The Latest on Study Habits

by Lynn K. McMullin

Two recent research pieces, one in the New York Times and one in msnbc.com on-line, bear a little consideration and might prompt comments from those of us who can share our own practical experiences, either as students ourselves or as parents raising contemporary students.


The first is the NY Times article, "Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits" by Benedict Carey, published September 6, 2010, just in time for the start of school.  Carey claims that recent research turns our old-fashioned, common knowledge about studying on its head.  For example, how many of us believe that our students perform better when they have one established place in their homes or rooms for quiet study.  In my mind, the ideal spot should have a desk, a light, and a dictionary.  OK, I admit that's very old fashioned, so replace the dictionary with a laptop!


Carey says research, however, proves we're wrong, and "simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention... In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room." 

For years, as a teacher, I told my students and their parents that they shouldn't study in the car on the way to karate lessons.. and that they should study one subject at a time, the hardest one first.  Yet, Carey claims research proves kids should change-up what they do as they study, moving from memorizing vocabulary, to reading and taking notes, to writing an essay or reciting aloud.  This studying technique, which Carey calls "mixed practice," enables retention for a longer period of time.  He explains that when a student does the same repetitive process over and over, the brain anticipates the correct response pattern, rather than internalize the content.  Variety, therefore, causes less automation and lasting knowledge.


What about cramming?  We've all done it with positive results!  Carey makes this analogy: "Hurriedly jam-packing a brain is akin to speed-packing a cheap suitcase... it holds its new load for awhile, then most everything falls out."  This is a old piece of common sense that seems to hold true -- study a little today, tomorrow, and then again next week for greater retention.


So, would you have gotten these three factors of success correct?  1.  Changing study locations?  2. Switching the kinds of content being studied? and 3. Spacing the study sessions over time?  The fourth key factor of success, of course, is motivation!


So, what does research say about studying success and Facebook, texting, emailing, or tweeting?  Suzanne Choney, in an article titled, "Facebook Use Can Lower Grades by 20 Percent, Study Says" (msnbc, September 7, 2010) writes that, "...college students who are on Facebook while studying or doing homework wind up getting 20 percent lower grades than students who don't have the social networking site in visual range, or even running in the background on their computers or mobile phones." 

The study was done by two researchers, one in the Netherlands and one from Ohio State University.  The purpose of the study was not to label Facebook as either good or bad, but rather it looked at whether there was any truth behind the belief, common among social networkers, that they are good at multi-tasking.  The study concludes, "the reality is it [social networking] extends the amount of time needed to carry out tasks and leads to more mistakes." 

So, what are your thoughts?