dr. nathan sammons, associate professor of biology two complementary strategies for increasing...

Empowering Faculty

Dr. Nathan Sammons, Associate Professor of Biology

Competitive Gaming and Desirable Difficulties:

Two Complementary Strategies for Increasing Content Retention

Desirable difficultiesRobert Bjork (1994)1. Introducing certain difficulties into the learning process can greatly improve long-term retention of the learned material

The point is to increase the challenge, not frustrate the student

• Spacing out the material 2,3

• Testing not restudying 4

• Make students generate material5

• Vary the surroundings 6

• Less clearly organized7 • Fonts which are hard to read8

Desirable difficulties

We often seek to eliminate difficulties in learning To our own

detriment!

Retrieval strength Storage strength

short-term Long-term

“Access to content which is easy isn’t as enriching as harder-earned content”--McNamara et al., 1996

Biological Molecules:

Beta testing my Desirable Difficulties activity

Students in BIOL 1201 struggle with identifying molecular structure of biological molecules

15 mins: Learn to classify exemplar molecules into one of four categories

Biological Molecules:

Prequiz

H

H

H

H

H

H

O

OP

OP

OH

OH

C

C

C

C

C

iClicker quiz – Question 1

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 2

C

O

C

HN

H

H

H

NN

HH

CC

O

C

HH

CH2

O

CO

SH

CH3

CH2

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 3

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 4

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 5

Biological Molecules:

Sort into 4 categories

Biological Molecules:

Proteins Carbohydrates Lipids Nucleic acids

Biological Molecules Challenge:

First team to bring me perfectly classified molecules wins!

+

Biological Molecules:

Postquiz

H

H

H

H

H

H

O

OP

OP

OH

OH

C

C

C

C

C

iClicker quiz – Question 1

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 2

C

O

C

HN

H

H

H

NN

HH

CC

O

C

HH

CH2

O

CO

SH

CH3

CH2

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 3

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 4

To which class of biological molecules does this belong?

A. CarbohydratesB. LipidsC. Nucleic AcidsD. Proteins

iClicker quiz – Question 5

Competitive gaming is….

Fun

ExcitingEngaging

Interesting

Addicting Motivating?

Competitive gaming is successful because it is:

TopHat

• Active learning• Desirably difficult• Cues in on competitive side of

personalities (intrinsic motivation)

Competitive gaming is successful because it is:

TopHat

1. First person has 2 minutes to describe their challenge

2. Others have 2 minutes to ask questions

3. Others have 2 minutes to talk about challenge while the first listens

Discussion protocol

1. Bjork, R.A., & Bjork, E.L. (1992). A new theory of disuse and an old theory of stimulus fluctuation. In A. Healy, S. Kosslyn, & R. Shiffrin (Eds.), From Learning Processes to Cognitive Processes: Essays in Honor of William K. Estes (Vol. 2, pp. 35-67). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

2. 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.Bjork, R.A. (1994). Memory and metamemory considerations in the training of human beings. In J.

3. Dempster, F.N. (1990). The spacing effect: A case study in the failure to apply the results of psychological research. American Psychologist, 43, 627-634.

4. Roediger, H.L., III, & Karpicke, J.D. (2006). The power of testing memory: Basic research andimplications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 181-120.

5. McDaniel, M.A., Hines, R.J., Waddill, P.J., & Einstein, G.O. (1994). What makes folk tales unique: Content familiarity, causal structure, scripts, or superstructures? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 169-184.

6. Smith, S.M., & Glenberg, A., & Bjork, R.A. (1978). Environmental context and human memory. Memory & Cognition, 6, 342-353.

7. McNamara, D.S., Kintsch, E., Songer, N.B., & Kintsch, W. (1996). Are good texts alwaysbetter? Interactions of text coherence, background knowledge, and levels of understanding in learning from text. Cognition and Instruction, 14, 1-43.

8. Diemand-Yauman, C., Oppenheimer, D.M., & Vaughan, E.B. (in press). Fortune favors the bold (and the italicized): Effects of disfluency on educational outcomes. Cognition.Ebbinghaus, H. (1964). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. (H.A. Ruger & C.E.

Citations:

C

O

C

HN

H

H

H

NN

HH

CC

O

O

CC

HH

H

NN

HH

CC

O

O

CC

HH

O

C

C

C

CH H

H

H

H

H

H

CH

CH3OH

CH2

OH

CH2

OO

C

O

C

HN

H

H

H

NN

HH

CC

O

C

HH

CH2

O

CO

SH

CH3

CH2

HN N

H HC

C

O

O

CC

HH

H

NN

HH

CC

O

O

CC

HH

O

C

C

C HH

H

H

H

H

H

CH

CH3OH

CH2

OH

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

O

OP

OP

OH

OH

C

C

C

C

C

H

H

H

OP

OH

C

C

C

O

H

H