Applying Cognitive Psychology to Education: Translational Educational Science.

Abstract

The scientific study of human learning and memory is now more than 125 years old. Psychologists have conducted thousands of experiments, correlational analyses, and field studies during this time, in addition to other research conducted by those from neighboring fields. A huge knowledge base has been carefully built up over the decades. Given this backdrop, we may ask ourselves: What great changes in education have resulted from this huge research base? How has the scientific study of learning and memory changed practices in education from those of, say, a century ago? Have we succeeded in building a translational educational science to rival medical science (in which biological knowledge is translated into medical practice) or types of engineering (in which, e.g., basic knowledge in chemistry is translated into products through chemical engineering)? The answer, I am afraid, is rather mixed. Psychologists and psychological research have influenced educational practice, but in fits and starts. After all, some of the great founders of American psychology—William James, Edward L. Thorndike, John Dewey, and others—are also revered as important figures in the history of education. And some psychological research and ideas have made their way into education—for instance, computer-based cognitive tutors for some specific topics have been developed in recent years—and in years past, such practices as teaching machines, programmed learning, and, in higher education, the Keller Plan were all important. These older practices have not been sustained. Was that because they failed or because of a lack of systematic research showing they were effective? At any rate, in 2012, we cannot point to a well-developed translational educational science in which research about learning and memory, thinking and reasoning, and related topics is moved from the lab into controlled field trials (like clinical trials in medicine) and the tested techniques, if they succeed, are introduced into broad educational practice. We are just not there yet, and one question that arises is how we could achieve a translational educational science. Of course, educational practices have changed over the years, and they are changing all the time. Some changes are based on research, but changes have also been introduced by educational theorists with persuasive (but untested) arguments, by some new fad sweeping through the educational system, or by the marketing of some new way to teach X (where X might be most anything). The list of highly marketed products without a research base seems overwhelming. Further, the list of people and groups attempting to shape education is great—teachers, principals, state boards of education, parent groups, legislators, textbook publishers, and more. Despite (or perhaps because of) the din surrounding education from competing groups, ineffective practices in education, ones discredited by research, hang on. I have taught undergraduate courses in cognitive psychology, learning and memory, and introductory psychology (among others) for many years. At some point in these particular courses, I usually ask students to raise their hands if they were required to memorize, verbatim, poems or prose passages (e.g., the Gettysburg Address) during their years in school. Many students, sometimes most students, raise their hands in affirmation. I then go on to ask if their teachers told them why they required this practice. Some students have no idea, but most students who articulate a response say something like the following: “Our teacher told us that remembering information is kind of like lifting weights. If we learn to memorize a long poem and we succeed through many repetitions, then this practice will help us in learning other information in our school courses.” In short, memory is like a muscle, and if you use it to memorize a poem, it will become stronger in learning other materials. This view is the venerable theory of formal discipline, the idea that various cognitive functions are faculties that can be generally enhanced by practice. Thus, practicing memorizing can increase the faculty of memory, and such practice will generalize widely: Learning any other material will be easier if one has memorized poetry (or anything else). It is a fine theory, and it dominated education for many years in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which is one reason why rote learning was so favored during that period. However, research has shown repeatedly that, like many plausible-sounding