Blast from the past: Theories and memory

by | Friday, February 06, 2015

theory
Ambigram for the word “Theory” by Punya Mishra

My first real research study was one that I conducted back when I was a graduate student under the mentorship of Bill Brewer. It was designed as a classic educational psychology memory study and though I have done little along those lines recently, it is a study that I am quite proud of. For one reason or another I had not posted it on to my website and when I came across it today, while chatting with a doctoral student, I felt it was time to dust it off and offer it to the world, once again. Here is the reference and abstract and a link to the actual article (below the jump).

Sharing one of my newer ambigram designs, for the word “theory”, see above, was an added bonus.

Mishra, P. & Brewer, W. F. (2003) Theories as a form of mental representation and their role in the recall of text information. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, p.277-303.

This paper presents the results of two experiments investigating the role of instructed theories in the recall of text information. Participants in the experimental group read an explanatory scientific theory followed by a passage containing data either relevant or irrelevant to the corresponding theory. Control participants read non-explanatory theory passages and the same data passages. Both groups were asked to recall just the data passages. The experimental group showed improved recall for theory-relevant items and reduced recall for irrelevant items compared to the control group. This pattern of results suggests that the memory facilitation is due to theory-based attention processes leadingto the construction of knowledge structures that combined elements from both the theory and the data passages. The results support approaches to instruction in science education that focus on the understanding of scientific theories versus those that emphasize the accumulation of facts. This research also offers insight into the importance of student motivation in understanding scientific theories.

Topics related to this post: Uncategorized

A few randomly selected blog posts…

What do they know? Video projects on understanding

In my summer classes I have the participants complete a video assignment on understanding. This year as always my students worked in groups over a week-and-a-half to select their topics, develop interview protocols, video tape people as they answered their questions,...

Bad poetry time: Clerihews

Just when you thought I had run through all the bad poetry I can spew (see here for my palindromic poems) here is another set of poems I had all but forgotten about. A few years ago I got hooked into writing Clerihews. For the uninitiated: The clerihew is a bit of...

TPACK Newsletters (#28, #29 & 30)

TPACK Newsletters (#28, #29 & 30)

In the rush of summer and the move to Arizona I missed posting #28 and #29 of the TPACK newsletter, and before I knew it, #30  was here as well. Well here are links to the PDFs of all three newsletters Newsletter 28: May 2016 (pdf)Newsletter 29: July 2016...

TPACK Newsletter #40, March 2019

TPACK Newsletter #40, March 2019

Here is the Special Spring 2019 Conference Issue of the TPACK Newsletter (#40, March 2019), as curated and shared by Judi Harris and her team. (Previous issues are archived here.) This special issue include all the TPACK-related papers/sessions that...

Expert eyes on creativity

Expert eyes on creativity

Since 2012, the Deep-Play Research Group has been publishing a series of articles under the broad rubric of Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century in the journal Tech Trends. This has led to 33 articles (and counting) and...

Goodbye MSU!

Goodbye MSU!

I started working at Michigan State University on the 15th of August, 1998. Today exactly 18 years later I bid MSU farewell to take up a new position as Associate Dean of Scholarship at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. These last 18...

Tell me a story: Delightful design in an airport

Tell me a story: Delightful design in an airport

“Design doesn’t need to be delightful for it to work, but that’s like saying food doesn’t need to be tasty to keep us alive” — Frank Chimero I am always looking for examples of good and bad design in the world around me. Good design is rare, functional and at the same...

A defining moment!

I started blogging at the beginning of this year - January 1, 2008 4 days later, when Obama won the Iowa caucuses, I a posted a video of his speech, and asked a simple question, "Is this a defining moment of our time?" See it here Almost exactly six months later, on...

Sketches of life

I have had a Wacom tablet for a while now but haven't really gotten down to playing with it... till a couple of days ago. I started with rough drawings / sketches of friends and family. Take a look and let me know what you think.... You can click on the images to see...

0 Comments

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Designing Theory: New article | Talking About Design - […] and value, for a while now. In fact, one of my first published research studies investigated the role of…
  2. Designing Theory: New article – Punya Mishra's Web - […] of theory, its role and value. In fact, one of my first published research studies investigated the role of…

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *