MASSED Vs SPACED LEARNING

MASSED Vs SPACED LEARNING

INTRODUCTION:

Most of us would like to have a better memory. The ability to remember things accurately and effortlessly would make us more efficient in our daily lives, and it would make us more successful in our work. The most obvious requirement for learning something new is practice. One basic question which applies to most learning situations is whether it is better to do the learning in one large "cramming" session. These two approaches are known as "massed" and "spaced" learning, respectively, and they are illustrated in Figure 1.1,

Figure 1.1 Massed and Spaced learning sessions

It has generally been found that spaced learning is more efficient than massed learning. This was first demonstrated more than a century ago by Ebbinghaus (1885), who found that spaced learning sessions produced higher retrieval scores than massed learning sessions, when the total time spent learning was kept constant for both learning conditions. Ebbinghaus used lists of nonsense syllables as his test material, but the general superiority of spaced over massed learning has been confirmed by many subsequent studies using various different types of test material, such as learning lists of words (Dempster, 1987), sentences (Rothkopf & Coke, 1963) and text passages (Reder & Anderson, 1982). Spaced learning has also generally proved to be better than massed learning when learning motor skills, such as learning pursuit rotor skills (Bourne & Archer, 1956) and learning keyboard skills (Baddeley & Longman, 1978).

Most early studies of spaced learning involved the use of uniformly spaced learning sessions. However, Landauer and Bjork (1978) found that learning is often more efficient if the time interval between retrieval sessions is steadily increased for successive sessions. This strategy is known as "expanding retrieval practice".

Although spaced learning has been consistently found to be superior to massed learning over the long term, it has been found that during a learning session (and for a short time afterwards) massed learning can actually produce better retrieval than spaced learning, and the advantage of spaced learning only really becomes apparent with longer retrieval intervals (Glenberg & Lehman, 1980).

Although it has been demonstrated that spaced learning sessions are usually more effective than massed learning sessions, in real-life settings this advantage may sometimes be compromised by practical considerations. A further problem is that spaced learning obviously requires more time overall (i.e. total time including rest breaks) than massed learning, and therefore may not represent the most efficient use of that time unless the rest breaks can be used for something worthwhile. Because spaced learning can create practical problems of this kind, there is no clear agreement about its value in a real-life learning setting such as a school classroom. Dempster (1988) suggests that teachers should make use of the spaced learning principle, whereas spaced learning is not really practicable in a classroom setting, since the periodic interruption of learning session can be inconvenient and can make learning less pleasant. On balance it can be argued that spaced learning is probably the best option for most simple learning tasks so long as we fit the sessions around our other activities, but it may not be practicable in some settings such as the school classroom.

References:

Esgate, A. (2004). An Introduction to Applied Cognitive Psychology, Psychology Press: Taylor & Francis Group, UK. 10-12.

Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Dover.

Dempster, F. N. (1987). Effects of variable encoding and spaced presentation on vocabulary learning . Journal of Educational Psychology 79: 162-170.

Rothkopf, E. Z., & Coke, E. U. (1963). Repetition interval and rehearsal method in learning equivalences from written sentences. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 2, 406-416.

Reder, L. M., & Anderson, J. R. (1982). Effects of spacing and embellishment on memory for the main points of a text. Memory & Cognition, 10, 97-102.

Landauer, T. K., & Bjork, R. A. (1978). Optimum rehearsal patterns and name learning. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, & R. N. Sykes, (Eds.), Practical Aspects of Memory (pp. 625-632). London: Academic Press.

Glenberg, A. M., & Lehmann, T. S. (1980). Spacing repetitions over 1 week. Memory & Cognition, 8, 528-538.

Dempster, F. N. (1988). The spacing effect: A case study in the failure to apply the results of psychological research. American Psychologist, 43, 627-634.

Bourne, L.E., Jr., & Archer, E.J. (1956). Time continuously on target as a function of distribution of practice. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 51, 25-33.

