------------------ psychlotron.org.uk ------------------ Name of resource: Research methods Qs about learning/memory Author(s): Aidan Sammons Specification: AQA-B Details: AQA-B-style research methods Q based on two recent studies of exam performance. Apart from the research methods practice the principal reason for writing these was to get my students thinking about strategies for exam preparation. The Ramirez & Beilock study suggests a methods for more anxious students to reduce their exam anxiety but obviously does not show whether the free writing strategy remains beneficial with repeated use. The Karpicke & Blunt study shows the superiority of the free writing 'retrieval practice' strategy over the alternatives and, interestingly, suggests that concept mapping may not be as effective a strategy as it is widely assumed to be. It also highlights the disconnect between what students feel the are learning and what they have actually learned and as such may go some way to explaining why it is difficult to get students to ditch study strategies that are demonstrably not working. Plenty there to stimulate reflection on their study habits.