The process of review: A levels of processing approach

This experiment investigated the effects of reviewing notes at a deeper level of abstraction, by means of reorganization. No differences in immediate recognition performance were found for subjects who reorganized notes into an instructor-generated matrix versus subjects who reviewed in their typical manner. An interaction between method of review and type of delayed test was apparent. Reorganization during review resulted in relatively higher achievement on a free recall test while unstructured review produced higher achievement on a cued recall exam. This interaction was unpredicted by the theory of encoding specificity but was explained in regard to the theory of episode matching. Instructionally, reorganization was advocated as a review technique for most learning situations in which retrieval cues are not imposed.     

Students' note-taking behaviors and the efficacy of providing the instructor's notes for review

College students viewed a videotaped lecture with or without taking notes. Average performance between the two groups did not differ on an immediate test. The encoding effect of note taking was therefore unsupported. Two days later, note takers reviewed their notes while listeners reviewed the instructor's notes in preparation for the delayed exam. Subjects who reviewed the instructor's notes achieved significantly more, on factual items, than did subjects who reviewed their own relatively brief and unorganized notes. Thus, listening to a lecture and subsequently reviewing the instructor's notes prior to a delayed exam leads to relatively higher achievement than does the traditional method of taking and reviewing personal lecture notes.