Baddeley, A. D., & Longman, D. J. A. (1978). The influence of length and frequency of training session on the rate of learning to type. Ergonomics, 21, 627-635.

Constructivist vs. Social Constructivist Approaches to Teaching

Constructivist vs. Social Constructivist Approaches to Teaching

Constructivism emphasizes how individuals actively construct knowledge and understanding.

Social constructivist approaches emphasize the social contexts of learning, and that knowledge is mutually built and constructed.

-----Situated Cognition----

…refers to the idea that thinking is “situated” in social and physical contexts, not within an individual’s mind.

Teachers and Peers as Joint Contributors to Students’ Learning

Cognitive  Apprenticeship: An expert stretches and  supports the  novice’s  understanding  and use of  cultural skills.

Scaffolding:   Changing the  level of  support over  the course  of a teaching  session.

Tutoring:  Includes peers, classroom aides, volunteers, and mentors.

Cooperative Learning: Students work  in small groups to help each other.

Inquiry & Problem-Based Learning

       Teacher presents a puzzling event

       Students formulate hypotheses

       Collect data

       Draw conclusions

       Reflect on original problem

       Reflect on the thinking process

Tutoring

•          Individual tutoring

–         Reading Recovery

•          Teacher Aides, Volunteers, Mentors

•          Peer Tutors

–         Cross-age peer tutoring

–         Same-age peer tutoring

Teaching Strategies for Volunteer and Peer Tutoring

•          Have a specialist serve as a supervisor

•          Provide tutors with training and support

•          Provide structured and concentrated tutoring sessions

•          Reward and honour volunteers

•          Use cross-age tutoring

•          Have students participate as tutor and learner

•          Communicate with parents about tutoring sessions

Cooperative Learning

•          Occurs when students work in small groups to help each other to learn.

•          Necessary components:

1.     Positive interdependence

2.     Positive face-to-face interaction

3.     Interpersonal and small group skills

4.     Individual accountability

5.     Critical reflection

Structuring Cooperative Group Work

•          Grouping variables

–         Heterogeneous ability

•          Lower ability students benefit from working with higher ability students

•          Medium-ability students may not get the best results here

–         Heterogeneous ethnic, SES, and gender

•          Recommended to improve interpersonal relationships

•          Equal numbers of males and females, multiple representatives from different ethnic and SES groups

Cooperative Learning Approaches

STAD (Student-Teams-Achievement Divisions)

–         Team members work together, but have individual assessment

–         Individual’s improvement score contributes to team score

The Jigsaw Classroom

–         Teach one thing to each of (6) groups

–         Break groups up & reform into 6 new groups, so that each of the new groups has 1 representative from every original group

–         Each member of the new group is responsible for teaching the rest of their members the one part in which they have expertise

Teaching Strategies for Developing Students’ Team-Building Skills

•          Teach interpersonal and communication skills

•          Provide instruction gradually

•          Help students become better listeners

•          Provide students with opportunity to contribute to a common product

•          Explore the potential value of a team leader

Problem-Based Learning

n  Learning that is situated around an event, case, problem, or scenario.

Five Strategies for Using PBL

1.     The Problem as a Guide: the problem is presented in order to gain attention prior to presenting the lesson.

2.     The Problem as an Integrator or Test: the problem is presented after readings are completed and/or discussed -- these are used to check for understanding.

3.     The Problem as an Example: the problem is integrated into the material in order to illustrate a particular principle, concept or procedure.

4.     The Problem as a Vehicle for Process: the problem is used to promote critical thinking whereby the analysis of how to solve it becomes a lesson in itself.

5.     The Problem as a Stimulus for Authentic Activity: the problem is used to develop skills necessary to solve it and other problems -- skills can include physical skills, recall of prior knowledge, and metacognitive skills related to the problem solving process. A form of authentic assessment of the skills and activity necessary in the content domain.

