My primary research is on student study strategies. Many students start their college courses with incorrect assumptions about their ability to study effectively because they were successful in their high school courses. My goal is to better understand the study strategies students think will work, identify the strategies that do work, and then create interventions that redirect students toward better metacognition skills.
While educational psychology has demonstrated several strategies that are associated with increased learning in a controlled environment, little research has been done that connects student study strategies with actual course grade, particularly across different types of courses. I published an project in 2020 on student study strategies in several courses on campus. We found three skills were associated with course grade when adjusting for incoming GPA, SAT math and reading and GPA of other courses. Self-testing and rereading were both associated with increased grades, and flashcard use was associated with decreased grades. Of particular significance, underrepresented minority (URM) students were less likely to reread than majority students, and flashcard use was more common in women and URM students.
I am now focus on student study strategies in biology and anatomy courses. My most recent results show that students generally have strong metacognitive knowlege about effective study strategies, recognizing that retrieval practice and explaining are high impact. Unfortunately, students struggle to implement these strategies and are resistant to changing their habits.