Novice teachers’ knowledge of effective study strategies

Tim Surma*, Gina Camp, Renate de Groot, Paul A. Kirschner

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperAcademic

    Abstract

    Students could greatly benefit from using effective study strategies such as distributing their learning episodes over time (i.e., distributed practice) and trying to retrieve information from their long-term memory (i.e., retrieval practice). In the present study, we explored whether novice teachers are aware of these effective strategies because teachers are possibly the most important source of study strategy instruction and advice for their students. In this wide-ranging survey the recommendations and judgments of the effectivity of study strategies of more than 300 novice teachers were investigated. Participants first answered openended questions, followed by forced-choice items regarding seven study scenarios. Finally, they rated a list of 26 frequently used study strategies with respect to effectiveness. The results present mixed evidence for the endorsement of strategies acknowledged as effective in supporting students’ study success. Several effective strategies were endorsed and frequently recommended in comparison to less effective ones (e.g., self-testing vs rereading, spacing vs massing study sessions, dual coding vs single coding), but some (e.g., blocking practice vs interleaving practice, mind-mapping vs self-testing) were erroneously considered to be more effective. Moreover, teachers do not spontaneously recommend the most effective study strategies. Possible implications and challenges for teacher education programmes and teacher professional development programmes are discussed.
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2019
    Event18th Biennial EARLI Conference - RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
    Duration: 12 Aug 201916 Aug 2019
    Conference number: 18

    Conference

    Conference18th Biennial EARLI Conference
    Abbreviated titleEARLI 2019
    Country/TerritoryGermany
    CityAachen
    Period12/08/1916/08/19

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