Design PBL Instruction:

1. Task Analysis: analysis must take place not only within the content domain but should also determine the actual setting where the learning will be authentic.
2. Problem Generation: The problems must be constructed so they include the concepts and principles that are relevant and they must be set in a real context.

Learning Sequence:

3. Collaborative Analysis session where groups work together to solve the problem.
4. Self-directed Learning where the students identify the information and resources that are necessary to solve the problem.

n  The instructor in PBL only acts as a facilitator to learning, instead of a transmitter of the necessary information.

n  Assessment: assessment of learning must occur within the context of the problems and should be in the form of both self assessment and peer assessment.

Cognitive apprenticeships are situated within the social constructivist paradigm. They suggest students work in teams on projects or problems with close scaffolding of the instructor. Cognitive apprenticeships are representative of Vygotskian "zones of proximal development" in which student tasks are slightly more difficult than students can manage independently, requiring the aid of their peers and instructor to succeed. 

Scaffolding

•          Scaffolding refers to the role played by parents, teachers and others by which children acquire their knowledge and skills (Wood et al, 1976).

•          As a task becomes more familiar to the child and more within its competence, so those who provide the scaffold leave more and more for the child to do until it can perform the task successfully.

•          In this way, the developing thinker does not have to create cognition ‘from scratch’: there are others available who have already ‘served’ their apprenticeship.

Zone of Proximal Development

The theory of the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD) is a term coined by Vygotsky to refer to the:

            ‘level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers…..What children can do with the assistance of others might be in some sense even more indicative of their mental development than what they can do alone’ (Vygotsky, 1978).

•          "Proximal" simply means "next". He observed that when children were tested on tasks on their own, they rarely did as well as when they were working in collaboration with an adult. It was by no means always the case that the adult was teaching them how to perform the task, but that the process of engagement with the adult enabled them to refine their thinking or their performance to make it more effective. Hence, for him, the development of language and articulation of ideas was central to learning and development.  The common-sense idea which fits most closely with this model is that of "stretching" learners.

Problem-Solving

Problems solving- Definition

Early 1900s: Associationists explained problem-solving in terms of finding and strengthening stimulus-response

patterns which would deliver solutions (or not): reproductive solutions.

• 1940s: Gestalt psychologists studied productive problem-solving, believed solution involved identifying the appropriate problem structure for a problem.

• Neither approach had much place for cognitive activity.

• Changed by work of Herbert Simon in 1970s.

According to Mayer, problem solving is, "cognitive processing directed at transforming a given situation into a goal situation when no obvious method of solution is available to the problem solver. This definition suggests that there are three major aspects to problem solving:

It is purposeful (i.e., goal directed)

It involves cognitive rather than automatic processes.

A problem only exists when someone lacks the relevant knowledge to produce an immediate solution. Thus, a problem for most people (e.g., a mathematical calcula­tion) may not be so for someone with relevant expertise (e.g., a professional mathematician).

Problem solving refers to the thinking we do in order to answer a complex question or to figure out how to resolve an unfavorable situation.

Strategies for arriving at solutions include: Trial and error, algorithm, heuristic, and Insight.

Trial and error involves trying various possible solutions, and if that fails, trying others.

An algorithm is a step by step strategy for solving a problem, methodically leading to a specific solution.

A heuristic is a short-cut, step-saving thinking strategy or principle which generates a solution quickly (but possibly in error).

Insight refers to a sudden realization, a leap forward in thinking, that leads to a solution.

The most basic definition is “A problem is any given situation that differs from a desired goal”. This definition is very useful for discussing problem solving in terms of evolutionary adaptation, as it allows to understand every aspect of (human or animal) life as a problem. This includes issues like finding food in harsh winters, remembering where you left your provisions, making decisions about which way to go, learning, repeating and varying all kinds of complex movements, and so on.

Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue.

The Problem-Solving Cycle

The problem-solving cycle includes: problem identification, problem definition, strategy formulation, organization of information, allocation of resources, monitoring, and evaluation (shown in Figure 11.2).

