The effects of active learning on students' memories for course content

Abstract

Two studies examined the free recall for course content of 314 American undergraduate students across various course levels. The purpose was to examine how students' memories and level of understanding for introductory materials would differ from those of more advanced classes. Across all class levels, the most frequently listed items were concepts introduced through active learning exercises, followed by videos and lecture materials. Depending on the course level and content, different types of class presentations yielded enhanced understanding of the material. Mean relevance scores were high for materials introduced with video clips in introductory classes, whereas mean scores were high for information introduced by lecture for upper level courses.