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An analysis of life span memory identifies those variables that affect losses in recall and recognition of the content of high school algebra and geometry courses. Even in the absence of further rehearsal activities, individuals who take college-level mathematics courses at or above the level of calculus have minimal losses of high school algebra for half a century. Individuals who performed equally well in the high school course but took no college mathematics courses reduce performance to near chance levels during the same period. In contrast, the best predictors of test perform ance (e.g., Scholastic A ptitude T est scores and grades) have trivial effects on the rate of performance decline. Pedagogical implications for life span maintenance of knowledge are derived and discussed.Bahrick, Hall, and Baker have a brand-new book out on long-term retention.
Lifetime M aintenance of High School M athem atics Content
Harry P. Bahrick and Lynda K. Hall
Journal of Experimental Psychology
1991, Vol. 120, No. 1, 20-33
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Remembering math forever
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4 comments:
college-level mathematics courses at or above the level of calculus
Really? Do they have a chapter discussing confounding variables? :) Because there's an elephant in the room -- the only ones that take college-level mathematics beyond calculus are STEM students in which absolute facility with algebra is a de facto prerequisite.
Having said that, it could be an interesting book in as much as I've seen suggestions that the interests and activities one engages in during the growth-spurt the brain undergoes during and immediately after puberty get forever imprinted, practically defining one for the rest of one's life. Most anyone taking college-level mathematics beyond calculus, was likely doing some pretty intensive algebra in that time frame.
This seems to be a specific example of what Daniel Willingham talks about here: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/spring2004/willingham.cfm
"Studies show that if material is studied for one semester or one year, it will be retained adequately for perhaps a year after the last practice (Semb, Ellis, & Araujo, 1993), but most of it will be forgotten by the end of three or four years in the absence of further practice. If material is studied for three or four years, however, the learning may be retained for as long as 50 years after the last practice (Bahrick, 1984; Bahrick & Hall, 1991). There is some forgetting over the first five years, but after that, forgetting stops and the remainder will not be forgotten even if it is not practiced again."
-Mark Roulo
Hey!
Actually, Dan is just summarizing the Harry P. Bahrick and Lynda K. Hall article (and another article) in his essay.
-Mark Roulo
If you don't use it you lose it. At all levels.
"If material is studied for three or four years, however, the learning may be retained for as long as 50 years after the last practice"
"May be." It depends on the material. If they can't show these details, then how can anyone use that information? Some like to take general concepts and run with them. Way too far.
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