Following is a description of each part of the problem-solving cycle.

1. Problem identification: Do we actually have a problem?

2. Problem definition and representation: What exactly is our problem?

3. Strategy formulation: How can we solve the problem? The strategy may involve analysis—breaking down the whole of a complex problem into manageable elements.

Instead, or perhaps in addition, it may involve the complementary process of synthesis—putting together various elements to arrange them into something useful.

Another pair of complementary strategies involves divergent and convergent thinking. In divergent thinking, you try to generate a diverse assortment of possible alternative solutions to a problem. Once you have considered a variety of possibilities, however, you must engage in convergent thinking to narrow down the multiple possibilities to converge on a single best answer.

4. Organization of information: How do the various pieces of information in the problem fit together?

5. Resource allocation: How much time, effort, money, etc., should I put into this problem?

6. Monitoring: Am I on track as I proceed to solve the problem?

7. Evaluation: Did I solve the problem correctly?

Problem-Solving Strategies

Problem-Solving Strategies

·         Algorithms: An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that will always produce a correct solution. A mathematical formula is a good example of a problem-solving algorithm. While an algorithm guarantees an accurate answer, it is not always the best approach to problem solving. This strategy is not practical for many situations because it can be so time-consuming. For example, if you were trying to figure out all of the possible number combinations to a lock using an algorithm, it would take a very long time.

·         Heuristics: A heuristic is a mental rule-of-thumb strategy that may or may not work in certain situations. Unlike algorithms, heuristics do not always guarantee a correct solution. However, using this problem-solving strategy does allow people to simplify complex problems and reduce the total number of possible solutions to a more manageable set.

·         Trial-and-Error: A trial-and-error approach to problem-solving involves trying a number of different solutions and ruling out those that do not work. This approach can be a good option if you have a very limited number of options available. If there are many different choices, you are better off narrowing down the possible options using another problem-solving technique before attempting trial-and-error.

·         Insight: In some cases, the solution to a problem can appear as a sudden insight. According to researchers, insight can occur because you realize that the problem is actually similar to something that you have dealt with in the past, but in most cases the underlying mental processes that lead to insight happen outside of awareness.

Present education system: Systems like Montessori, DPEP, SSA

Present education system:

Systems like Montessori, DPEP, SSA

‘THE SECRET OF CHILDHOOD’ AND THE ‘SENSITIVE PERIODS’

Maria Montessori

Principles of Montessori method

 The first principle is to train the pupil to be independent of others in respect of the ordinary practices of life. The ultimate reference is to the sense of touch, which is regarded as fundamental and primordial. The Montessori maintains that the sense of touch is fundamental. It undergoes great development during the early years of life. If neglected at this age, it loses its susceptibility to training.

The Psychological method

 Montessori “psychological method in education implies that the educative process is adapted to the stage of mental development of child, and to his interest. In the Montessori method, ‘It is necessary then to offer those exercises which correspond to the need of development felt by an organism, and if the child’s age has carried him past certain need, it is never possible to obtain, in its fullness, development which missed its proper moment. If a child fails to perform a task or to appreciate the truth of a principle, the teacher must not make him conscious of his error by repeating the lesson. She must assume that the task has been presented prematurely. Before again presenting the stimulus, she must await the manifestation of the symptoms, which indicate that the need exists. The duration of a process is determined not by the exigencies of an authorized timetable, but by the interval, which the child finds requisite to exhaust his interest.

No Prizes

 In the Montessori system there are no prizes. The pupil’s sense of mastery is his highest reward: “His own self-development is his true and almost his only pleasure.”

Perfect Freedom

 According to Montessori, “The method of observation (that is, the psychological method) is established one fundamental base – the liberty necessitates independence of action on the part of the child. “Whoever visits a well-kept school is struck by the discipline of the children”.

Adapted Environment

 Montessori advocates that the environment should likewise be so adapted. She gave the child an environment in which everything is constituted in proportion to himself and let him live therein.

