Tldr
Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III & Mark A. McDaniel — Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
Harvard University Press, 2014 · 336 pages · ISBN 9780674419384
The science of learning says what feels like effective studying (rereading, cramming) is mostly an illusion. Durable learning comes from retrieval practice, spacing, and building mental models — effortful strategies that feel harder in the moment but produce far stronger long-term retention.
The core idea
Practice at retrieving new knowledge or skill from memory is a potent tool for learning and durable retention.
Retrieval practice — recalling facts or concepts or events from memory — is a more effective learning strategy than review by rereading. Flashcards are a simple example. Retrieval strengthens the memory and interrupts forgetting. A single, simple quiz after reading a text or hearing a lecture produces better learning and remembering than rereading the text or reviewing lecture notes.
If we think of it as practicing retrieval of learning from memory rather than “testing,” we open ourselves to another possibility: the use of testing as a tool for learning.
1. Mindset: ability is not hardwired
Many people believe that their intellectual ability is hardwired from birth, and that failure to meet a learning challenge is an indictment of their native ability. But every time you learn something new, you change the brain — the residue of your experiences is stored.
We start life with the gift of our genes, but we become capable through the learning and development of mental models that enable us to reason, solve, and create. In other words, the elements that shape your intellectual abilities lie to a surprising extent within your own control.
- Making mistakes and correcting them builds the bridges to advanced learning.
T-shirt proclamations
The book’s memorable one-liners — e.g. that struggle and error are features of learning, not bugs.
2. Knowledge is the foundation of mastery
- Mastering the lecture or the text is not the same as mastering the ideas behind them.
- People who learn to extract the key ideas from new material and organize them into a mental model — and connect that model to prior knowledge — show an advantage in learning complex mastery.
- “If memorization is irrelevant to complex problem solving, don’t tell your neurosurgeon.”
- Just as knowledge amounts to little without the exercise of ingenuity and imagination, creativity absent a sturdy foundation of knowledge builds a shaky house.
3. Retrieval practice beats rereading
- To be most effective, retrieval must be repeated again and again, in spaced out sessions, so that the recall, rather than becoming a mindless recitation, requires some cognitive effort.
- Repeated recall appears to help memory consolidate into a cohesive representation in the brain and to strengthen and multiply the neural routes by which the knowledge can later be retrieved.
- Self-testing may be unappealing because it takes more effort than rereading, but the greater the effort at retrieval, the more will be retained.
- Students who take practice tests have a better grasp of the material than those who don’t.
Spacing vs. cramming
| Strategy | Short-term result | Long-term result |
|---|---|---|
| Massed studying (cramming) | Better score on the immediate exam | Advantage quickly fades — much greater forgetting |
| Spaced retrieval practice | Feels harder in the moment | Stronger, more durable retention |
- When retrieval practice is spaced, allowing some forgetting to occur between tests, it leads to stronger long-term retention than when it is massed.
- While cramming can produce better scores on an immediate exam, the advantage quickly fades because there is much greater forgetting after rereading than after retrieval practice. The benefits of retrieval practice are long-term.
Students and testing
Students do generally dislike the idea of tests — especially high-stakes ones like midterms and finals. Yet in all studies of testing that reported students’ attitudes, the students who were tested frequently rated their classes more favorably at the end of the semester than those tested less frequently. Those who were frequently tested reached the end of the semester on top of the material and did not need to cram for exams.
4. Reflection deepens learning
Reflection can involve several cognitive activities that lead to stronger learning:
- Retrieving knowledge and earlier training from memory
- Connecting these to new experiences
- Visualizing and mentally rehearsing what you might do differently next time
Selected highlights
“Retrieval practice — recalling facts or concepts or events from memory — is a more effective learning strategy than review by rereading.”
“Making mistakes and correcting them builds the bridges to advanced learning.”
“The greater the effort at retrieval, the more will be retained.”
“The benefits of retrieval practice are long-term.”