High utility learning strategies have generalization results, meaning that they benefit many students of different ages and abilities. Research has also shown they are effective in boosting academic performance
- Practice Testing
- Distributed Practice (Spacing)

High utility learning strategies are recommended for all students


High Utility Learning Strategies

Moderate utility learning strategies show some generalization across a few variables but the efficacy of boosting academic performance is limited.
- Elaborative Interrogation
- Self-Explanation
- Interleaved Practice

Recommended for certain students/learning situations

Moderate Utility Learning Strategies

Low utility learning strategies have limited benefits and performance is not consistently improved with these habits.
- Summarizing
- Highlighting and Underlining
- Keyword Mnemonics
- Imagery Use
- Rereading

Low utility learning strategies are not recommended for any students.

Low Utility Learning Strategies

Photographs of students engaged in studying are often used as visual aids to illustrate the application of various learning strategies and study techniques.

Visual Representation of Studying

The effectiveness of any study strategy is highly individual. It is crucial for a learner to identify and apply techniques that are personally effective, as a method that is successful for one person may not be suitable for another.

Personalizing Study Strategies

A student is preparing for a major final exam. Their primary study method involves rereading their textbook and class notes multiple times over the two days leading up to the exam. While reading, they use a highlighter to mark passages they believe are important. The night before the exam, they plan to stay up late to review all the highlighted sections one last time.

Based on principles of effective learning, critique this student's approach. Identify two specific weaknesses in their plan and propose a more effective alternative for each weakness. Justify why your proposed alternatives would likely lead to better learning and long-term retention.

Critique of a Study Plan

Learning strategies are essentially different methods of studying or various types of study habits. Dunlosky et al. categorized each study habit into one of three utilities based on generalizability and effectiveness (if it really improves learning): high, moderate and low.

Concordia College - Moorhead

Google

How students/people use educational material to learn, often with the goal of doing well on an exam or quiz.

Study habits 

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A. (2015). Practice tests, spaced practice, and successive relearning: Tips for classroom use and for guiding students’ learning. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 1, 72–78. https://doi-org.cordproxy.mnpals.net/10.1037/stl0000024

Practice Tests, Spaced Practice, and Successive Relearning: Tips for Classroom Use and for Guiding Students’ Learning

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

In general, men and women have differing habits when studying.

Gender and study habits

Blocked studying occurs when an entire time slot is devoted to one concept/ group of information. Blocked studying allows for quicker immediate learning with less long term retention. 

Blocked Studying

A learning task that requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby improving long-term performance.

Examples:

- Interleaving Materials
- Spacing Studying
- Generation Effect
- Retrieval practice (testing)
- Varying Study Conditions

Desirable Difficulties

Pulling from the Latin roots "*pro*" (meaning forward, forth, in favor of) and "*crastinus*" (of tomorrow), procrastination is an irrational, but voluntary decision to delay an intended behavior or task.
- *Irrationality* is defined as "... choosing course of action[,] despite expecting that it will not maximize your utilities..."
- *Intended* is defined as something that one wants to interact with; the avoidance of random or irrelevant tasks would not be considered procrastination.

Procrastination

One research study published in 2018 looks at how students tend to struggle in STEM courses, especially students of underrepresented minorities (URM). This study focuses on decreasing the achievement gap between URM (Latino, African-American, and Native American students) and non-URM (white and Asian students) groups by implementing interventions that impart studying strategies, such as spacing and self-testing, to see if the students' course grades improve. The reason for this intervention is to teach students who do not know how to study on their own how to do it effectively for STEM courses. 

Study Methods of Students in STEM Courses 

Learning Strategies

•	Wrenn Study Habits Inventory

•	The Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA)

•	Students Attitudes Inventory (SAI)

•	Learning and Study Strategy Inventory (LASSI)


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