Review: Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Book: Brown, P.C., Roediger, H.L., & McDaniel, M.A. (2014). Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Belknap Press. makeitstick.net. Also available as an audio book and in multiple languages.

Overview

Have you ever wondered how you could more effectively design your training for successful learning? Have you wished you could remember and apply more of your own learning? If so, Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning is for you.

Published in 2014, Make it Stick has become a classic and a go-to reference book for many trainers and educators. Written by cognitive scientists Henry L. Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel with author Peter C. Brown, the book illustrates how learning and memory work in a way that is engaging and accessible for the layperson. Research-backed strategies such as retrieval practice, interleaving, spaced practice, and more are explained through story and even demonstrated via skillful repetition of key concepts.

Highlights

• Many people think that rereading a text and practicing the same skill repeatedly (massed practice) are effective learning strategies, but they’re not. Instead, retrieval practice through techniques such as reflection and testing, especially when spaced out over time (spaced practice) should be used. As one example, students in a sixth-grade social studies class were given no-stakes quizzes on a portion of their class material. When end-of-semester exams were given, students scored a full grade level higher on quizzed material compared to non-quizzed material. Similar results occurred in other settings.
  

• Interleaving is another counterintuitive but effective strategy. This involves spaced practice between a mix of subjects and/or skills. For example, if you are training employees on a process with ten procedures, instead of mastering the procedures in order, you would practice one a little bit and then mix up the practice with the other procedures. While this is more effortful, overall mastery and long-term retention are improved.
  

• Instead of providing an easy learning experience, we should strive for optimal difficulties and effort in learning, as this improves long-term retention. Various learning strategies support these desirable challenges, such as retrieval practice, trying to solve a problem before being told how to do it (generation), and connecting new knowledge to existing knowledge (elaboration).

• Learning well also requires an accurate perspective of our knowledge and capabilities. Unfortunately, we easily succumb to illusions, cognitive biases, and memory distortions, such as the curse of knowledge, fluency illusions, and the false consensus effect. To get a better, more accurate picture of reality, we can engage tools such as testing, apprenticeship, feedback, and real-world simulation.
  

The Bottom Line: Is It Useful?

In the nearly 2000 citations since publication, many of the books’ claims have been affirmed. For example, Weinstein et al. (2018) describe “decades of research” that support spaced practice, interleaving, retrieval practice, and elaboration. However, the same authors also note that additional research-backed strategies for successful learning exist, such as concrete examples and dual coding. 

Even today, more research is needed (Roediger & Abel, 2022). This research is unlikely to debunk the main findings, but could accentuate or refine them. For example, it might clarify the effects of combining strategies or expand on considerations for diverse audiences in different contexts. 

In my own practice, Make It Stick has challenged my perspective on numerous things, including testing. While in the past I questioned its usefulness, favouring assignments and projects instead, I now consider it to be a useful tool for learning and incorporate it in my learning designs. I am also able to be more strategic about how I employ other strategies such as reflection and elaboration. Although it was published in 2014, I believe this book remains an important work for students, teachers, leaders, professors, coaches, trainers, and anyone who wants to improve their learning. 

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Sources:

Roediger III, H.L., & Abel, M. (2022). The double-edged sword of memory retrieval. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1, 708-720. https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/s44159-022-00115-2-1.pdf 

Weinstein, Y., Madan, C.R., & Sumeracki, M.A. (2018). Teaching the science of learning. Cognitive Research, 3(2). https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-017-0087-y#citeas  

Tags:  book review  learning science  performance  research