Teachers can help students learn more effectively in two ways. One is to incorporate learning strategies in their courses. For example, teachers might use frequent, low-stakes practice quizzes to help students understand and retain course concepts (Karpicke & Blunt, 2011). Alternatively, teachers could teach students to use effective learning strategies in their course. Instead of (or in addition to) using practice quizzes, teachers might teach students to self-test when they study. The resources in this section are downloadable guidelines, tip sheets, checklists and research summaries to support teachers who want to embed learning strategies in their courses and/or teach their students to use learning strategies effectively in their courses.
Learning Strategies. A learning strategy is a mental activity people use to acquire and use new information. The term applies broadly to almost any technique intended to aid one’s learning such as:
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- Memorizing new information through repetition
- Highlighting text while reading
- Drawing a diagram of a complex process
- Using flashcards to learn and remember new concepts
- Creating a schedule to study on specific days and times
- Rereading material
- Elaborating and explaining material to yourself as you read
- Working with a study partner to quiz each other
Research indicates that most college students are not taught how to learn or study, and use a variety of techniques, some of which are ineffective (Geller, Toftness, Armstrong, Carpenter, Manz, Coffman, & Lamm, 2018).
More effective versus less effective learning strategies. Some strategies tend to be more effective than others. For example, self-testing is a particularly potent learning strategy. It involves testing oneself by trying to recall previously studied material. Rereading, which is popular among college students, is a relatively weak strategy. Rereading material one time does produce a bump in learning, but additional rereading does not improve learning. In contrast, self-testing which involves testing oneself on course material produces more robust, durable knowledge than rereading. Students may use self-testing to check whether they know the material but not as a learning strategy (Karpicke & Blunt, 2011).
Learning requires cognitive processes that involve considerable mental effort. Students often perceive these as harder, slower, and not as effective as more superficial processing. Table 1 identifies general characteristics that differentiate less and more effective learning strategies.
Table 1: Characteristics of Less and More Effective Strategies
| Less effective strategies | More effective strategies |
| Goal is to remember new information | Goal is to make sense of new information |
| Superficial processing involving repetition or re-exposure to the information | Generative processing involving selecting, organizing and integrating new information |
| Emphasis on verbatim memorization | Emphasis on building knowledge |
| Require less difficult/complex mental effort | Require more difficult/complex mental effort |
In addition, even strategies deemed effective, may be more or less effective depending upon how they are used. Flashcards are a good example. Learning with flashcards involves retrieval practice – recalling previously learned material from memory – which is a very potent learning strategy. Research shows that students undermine the strategy in several ways. See Table 2.
Table 2: Least and Most Effective Ways to Use Flashcards
Another important consideration is that weak strategies can be enhanced to make them more effective. See Table 3.
Table 3: Ways to Improve Weak Learning Strategies (Based on Miyatsu, Nguyen & McDaniel, 2018)
The table below provides guidelines and background information for both instructors and students. The student tip sheets and guidelines are intended to be templates. You can use or modify these as handouts or incorporate them in your course to best suit your students.
Guidelines for learning more effectively from . . .
Using Successive Relearning to Promote Robust, Durable Learning
Notetaking
Student version
Reading
Student version
Lectures
Instructor version
Student version
Discussions
Instructor version
Student version
Study Groups
Student version
Review Sessions
Instructor version
Learn More in Less Time by NOT Multitasking
References
Geller, J., Toftness, A. R., Armstrong, P. I., Carpenter, S. K., Manz, C. L., Coffman, C. R., & Lamm, M. H. (2018). Study strategies and beliefs about learning as a function of academic achievement and achievement goals, Memory, 26(5), 683-690, DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2017.1397175
Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping. Science, 331, 772–775. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science .1199327
Miyatsu, T., Nguyen, K., & McDaniel, M. A. (2018). Five popular study strategies: Their pitfalls and optimal implementations. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13, 390–407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691617710510