Spaced repetition is a proven strategy in learning science, but was not shown to improve performance. Operational barriers likely limited participation and underpowered our analysis, therefore future implementation must consider practical and individual barriers to facilitate success. Our results also illustrate that satisfaction alone is an inadequate marker of success.

A Spaced-Repetition Approach to Enhance Medical Student Learning and Engagement in Pharmacology

Background: Pharmacology is a cornerstone of medical education as it underlies safe prescribing practices. However, medical students have reported unease regarding their perceived proficiency in clinical pharmacology. Despite the significant impetus to improve student outcomes, there is little analysis available of the techniques used by medical students to learn, retain and apply pharmacology knowledge.Methods: A mixed methods, student-focused approach was conducted to design and refine specific resources developed to address gaps in pharmacology education. This methodology comprised an anonymised scoping survey, followed by structured focus group interviews. We developed a relevant and time efficient resource to support long-term revision for academic and clinical success. These resources were released to a cohort of 100 graduate preclinical medical students who were invited at the end of year to evaluate the intervention via a subsequent anonymous survey.Results: The scoping survey received 103 complete responses. Surveys and focus group interviews revealed that only 50% of students engage in ongoing revision. The analysis identified in-semester revision of pharmacology as a significant predictor of strategic and deep learning methods and improved quiz performance (a 5% higher score on average), compared to superficial learning methods. Amongst our cohort, we identified that the evidence-based technique of spaced-repetition was particularly well regarded. Hence, we developed and evaluated a bespoke resource utilising AnkiTM, an open-source, spaced-repetition flashcard program. A total of 1208 flashcards spanning 156 distinct classes of drugs with supplementary summary tables, diagrams and explanatory video and summary guides were created. Designed as a strategic revision tool to reinforce learning, evaluation showed students greatly appreciated the “comprehensive” and “well formatted” AnkiTM resource that supported existing teaching modalities, with a global rating of 3.8 out of 5. Conclusions: Strategic and personalised techniques for pharmacology learning that assist with in-semester revision and long-term retention are highly valued amongst students for examination preparation and preparedness for practice. Collectively, these results define a novel approach to identifying and addressing weaknesses in existing teaching methodologies in a manner that is inclusive of, and acceptable to, medical students.