Keywords:
Spaced Learning, Course Redesign, Order of Topics
Presented by:
Todd Retzlaff, Penn State University Lehigh Valley
Key Statement:
Students often confuse similar concepts. Separating related, but often conflated material, can aid student learning.
Abstract:
As experts in our disciplines, we often see concepts as related and therefore belonging together. We have the experience to see both the connections and the differences. But, when students are first learning, too close of similarity can cause confusion. Spacing out related but conflated topics can prove beneficial. Students have time to digest one concept before being confronted with its confusing relative. This idea was shown to be effective for several topics in a typical Multivariable Calculus course.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Recognize that just because topics are related and may seem logically connected, that does not necessarily mean they belong together when they are being learned.
2. Identify areas in their courses where students easily get confused between similar concepts.
3. Assess whether rearrangement would be beneficial. After all, sometimes similarity can be beneficial to learning. Other times, it can be confounding.
Hear it from the author:
TRANSCRIPT:
Have you ever asked a student a question about one topic and they respond in a way that makes it clear they are thinking of a related but different concept? This happens a lot in math classes, but I am sure in other disciplines as well.
One of the problems may be that we tend to group topics we feel are connected and therefore should be taught together. However, students may find them too connected, unable to distinguish subtleties and compartmentalize details. The topics interfere with each other and muddy the waters of their learning.
Separating confounding topics gives time for students to better understand one concept before having to deal with an interfering, related one. We applied this for three sets of troublesome subjects in a Multivariable Calculus course: Planes vs Lines, the four methods of calculating work, and how to set up a double integral over various regions.
Simply spacing out the instruction of these we were able to virtually eliminate students giving a representation of plane when asked for a line, and the average score for the exam covering both work and double integrals increased by almost seven percentage points.
Such a simple step of rearranging the order in which we teach topics can have a profound impact.
References
Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Harvard University Press.
Harden, R. M. (1999). What is a spiral curriculum? Medical Teacher, 21(2), 141–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421599979752
Hopkins, R.F., Lyle, K.B., Hieb, J.L. et al. (2016). Spaced Retrieval Practice Increases College Students’ Short- and Long-Term Retention of Mathematics Knowledge. Educ Psychol Rev, 28, 853–873. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9349-8
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