Definitions:
1. mediator - a word, phrase, idea, or concept.
2. disparate - significantly different.
Summary:
What's better: studying by just repeatedly reading a word to memorize it and its definition, or covering up the word and quizzing yourself? The truth is, quizzing yourself improves memory, as is shown in the article. A pair of researchers at Kent State University in Ohio conducted an experiment on this subject. The researchers asked 118 college students to study 48 pairs of Swahili and English words. Half of them studied the words side by side and tried to memorize the definitions, and half were quizzed by being shown one word and asked to say the word in the other language. In both groups, researchers asked what mediator the students used to link the words to their definitions. For example, wingu means "cloud" in Swahili. The student could remember the definition of wingu because of the word "wing," as in a wing of a bird flying in the clouds. When the students were tested one week later, students who had been quizzed remembered their mediators 51 percent of the time. However, students in the unquizzed group remembered their mediators only 34 percent of the time.
Discussion:
This article's title interested me. As a student, I look for better studying techniques and this articles title caught my eye. I was interested in the fact that students use mediators to remember words; I do the exact same thing when I study for Spanish tests. I found it interesting that there is almost a twenty percent increase of memorization just by being quizzed and not just trying to read and memorize. I also find it easier to memorize words when quizzing myself with flashcards, Quizlet, and such. This article is directly related to my life and my study methods, and that is why I chose this article.
Questions:
1. Which college students did the researchers ask? (Which college, etc.?)
2. Would there be different results if the words were in a different language?
Resources:
Image link:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cdn-3.androidzoom.com/screenshots/26561-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/travel/english-to-swahili-flashcards_enfi.html&usg=__GG6ydmQehgUO3vSVq8gWUuMvPK0=&h=854&w=480&sz=81&hl=en&start=0&sig2=yWCxAzx7SsaG1Naz7jV6dw&zoom=1&tbnid=NTotPet9j0p9MM:&tbnh=162&tbnw=91&ei=x9q3TKCMDY7GsAPh8oXmCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSwahili%2Bflashcards%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DXnc%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D594%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=447&oei=x9q3TKCMDY7GsAPh8oXmCA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=22&ty=85
Article Citation:
Cevallos, Marissa. "How Testing Improves Memory: Quizzes Inspire Keywords That
Spur Recall." ScienceNews. Society for Science & the Public, 14 Oct. 2010.
Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64316/title/
How_testing_improves_memory>.
Wow! That's pretty amazing!
ReplyDeleteI always found quizzing a better way to remember vocabulary or definitions as opposed to just repeating the words in my head over an over again. But I didn't know that there was actually a scientific basis to it, I just thought it was a preference!
In answer to one of your questions, I think it might be students from Kent State University in Ohio, but that's just my guess.
Good topic, good blog post. Overall, great job! :)
"Quizzing Yourself Can Improve Memory" is an inaccurate title because it suggests quizzing improves memory, but it improves your memorization. A more fitting title would be "Quizzing Yourself Can Improve Memorization." Memory is used more in expressing the capacity of stored information, while memorization is a method of remembering and recalling information. This might be a small difference but it changes the meaning of the title and leads the reader to expect something different from the article.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as Archana said, I also find quizzing a better way to remember things. I quiz myself a lot when I am studying for tests. One subject in particular that I quiz myself for is Spanish, because of the vast amounts of vocabulary we must memorize. I think Quizlet works so well because it quizzes the user (hence the name) and makes it interactive and fun, so that the user will get into it.
Another way that some people help themselves memorize something is by using mnemonics or other mental connections. In the article you mentioned that some people used a mental connection with the word "wingu" to remember its English meaning. "Wingu" sounded like "wing," which was part of a bird which flies in the clouds. There are many different ways to help yourself remember things, and quizzing yourself is just one of them.
I also have a few questions to add onto your list.
1. If the two groups of people mentioned in the article had another test a week later but were not allowed to study, how would their scores compare?
2. Suppose there are two groups that both studied by quizzing themselves. One group studies for 1 hour, and the other studies for two hours. How would their scores compare?