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/** @jsxImportSource https://esm.sh/react */
import { generateLessonHtml } from "https://esm.town/v/petermillspaugh/lessonTemplate";
import { renderToString } from "npm:react-dom/server";
/*
* Work-in-progress! 👷♂️
*/
const TITLE = "Retrieval practice";
const FILL_BLANK = (
<>
We often hear things like, "I am a visual learner," or "the way I learn best is by re-reading my notes and
underlining key concepts." Do you think there is any merit to personal preference of learning style? Why or why not?
</>
);
const CONTENT = (
<>
<h2>About this course</h2>
<p>
The main purpose of this course is to teach you about about effective, research-backed learning techniques covered
in the book{" "}
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18770267-make-it-stick">
<em>Make It Stick</em>
</a>. The secondary purpose of this course is to provide a copyable template for creating email-based courses with
a structure informed by effective learning techniques covered in that book. If you know some JavaScript/HTML and
are interested in that, all the code is public and{" "}
<a href="https://petemillspaugh.com/email-course-creator">
I wrote about the implementation on my digital garden
</a>.
</p>
<p>
As a disclaimer, I am not a learning expert. I like to learn, and I like learning about learning. As mentioned
just above, this course is a distillation of{" "}
<em>Make It Stick</em>, supported by some follow-up research I did. It's also a way for me to strengthen what I
learned from the book. If you have any feedback on the course please shoot me an email at
pete@petemillspaugh.com—I'm open to suggestions, corrections, or anything else you'd like to share.
</p>
{/* <h2>Is rereading an effective learning tactic?</h2> */}
{/* <p>Massed practice</p> */}
{/* <p>Rereading is not effective.</p> */}
{
/* <p>
We are poor judges of when we are learning well and when we are not. A good example of this for me is when I take
an online coding course or tutorial on a new technology/tool, writing lots of caffeine-fueled notes and not
self-testing nor applying that new technology to a project. The good feeling from cruising through content and
taking notes is illusory—durable learning requires retrieval and application.
</p> */
}
<h2>📣 This course is still a work-in-progress 📣</h2>
<p>
Thank you for signing up to test things out! I'm still working on the course content, so this lesson is
incomplete, but lmk any thoughts or suggestions you have in the meantime.
</p>
<h2>What is retrieval practice?</h2>
<p>
<em>Retrieval practice</em>{" "}
is cognitive psychology's term for the act of recalling something from memory. Studying flashcards is a very
structured form of retrieval practice, but we retrieve things all the time—like when a friend asks you about the
book you're reading, when you cook a recipe without referencing instructions, or when speaking in another language
that you don't use often.
</p>
<p>
As chapter 2 of <em>Make It Stick</em>—"To Learn, Retrieve"—puts it:
</p>
<blockquote>
<code>
Retrieval practice—recalling facts or concepts or events from memory—is a more effective learning strategy than
review by rereading. Flashcards are a simple example. Retrieval strengthens the memory and interrupts
forgetting. A single, simple quiz after reading a text or hearing a lecture produces better learning and
remembering than rereading the text or reviewing lecture notes.
</code>
</blockquote>
<p>
Each lesson in this course starts with a fill-in-the-blank question and ends with a set of review questions and
reflection. This structure is deliberately designed to force retrieval practice. Not only that, but retrieval
should be spaced, which is the topic of the next lesson and the reason this course includes a one-day delay before
sending the following lesson. From chapter 2 of the book:
</p>
<blockquote>
<code>
When retrieval practice is spaced, allowing some forgetting to occur between tests, it leads to stronger long-
term retention than when it is massed.
</code>
</blockquote>
<h2>Brain food: retrieval as reconsolidation</h2>
{/* <p>Your brain reconsolidates memory upon recall.</p> */}
<p>From the book:</p>
<blockquote>
<code>
While the brain is not a muscle that gets stronger with exercise, the neural pathways that make up a body of
learning do get stronger, when the memory is retrieved and the learning is practiced. Periodic practice arrests
forgetting, strengthens retrieval routes, and is essential for hanging onto the knowledge you want to gain.
</code>
</blockquote>
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January 20, 2024