Metacognitive illusions a and desirable difficulties Flashcards
Define the term metacognition
The subjective assessment of how learning works
Define the term metacognitive illusions
A misalignment between the subjective assessment of how learning works compared to how it really works
What is fluency?
How easily information can be learned
Identify the difference between active and passive learning
Active learning involves student participation in problem solving, while passive learning requires students to simply absorb information
Identify the difference between spaced and massed learning
Spaced learning requires regular learning intervals over a period of time while massed learning is the continuous learning of information in one go.
Identify the difference between blocking and interleaving.
Blocked learning is the practice of one skill before the next while interleaving involves practicing several skills together.
What are fluency heuristics?
A mental shortcut proposing that easy learning leads to good memory.
What is the reality of learning in relation to the fluency heuristic?
Difficult learning leads to enduring learning and longer memory of information.
Why can it be difficult to assess the effects of teaching methods on learning
Other factors prevent a causal relationship from being made
What were carpenter et al’s aims
To examine the role of lecture fluency on metacognitive awareness
What were carpenter et al’s experimental conditions in the first experiment?
1 - Disfluent and engaging lecture
2 - Fluent and engaging lecture
What were carpenter et al’s participants initially asked following the lecture video?
1 - In 10 minutes how well do you think you will be able to recall information
2 - How organised was speaker?
3 - How well prepared was speaker?
4 - How knowledgeable was speaker?
What were the self assessment questions in Carpenter et al?
1 - How well do you feel you have learned?
2 - Rate your overall level of interest
3 - Rate your motivation to learn the new information
What were Carpenters’ main findings in experiment 1?
Participants in the fluent condition had higher judgments of expected learning performance
compared to their actual performance in comparison to those in the fluent condition.
How did fluent and disfluent ratings vary in carpenter et al?
Fluent lecturers were more organised, knowledgeable, prepared and effective compared to disfluent ratings.
What were carpenter et al’s main findings in experiment 2?
There was a positive correlation between time spent reading lecture transcripts and later memory accuracy for those reading the disfluent script.
What were Yunker and Yunker’s research aims?
To assess whether teaching evaluations affected learners performance
What did Yunker and Yunker find?
There was a negative correlation between high teaching evaluations and performance in the intermediate/introductory course.
What were Deslauriers et al’s research aims?
To assess whether active vs passive learning styles affect the learning outcome.
What were Deslauriers et al’s findings?
Active learning led to better learning, as well as higher enjoyments and effectiveness ratings.
What were Higham et al’s research aims?
To assess whether lecture activities influence learning
What were the conditions of Higham et al?
1 - Control group
2 - annotations
3 - Regular note taking
4 - Key points
4 - Verbatim notes
What did Higham et al find in the immediate test?
Students taking key points and students taking verbatim notes scored the highest.
What did Higham et al find in the delayed test?
Verbatim scores dropped significantly, with regular notes and key points group scoring the highest.
What were Emeny et al’s research aims?
To asses whether massed learning or spaced learning is more effective.
What did Emeny’s spaced condition involve?
4 problems given 3 times, each with one week in-between
What did Emeny’s massed condition involve?
12 problems given all at once
What were emeny et al’s main findings?
Spaced learners performed better in memory test, despite significantly high massed learners predictions.
What were Kornell and Bjork’s research aims?
To assess whether massed or interleaved learning was more effective.
What were Kornell and Bjork’s main findings?
Interleaved learning performed better and more consistently, despite a clear metacognitive illusion for blocked learning.
What were Yan et al’s research aims?
To assess the effectiveness of debiasing metacognitive illusions.
What were Yan et al’s main findings?
Participants had strong intuitive theories, particularly surrounding interleaved vs blocked learning.
What can correct faulty metacognition?
Learner experience with beneficial learning strategies.
