Re-reading and Highlighting
Re-reading and Highlighting
Jonathan Firth's Memory & Metacognition Updates #17
Hello, and welcome to another edition of my Memory and Metacognition updates! If you have just joined, it's great to have you on board.
Over the last couple of issues I have been discussing the list of learning techniques described by Dunlosky et al (2013) and Dunlosky & Rawson (2015).
As you might recall, re-reading is considered a 'low utility' technique according to the Dunlosky list. And it is generally agreed that:
Re-reading tends to be a fairly passive approach to studying;
It has minimal impact on text comprehension;
It is less effective for memory/retention than other strategies such as retrieval practice;
It nevertheless boosts learners' confidence, thus giving them a metacognitive belief that they have learned.
The main reasons for this are that re-reading does not prompt learners to slow down and use material. It is relatively easy, and gives a false sense of fluency and mastery.
Recommended research
A useful study by Karpicke, Butler and Roediger (2009) explains these issues in more depth - I recommend it. It's short, and very accessible.
To summarise, the researchers surveyed 177 undergraduates. Participants were asked a free-report question about their preferred study methods, and then given a scenario where they had to choose how to study a textbook chapter. Re-reading was by far the most popular strategy, with 83.6% reporting using it.
Another popular technique that Dunlosky et al rated as low utility is highlighting. Interestingly, this was much less commonly listed in the Karpicke et al study, with only 6.2% saying that they used it. However, it is worth bearing in mind that these were undergraduates. It could be widely used at school level.
Both techniques share a similar problem. The researchers noted that:
"When students rely purely on their subjective experience while they study (e.g., their fluency of processing during rereading) they may fall prey to illusions of competence and believe they know the material better than they actually do."
In other words, learners may think that reading is more effective than it actually is, because it feels easier. They feel that they are making fast progress.
This is the flipside of desirable difficulties. Learners may choose things that are undesirable and easy. They don't appreciate the limitations of these techniques, and prefer the feeling fluency (e.g. reading a page quickly or highlighting a whole paragraph) to more effortful options such as self-testing.
Overall, these two techniques (re-reading and highlighting) are a major feature of study habits despite being low utility. Fortunately, there are some ways that we can make them more effective. That is to say, it's not just the technique itself, but how we use it.
I will talk about this more in the next issue!
That's it for now. By the time you get this, I'll be on a long weekend by beautiful Loch Long here in Scotland. I don't get a full week off in October đ but a break is always good! I hope you also get a bit of time to relax soon.
Jonathan
Last week:Â Explanatory questioning.
Website:Â www.jonathanfirth.co.uk
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