Jade Pearce and Isaac Moore have produced what we think is a truly first class interpretation of Bjork and Bjork's work. Rooted in their take is the now familiar visual model of how memory and learning work from Oliver Caviglioli and this sets the tone for what seems to be the book's central aim: to go beyond knowledge acquisition and get to the mechanics of how knowledge can be encoded and connected in such a way as to become more sustainable, robust and ultimately, useful.
The authors confront the inconvenient truth that in order to achieve the long term benefits that memory offers to the learning process, four central difficulties must be addressed. Fortunately, as they explain, the reward for successfully navigating these difficulties is the long-lasting change to long term memory and a degree of command over its contents.
a truly first class interpretation of Bjork and Bjork's work
Difficulty 1 - Spacing
The first of the four desirable difficulties introduces the relationship between knowledge and forgetting and provides a clear view as to how teachers and leaders can leverage the cognitive architecture of forgetting to eventually make subsequent retrieval easier. The way that the authors anchor the chapter in a summary of the key research in the area allows readers instant access to some of the most important findings related to spacing. However, showing true fidelity to the critical eye of the accomplished researcher, we are also treated to a section on the limitations of spacing. There is no silver bullet here and we are reminded, crucially, of the importance of high quality instruction to induce a depth of processing that will improve future retention. The chapter closes with a practical look at how the findings and limitations could be encoded most effectively into classroom practice. Most interestingly, readers are not offered a checklist of actions to work through but rather are provided with an evidence informed framework for considering decisions around spacing within their own contexts. As ever, context provides the expertise that guides application on an operational level. From research to limitations to application, the chapter is a suitably excellent opening.
Difficulty 2 - Varying conditions of practice
This chapter is a personal favourite because of the implications on task design which I have personally been taking a deep interest in over the last 6 months. The potential learning gains from varying some majorly low maintenance aspects are exciting to read. The physical environment and the format of material presentation are both aspects that could be varied quite easily and to read about the potentially significant advantages to be gained from these practices induces motivation to try these changes out.
Varying the cues we provide and the questions we ask are an instructional design buff's idea of a great time and before I moved onto the thorough and varied exemplification from across a range of subjects that are provided in the rest of the chapter, I tested my own understanding with some question design for some upcoming Maths and Reading lessons I'll be teaching after half term. Deliberately building variation and with it, understanding, adds a feeling of control to the learning process that so many of us in classrooms feel we are missing. The succinct and accessible way that the authors present these ideas make it another confidence inducing chapter.
Difficulty 3 - Interleaving
Put simply, the clearest distinction between spacing and interleaving I have come across. Genuinely, thank you for your clarity on this point alone. This chapter has so much more to offer than that though. We are constantly reminded of how interleaving is concerned with highlighting the differences between related and easily confused concepts by continually revisiting the concepts in quick succession. It is surely an idea that will have Sarah Cottingham and David Ausubel applauding due to the clear parallels to the latter's theory of meaningful learning and how over-assimilation is the inconvenient product of processing rooted in connections with existing, related knowledge.
Of course, with spacing and interleaving so closely related and easily confused, regular reminders of the differences are exactly what is required: interleaving in action to exemplify interleaving! The research shows that interleaving does not just help when we are remembering substantive knowledge but also with the disciplinary knowledge required in a range of subjects, exemplified by the finding that interleaving, in one study, led to more children selecting the correct strategy to use to solve problems.
Consistently, the authors move from the research to how it can be implemented within the classroom. This section begins with tackling the nuance that interleaving works best within topics rather than between them because of the subtle differences that seem to activate the positive effects of interleaving. Again, readers are provided with the limitations and boundaries of the desirable difficulty to encourage their own critical thinking about application in their context.
Context is king and this is so well served in this chapter. In particular, the authors qualify their point that interleaving is less likely to be effective across topics by making clear that this does not mean that taking this approach will not yield gains through retrieval or spaced practice! This could appear to be a contradiction but of course, it’s not. It’s another reminder that the teacher must do the thinking. What kind of gains are you looking for? Which desirable difficulty Is the best tool to suit that purpose? Answer with context in mind with the inconvenient reality that there are often no solutions, only trade-offs where instructional design is concerned.
Difficulty 4 – Practice testing
The fourth desirable difficulty that Jade Pearce and Isaac Moore tackle is that of testing. They make the point that the testing effect has been researched for over a hundred years now and that the findings from various research in that time are pretty consistent. Following initial study, a series of three testing opportunities is shown as more beneficial than repeated study. But, the authors don’t just leave us here with a potential misconception that repeatedly testing that which has not been learned will eventually transmit itself into long-term memory. Instead, we are treated to a masterpiece of a segment on the important of feedback following testing in order to maximise the gains that engaging this difficulty offers us. Links are made to scaffolding and backward fading in an effortless integration with other oft-used classroom strategies.
I was personally thrilled to see a reference to the study on seductive details by Tino Endres and Alexander Renkl, having been fortunate enough to work on a small project with Tino some years ago. The relevance of this study to the points being made in the chapter make it expertly chosen. Considering the influence that seductive details may have on retrieval approaches is a level of adaptability that we need authors with the skill of Isaac and Jade to point out. Before another plethora of examples from across a range of subjects, we are treated to a segment on retrieval through Multiple choice Questions. This is an area that I have been intently interested in since reading Responsive teaching by Harry Fletcher-Wood some time ago and Jade and Isaac provide an excellent take on the importance of plausible alternatives and how they not only push thinking that bit further but also potentially reveal misconceptions.
superb – clear, succinct and actionable
Closing thoughts
With my own son starting secondary school last September, I have been thinking a lot about how to get students to take intelligent responsibility for their own study. Understanding how learning, and specifically memory, works adds a layer of purpose and control to the revision process that provides motivation. How good is the chapter on desirable difficulties in independent study? I think it’s superb – clear, succinct and actionable. I’m looking forward to my son’s exam results next week to see just how well we’ve been able to apply the theory! That is, I believe, a hidden win of this book. I read the section and then summarised sections of it to my son. We thought about how we could apply it to design his revision schedule over the Easter holidays and we talked about it throughout the revision process. It brought me as the parent (and admittedly a teacher) and him, as the student, together in the endeavour of learning.
I can’t help thinking how much parent relationships with their children would benefit from access to this book, in the same way as many will no doubt benefit from Learning Walkthrus by Tom Sherrington. Reading and implementing together, parent and child, will, I believe bring not just improved confidence for students, but also improvement in the oft-difficult triangular relationship between parents, children and study!
Overall, Desirable Difficulties in Action is a marvellous achievement. To pack so much intelligent brilliance into 75 pages is staggering and I can promise you, there is not a single word wasted. The book is both incredibly well researched as accessible. The authors communicate their indisputable knowledge with humility and expertise rooted in practical application. A piece of writing that cuts right to the heart of what we need as educators – research informed frameworks for thinking about context driven classroom application.
Highly recommended – do not miss out!
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