Cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham has a great article on this topic on his web site: http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/winter03-04/cognitive.html
Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com On Nov 7, 2009, at 3:30 AM, Allen Esterson wrote: > ¨¨¨On 6 November 2009 Steven Specht wrote: >> I spend some time explaining to students >> that as part of "studying" they should practice >> the task that they will be asked to perform... > > I'm reminded of the old joke about the stranger to New York asking > someone "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?": > > "Practise, practise, practise." > > P.S. Does the following say something about modern educational > standards?: > > "Practise / Practice: ...If you are not sure about what a verb or noun > is, it might be safer to just use the spelling "practice", as many > Americans do!" > > Reference: > > Practise / Practice > In many parts of the English speaking world (UK, Ireland, Australia, > Canada, and South Africa) âpracticeâ is the noun, âpractiseâ > the verb. > However, in the U.S.A the spelling âpracticeâ is more often used > for > both the noun and the verb. Contrary to popular belief a significant > minority of the American population also observe the distinction. If > you are not sure about what a verb or noun is, it might be safer to > just use the spelling "practice", as many Americans do! > > http://www.world-english.org/practise_practice.htm > > Allen Esterson > Former lecturer, Science Department > Southwark College, London > http://www.esterson.org > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > Steven Specht <sspe...@utica.edu> > Subject: Re: hard studying > Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:35:26 -0500 > I spend some time explaining to students that as part of "studying" > they should practice the task that they will be asked to perform on > exams... that is, writing. This sometimes puzzles students. I further > explain that if the coach wants you to improve your free throws in > basketball, she doesn't have you read about it or necessarily look at > others doing the task; but requires YOU to practice the task-- tossing > up some basketballs. I get frustrated when students (esp. psychology > majors) think that "looking over notes or the text" is a way to > prepare to write responses. I implore them to practice writing > responses to hypothetical questions as part of their studying so that > they are rehearsing the task expected of them (and it won't be the > first time they think about writing a response). > > Specht, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > Chair, Department of Psychology > Utica College > Utica, NY 13502 > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
