The Relationship Between Active Learning and Long-Term Retention in an Introductory Statistics Course

1. Active Learning Methods In statistics, active learning (AL) methods include projects with class participation and hands-on experiments. Projects might involve sampling, regression analysis, experimental design and the analysis of variance. Cooperative learning is a form of AL in which small group interaction leads learning via peer instruction. Johnson and Johnson (1975) discuss various situations in which cooperative learning helps to create an environment where students are more inclined to question the concepts that appear unclear to them. It is not fully known how AL methods effect long-term memory. Current beliefs about long-term memory are based models for which the meaningful stimuli are processed by the brain at a deep level. These models attribute long-term memory to our ability to process semantic knowledge deeply by associating the recalled items according to their meaning, rather than the frequency it was reinforced. Craik and Tulving (1975) showed that deeper processing of a memorized word occurred when the subject was asked about the word’s meaning versus being asked about the word. This suggests that long-term memory is enhanced by using methods where the student is familiarized with the material through understanding real examples, rather than studying only mathematical concepts. We compare the effects of cooperative learning methods to the effects of traditional learning methods in teaching two sections of an undergraduate statistics course. Student projects were the main application of AL methods into the lectures, and are further detailed in Kvam (1998). The first class was taught using traditional lecture-style learning methods, while the next class was taught stressing AL methods. We investigate the teaching effect on the students’ long-term ability to retain the material learned in class by testing students immediately after the course concluded, and then having them return eight months later to be tested again, to see retention. Details of the 18-point test are discussed in Kvam (1998), and the results of the experiment are listed in Table 1 below: