Michelle Miller

What does memory mean for learning in an age of smartphones and search engines?

Human minds are made of memories, and today those memories have competition. Biological memory capacities are being supplanted, or at least supplemented, by digital ones, as we rely on recording—phone cameras, digital video, speech-to-text—to capture information we’ll need in the future and then rely on those stored recordings to know what happened in the past. Search engines have taken over not only traditional reference materials but also the knowledge base that used to be encoded in our own brains. Google remembers, so we don’t have to. And when we don’t have to, we no longer can. Or can we?

Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology offers concise, nontechnical explanations of major principles of memory and attention—concepts that all teachers should know and that can inform how technology is used in their classes. Teachers will come away with a new appreciation of the importance of memory for learning, useful ideas for handling and discussing technology with their students, and an understanding of how memory is changing in our technology-saturated world.

Previous research has shown that passive voice predominates in mass media reports describing male violence against women. However, there has been little systematic study of narratives describing female violence against men. The authors analyzed the impact of perpetrator gender on verb voice, first in a content analysis of published news stories and second in a new procedure for eliciting written narratives with male or female perpetrators. Results reveal an increased frequency of passive voice when perpetrators are male. These findings suggest that writers specifically prefer the passive voice to describe male-on-female violence rather than for violent or negative acts in general.

Ubiquitous mobile technology is part of contemporary life, bringing with it the potential for distraction and reduction in performance associated with multitasking. The predisposition toward dysfunctional multitasking may be shaped in part by beliefs that individuals hold about memory and attention. The issue is particularly pressing for college students, given established links between distraction, multitasking, and learning. This project assessed the impact of an online learning module on beliefs about attention, memory, and learning in college students. It also contrasted these beliefs in a college and non‐college community sample. Significant reductions in counterproductive beliefs were associated with completing the module; counterproductive beliefs were also no more prevalent in the college vs. the non‐college sample. Our findings suggest that brief online modules are a practical way to address counterproductive beliefs related to multitasking with technology, and add to the literature on metacognition, attention, and multitasking in college and non‐college populations.

Full citation and author list: Betts, K., Miller, M., Tokuhama-Espinosa, T., Shewokis, P., Anderson, A., Borja, C., Galoyan, T., Delaney, B., Eigenauer, J., & Dekker, S. (2019). International report: Neuromyths and evidence-based practices in higher education. Online Learning Consortium: Newburyport, MA.

While it is well-known that faculty-student interaction is key to student success, few institutions have directly leveraged faculty in supporting academic persistence. Many myths about persistence proliferate, and faculty can unwittingly hinder persistence by implementing the wrong kinds of practices. Faculty are most empowered to support student persistence when they understand and care about this issue. They are also better equipped to help when they have a good, current command of the body of knowledge relating to persistence. To address this, we created a blended faculty development program to engage faculty in the scholarship of academic persistence, addressing myths and misconceptions about persistence, and expanding understanding of what it is like to be a first-year student at our university. The Persistence Scholars Program engaged a total of 32 faculty over two semesters, beginning with pre-readings and an in-person daylong workshop followed by an eight or ten-week course. The curriculum was built around a central text, Completing College by Vincent Tinto, and selected empirical and germane articles. Participants engaged in online discussions and two experiential projects, including one that asked them to complete an activity that would enhance their understanding of first-year students' experiences. Assessments of this program focused on participant ratings of target competencies (e.g., the ability to identify and dispel myths about why students persist), perception of usefulness of different specific assignments and materials, and suggestions for how the program can be refined for future cohorts.

In Short

Educational technology has fostered innovation and expanded opportunities for higher learning, but its full potential has yet to be realized.

Learning science is an important and sometimes under-utilized guide for choosing design features that make the most of what technology can do.

There are specific strategies leaders can use to build faculty buy-in for educational technology, which is essential for maximizing its impact.

Greater collaboration among faculty, administrators, and technology providers, coupled with better alignment to learning science, will keep the educational technology revolution progressing in ways that ultimately benefit students.

This 1-2 day intensive workshop introduces concepts in course redesign, drawing on the presenter's experience as a Redesign Scholar for the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT).  Participants will master the five forms of redesign, practice skills in analyzing redesign problems, and plan for redesigning courses at their own institutions.

Abstract
Undergraduate education in electrical engineering can be improved by drawing on research on
human learning and cognition. One main result of this research is that frequent practice and selftesting
are effective and efficient strategies for mastering new information.[1,2] Furthermore,
frequent practice promotes speed as well as accuracy. This point is particularly relevant in the
field of electrical engineering, as students must master core concepts (e.g., Ohm’s law) such that
they can apply them quickly and effortlessly in order to efficiently solve more advanced
problems. The present project pilot-tested a novel technique for encouraging frequent, fastpaced
practice among students in the first circuits course. Nineteen undergraduate engineering
majors (including civil, mechanical, environmental and electrical) participated in a face-to-face
course in which traditional course activities (lectures, in-class discussion, exams) were
supplemented by three online homework modules. These modules differed from traditional
homework assignments in the following ways: First, rather than recapping material presented in
class, each module focused exclusively on a single core concept (Ohm’s law, op-amps, or
complex numbers). Second, the modules were repeatable, such that students were encouraged to
submit multiple attempts, with slightly different problems on each attempt. Third, the modules
were timed, such that students received bonus points tied to how quickly they completed their
best attempt. Effectiveness of the online homework modules was assessed by comparing exam
scores across the enhanced and traditionally taught versions of the course, and by conducting an
end-of-semester opinion survey. Results showed a statistically significant increase in in-class
exam scores for the enhanced course compared to the traditional course. Average percent correct
on the first exam was 85.7% in the enhanced course, compared to 79.7% in the traditional
course, and for the second exam was 81.4% compared to 62.3% in the traditional course.
Performance on the third exam was within the acceptable range (74.7%) for the enhanced course,
but differences in the exam format (in-class vs. take-home), combined with the large proportion
of students not completing the third online homework module, prevented meaningful statistical
comparisons. Final exam scores were also statistically compared and showed no differences
across the traditional (71.1%) and enhanced (70.9%) sections. Student opinion of the online
homework modules was positive, with large majorities responding either “Strongly agree” or
“Agree somewhat” to the statements that the modules helped them understand class material,
helped them practice skills needed on exams, and were generally useful to the class. Subsidiary
analyses focused on predictors of exam performance including number of attempts, best score,
best time, and level of academic preparation. Qualitative comments from the instructor and from
students were also summarized, with an overall trend toward positive impressions of the online
homework modules. Results suggest that repeatable, timed modules focusing on core concepts
are an effective way to raise student performance and learning.