Practices of Montessori method

The practices of the Montessori method fall into three classes:

1. The exercises of practical life;

2. The exercises in sensory training; and

3. The didactic exercises.

The Exercises in Practical Life

 Freedom, according to Montessori, does not consist in having other at one’s command to perform the ordinary services, but in being able to do these for oneself, in being independent of others. Thus in the House of Childhood the pupils learn how to wash their hands, using little wash-stands with small pitchers and basins, how to clean their nails, brush their teeth and so on. Exercises are also arranged to train the child in the movements necessary in dressing and undressing.

 Montessori devised certain formal gymnastic exercises to develop co-ordinated movements in the child. She disapproved of the child practicing the ordinary gymnastic exercises arranged for the adult. She maintained “We are wrong” if we consider little children from their physical point of view as little men.

Exercises in Sense Training

 “To make the process one of self-education”, Montessori explains in The Advanced Montessori Method,” Method, “it is not enough that the stimulus should call forth activity, it must also direct it. The child should not only persist for a long time in an exercise; he must persist without making mistakes. All the physical or intrinsic qualities of the objects should be determined, not only by the immediate reaction of attention they provoke in the child, but also by their possession of this fundamental characteristic, the control of error, that is to say, the power of evoking the effective collaboration of the

highest activities (comparison, judgment).”

 In sensory training the senses are isolated whenever that is possible. The pupils of the Montessori schools are blindfolded, a feature of the training which seems to add zest to their efforts. The auditory exercises are given in an environment not only of silence, but even of darkness.

Material Used in Sensory Training

• For perception of size : A series of wooden cylinders varying in height only, in diameter only or in both dimension at once, are employed, likewise blocks varying regularly in size, and rods of regularly, graded lengths.

• For perception of form : In it are used geometrical insets in metal, in wood or the shapes of the insets drawn on paper.

• For discrimination in weight : It was tablets of wood similar in size but different in weight.

• For touch : All highly polished surface and a sand-paper surface are used.

• For sense of temperature : Here are used small metal bowls with caps.

• For auditory acuity : Cylindrical sound boxes are used containing different substances.

• For the colour sense : A graded series of coloured woods is used.

• Tactual Activity : Similar methods are adopted in developing in the child’s tactual acuity, and in training him to discriminate differences in temperature and in weight. In these exercises the child is blindfolded or is enjoined to keep his eyes closed during the tests; he is encouraged to do so by being told that he will thus be able to feel the differences better.

Development in Elementary Education

The Parliament has passed the Constitution’s 86th Amendment Act, 2002 to make elementary education a Fundamental Right for children in the age- group of 6-14 years.

The progress of enrolment has increased from 192 (lakh) persons in 1950-51 to 1224 (lakh) persons in 2003-04 in the age group of 6-11 years. For the development of education at elementary level several provisions were laid down by the government.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

The Scheme of Sarva Shilksh Abhiyan (SSA) was launched in 2001. The goals of SSA are as follows: (i) All 6-14 age children in school/ Education Guarantee Scheme Center/bridge course by 2003. (ii) All 6-14 age children complete five year primary education by 2007 (iii) All 6-14 age children complete eight years of schooling by 2010 (iv) Focus on elementary education on satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life (v) Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010 and (vi) Universal retention by 2010. The programme covers the entire country with special focus on education needs of girls, SCs/ STs and other children in difficult circumstances. The programme seeks to open new schools in habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grant. The SSA has a special focus on girls and children of weaker sections.

