Study Notes: systems and review

01

Judge study advice by the evidence

In simple words

Everyone has a favourite way to study. Some ways really help, some only feel good. Scientists measure how much each way helps. We will use their numbers, and we will also say honestly where the numbers are weak.

Key facts

Before this course: Note-Taking & Study Methods (course 13.12). You already know Cornell notes, outlines, mind maps, practice testing, spacing and Pomodoro. This course shows how to join them into one system and how to check it.
Effect size (d) is the difference between two group averages, measured in standard deviations. Bigger means a bigger average difference. It is an average across students, not a promise for you.
A 2021 meta-analysis by Donoghue and Hattie combined 242 studies, 1,619 effects and 169,179 participants for the ten techniques that Dunlosky and colleagues reviewed in 2013. Overall mean: 0.56.

Technique	Average d (Donoghue & Hattie, 2021)
Distributed (spaced) practice	0.85
Practice testing	0.74
Elaborative interrogation ("why?")	0.56
Imagery	0.56
Self-explanation	0.54
Mnemonics	0.50
Re-reading	0.47
Interleaved practice	0.47
Underlining	0.44
Summarization	0.44

Honest limits the authors list:
Most outcomes were surface or factual (93% of outcomes). Effects were 0.60 for surface learning and 0.26 for deep learning, so be careful when you apply these numbers to deeper understanding.
74% of post-tests came within one day, so many results show short-term memory.
Results varied a lot between studies (I-squared 85%), so the same technique can work better or worse depending on the situation.
Even the "low" techniques still had positive averages, and the authors say they are worth having in a toolbox. The methods are not "good" or "bad", they are more or less efficient.
Only 6 studies looked at high-ability students and 13 at low-ability students, so those subgroup numbers are rough.
A study technique only works if you use it correctly and keep using it. Dunlosky and colleagues' 2013 review noted that motivation to use techniques properly matters for all of them.

Step by step

Write down the three ways you studied for your last test.
Look up each one in the table. Write its average d next to it.
Mark which ones are testing yourself, spacing, or mixing problem types.
Mark which ones are re-reading, underlining or copying.
Write one sentence: "The evidence says X, but it is mostly from short tests of facts."
Check: you can explain what d means in your own words, and you know the table is an average, not a guarantee.

LESSON 01Judge study advice by the evidence

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "Which study method works best? Scientists measured it."
[Text on screen: spaced practice 0.85, practice testing 0.74, re-reading 0.47, underlining 0.44] "A big 2021 review put numbers on ten study techniques."
[Text on screen: surface 0.60, deep 0.26] "But most tests were about facts. For deep understanding the numbers were smaller."
[Host] "So use the best methods, and keep checking your own results."

Try it now

Make a two-column list: the methods you use now, and the methods from the table. Circle the one change you will try first.

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For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Study Notes: systems and review" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Judge study advice by the evidence".

What the lesson teaches:
- Before this course: Note-Taking & Study Methods (course 13.12). You already know Cornell notes, outlines, mind maps, practice testing, spacing and Pomodoro. This course shows how to join them into one system and how to check it.
- Effect size (d) is the difference between two group averages, measured in standard deviations. Bigger means a bigger average difference. It is an average across students, not a promise for you.
- A 2021 meta-analysis by Donoghue and Hattie combined 242 studies, 1,619 effects and 169,179 participants for the ten techniques that Dunlosky and colleagues reviewed in 2013. Overall mean: 0.56.
- Technique - Average d (Donoghue & Hattie, 2021)
- Distributed (spaced) practice - 0.85
- Practice testing - 0.74
- Elaborative interrogation ("why?") - 0.56

The exercise I'm working on:
Make a two-column list: the methods you use now, and the methods from the table. Circle the one change you will try first.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Judge study advice by the evidence" from the course "Study Notes: systems and review".

Here's what the lesson says:
Everyone has a favourite way to study. Some ways really help, some only feel good. Scientists measure how much each way helps. We will use their numbers, and we will also say honestly where the numbers are weak.

The activity:
Make a two-column list: the methods you use now, and the methods from the table. Circle the one change you will try first.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Donoghue, G. M., & Hattie, J. A. C. (2021). A meta-analysis of ten learning techniques. Frontiers in Education: doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.581216
Dunlosky et al. (2013), Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

My notes

I learned this

02