When researchers at Carnegie Melon University set out to study how students learn and how fast they acquire skills, the scientists made an interesting discovery: Although differences in initial student performance were found, the rates at which students were learning were “astonishingly similar.”
This shocked the researchers who had gone into the experiment using their own experiences that led them to believe that some students learned faster than others. But the scientists discovered that this was not the case.
The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed 7,000 adults and children who used instructional software to measure their achievements. Participants were given initial instruction and then completed practice problems or exercises online. During the practice, the software provided feedback as well as allowed students multiple tries to attain the right answers. The feedback differed: Sometimes learners were given basic comments, (such as The answer is incorrect), and other times it offered guided practice to help the student ultimately master the concept.
At the beginning of learning a piece of knowledge, students’ work showed vastly different accuracy rates. But by the time they repeated the work seven or eight times, 80 percent of the students reached mastery of the subject or concept. This repetition was key to the experiment’s outcomes. Also imperative was that the students put in the effort to practice enough to attain mastery. A gift or knack, however, was not required to attain mastery. The scientists later realized that learning conditions and positive interventions made the difference. The student learners were not slower or faster; they experienced better or worse learning opportunities.
But what about students who appear to easily learn algebra or a language and those who struggle to get a “C”? The researchers discovered that such instances are the result of misinterpreting prior knowledge for learning speed. “Students are starting and ending in different places, but they’re making progress at the same rates,” noted a cognitive psychologist from Carnegie Mellon’s LearnLab, where the research took place.
The researchers concluded that some students already know something about a topic before the teacher gives a lesson, giving them a head start. They gave an example of grade school children learning fractions. If some of the students had baked with an adult using measuring cups and utensils, they had a leg up on children who had not. So when the children appeared to learn fractions more quickly than other students, they had actually just been exposed to the concept and had practiced it, while the others had not.
The consistency of the data allowed the researchers to conclude that all learners needed practice to learn any new ideas or concepts, but that all students made progress at the same rates.
Discussion
- Why is feedback integral to learning?
- How do you think instructors can alter their teaching practices in light of this research?
- Why is practice on its own sometimes not enough to master skills or acquire knowledge?
Barshay, J. (2023, November 27). A group of scientists set out to study quick learners. Then they discovered they don’t exist. KQED. https://www.kqed.org
Koedinger, K. R., Carvalho, P. F., Liu, R., & McLaughlin, E. A. (2023, March 20). An astonishing regularity in student learning rate. Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, 120(13). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2221311120