Desirable Difficulties and Its Impacts on Learning in Secondary Schools

Desirable Difficulties and Its Impacts on Learning in Secondary Schools

As the term suggests, desirable difficulties as a tool of passing instructions improves the quality of education (Baddeley and Longman, 2010). Education is supposed to impart knowledge and skills that will help the student throughout their lives.  The educational experience should foster long-term retrieval of the acquired information and the ability to refer to that knowledge in situations that may not be similar in some aspects in which that knowledge was accessed. This learning principle achieves the purpose by introducing some difficulties into the learning process that immensely enhance long-term preservation of the acquired material. Although such difficulties appear to slow the speed of learning, memory and transfer of such material at a later date is greatly improved.

To illustrate the impact that desirable difficulties have in secondary schools, consider a history student reading a list of dates relating to different events. The student will experience improved performance as the dates are recalled frequently and comfortably within a given period of time.  This improved retrieval ability is attributed to the fact that these dates are fresh on the mind (Dempster, 2007). In summary, apart from highly correct recall and increased performance, it is not a guarantee that this information will be stored and accessible in the long-term

Methods of Implementing the Principle and its Implications

Implementation of desirable difficulties can take various forms. Whatever form is used, the underlying principle is to introduce more challenges for the learner.  Some of these tools include the following.

1. Changing the setting of exercise- these include increasing the variety, types, or the range of problems in the general pattern of the learning process. Introducing unpredictability in the teaching practice will bring about difficulties while improving long-term ability to retain and transfer training to new though related contexts. These could include problem solving tasks. Varying the manner of introducing tasks to be learned, for example, changing the rate or distance of a target will slow performance during learning but improve post-training performance (Kornell and Bjork, 2008). It is also practically effective to improve long-term memory by varying the environment where the sessions are held.
2. Tests – there is overwhelming evidence that supports the fact that remembrance induced by a recall test greatly facilitates long-term storage of information and ability to retrieve.

• Spacing- this involves acquisition of learning skills by getting feedback in a more frequent, immediate and accurate manner. This helps learning and performance.

1. Active process- this is by engaging students to generate target material by use of puzzle and other complex tools rather than reading passively (McDaniel, Hines, Waddill and Einstein, 2005).
2. Making learning material less organized and harder to read.

It is understandable that both students and teachers would embrace easier methods of studying.  When learning is harder, students are susceptible making error which makes it even arduous to convince them to embrace these “desirable difficulties”. However, the implications of easy methods are dire and produce undesirable results altogether. Among these implications include loss of the acquired information after a very short period of time through erosion of memory. This is because the acquired information did not involve much effort.  When learning is made too easy, there is misguided boost in the retrieval ability but less deep processing that promotes holding of information related to higher storage strength.

To improve the quality of educational methods, it is paramount that teachers employ and design a curriculum that does not just serve to improve short-term performance. Therefore, scientific study that relates these desirable difficulties to their implementation goes a long way in enhancing understanding by students.

 

References

Baddeley, A.D., & Longman, D.J.A. (2010). The influence of length and frequency of training session on the rate of learning to type. Ergonomics, 21, 627-635.

Dempster, F.N. (2007). The spacing effect: A case study in the failure to apply the results of psychological research. American Psychologist, 43, 627-634.

Kornell, N., & Bjork, R.A. (2008). Learning concepts and categories: Is spacing the “enemy of induction”? Psychological Science, 19, 585-592.

McDaniel, M.A., Hines, R.J., Waddill, P.J., & Einstein, G.O. (2005). What makes folk tales unique: Content familiarity, causal structure, scripts, or superstructures? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 169–184.

McDaniel, M.A., Hines, R.J., Waddill, P.J., & Einstein, G.O. (2011). What makes folk tales unique: Content familiarity, causal structure, scripts, or superstructures? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 169–184.

 

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