District Primary Education Programme

 The Centrally sponsored Scheme of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994 as a major initiative to revitalize the primary education system and to achieve the objective of universalisation of primary education. DPEP adopts a holistic approach to universalize access, retention and improve learning achievement and to reduce disparities among social groups. Adopting an area-specific approach’ with district as the unit of planning, the key sensitivity to local conditions and ensuring full participation of the community. DPEP is based on the principle of ‘additionally’ and is structured to fill in the existing gaps. The programme components include construction of classrooms and new schools, opening of Non-formal/ Alternative Schooling Centers, appointment of new teachers, setting up early childhood education centers, strengthening of State Councils of Educational Training through District Institute of Education and Training(DIETs), setting up of Block Resource Centers/Cluster Resource Centres, teacher training, development of Teaching Learning Material, Research based interventions, special interventions for promoting education of disadvantaged groups, girls, SC/ST, etc. initiatives for providing integrated education to disabled children and distance education for teacher training have also been incorporated in the DPEP Scheme.

Education system in Kerala – History

• Gurukul System
• Pallikkoodams by Christian missionaries - irrespective of caste or religion
• School for girls was established by the Maharaja in 1859, which was an act unprecedented in the Indian subcontinent
• In the 1860’s, the government spread the educational programs into Malabar
• Kerala's achievements in the field of education - near total literacy, free and universal primary education.
• Low drop out rate at the school level, easy access to educational institutions, gender equality in access etc. –
• In these respects, Kerala is often compared not only with the other Indian states or developing

    countries but also with some of the developed countries.

Division of education system

• Kerala Primary Education  --   Kerala High School Education
• Kerala Secondary Education [+2]/Vocational Secondary Schools
• Kerala Higher Education  ----  Distance Education program in Kerala.

Boards of Education

• Many of the schools owned by private sector are aided by government.

ú  Kerala State Education Board

ú  Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)

ú  Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE)

ú  National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

     No fees(or a nominal fees) are required in schools run by or aided by government. Fees concerning the higher and technical education are very low; the ratio of recovery of government's revenue expenditure was 2.6% in 2009–2010

Major Govt. Interventions

• 1994 – DPEP (District Primary Education Programme)

ú  A major initiative to revitalize the primary education system and to achieve the objective of universalization of primary education.

ú  DPEP has so far opened more than 1,60,000 new schools

ú  Village Education was given more importance

ú  About 1,77,000 teachers, including para-teachers  have been appointed

• The most negative part of the DPEP –

ú  it gave the children's a lot of negatives

ú  It made d language and spoken abilities of our students worse

ú  they were made to collect match boxes n feathers, well they were aimed at giving practical

ú   experience for children - but what did it actually gave them?  something is still a question mark…

• 2001 -SSA – (SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN)

ú  Centrally sponsored scheme at the end of the Ninth Five Year Plan to improve the educational status.

ú  Education for girls, scheduled caste and tribal children

ú  Education of sc/st children

ú  Free textbooks to all girls/SC/ST children up to Class-VIII.

ú  At least 50 % of the teachers to be appointed have to be women.

ú  Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).

• 2007 - Higher Secondary centralized Allotment Process (hsCap)

ú  Popularly known as Single Window Admission

ú   The software is developed by taking care of all the existing rules of rank generation and Communal reservations by the DHSE (Directorate of Higher Secondary Education)

ú  hsCap provided by NIC has eliminated the requirement for a student to apply in multiple Schools where the student is seeking the admission and also eliminated the task of virtually appearing for interview in multiple schools

Other Govt. Schemes

• Kalakshethra

ú   Kalaksethra is a district training centre where special training/ coaching will be given to artistically talented but financially backward students.

• Merit Cum Means Scholarship

ú  Comprehensive scholarship scheme of the Higher Secondary level for the meritorious students belonging to BPL families.

• Remedial Coaching

ú  Remedial coaching is  implemented to give special coaching to weak students in selected Government Higher Secondary Schools having pass percentage below 50.

•  National Service Scheme

ú  NSS provides platform for leadership practice life-skill acquisition etc and help the volunteers learn how to live among others

• Adolescent Counseling and Health Care Programme

§  These was some of the very useful schemes introduced by the government.

2008 - Choice Based Credit System

• The Four Pillars of the UG reforms

ú  -Semesterisation   ---- - Choice-based credit system - “Courses” to “programmes”

ú  - Continuous assessment  --- - Grading