This study is consistent with the model of how connections in the brain are made.

The brain forms memories through connections in neurons. One part of the neuron, the dendrite, which connects neurons at the synapse only forms after the neuron has been stimulated.

The neuron path required to recall a memory without direct access to the information has to be created without direct access to the information or else connection between neurons won't form.

This is why active recall i.e. flashcards is so effective. A person can read and read and read, but until a person recalls the memory, it isn't being formed. Recollection is the point a memory is made. Using flashcards is an effective tool.

There are comments about people taking notes as an effective learning tool. But, this study suggests writing the notes after the lecture is more effective.

This is important for people interested in educational software start ups. The big take away here is that the studies show an effective way to learn that is consistent with our understanding at the neurological level of how memories are formed. However, within the learning and teaching community it is not accepted as the best practice. In the case of people developing educational software they will be torn between creating products that meet demand and creating products that are effective.

>He and his colleagues have also been promoting the idea of frequent low-stakes classroom quizzes

The more successful educational software applications, Khan Academy[2] and Doulingo, do just this but more importantly take the students answers into consideration, formative assessment, whereas the researcher in the article would only be concerned with seeded or piquing the students

>Mr. Daniel points to a disheartening 2004 study that found that some features of contemporary textbooks — prominent subject headings, questions and outlines at the beginning of chapters, and so on — actually seem to hinder some students' learning, because students read only the bells and whistles and skip the main text. Many of those textbook features were based on scientific studies of learning — but putting them into real-world practice may have backfired, at least for some students.

In the lab, introducing students to an overview of material before focusing on the specifics worked but in a real classroom, students being lazy didn't study the specifics of the material. The author is discussing lots of different concepts here. Active learning, 'interactive courses', and the type of learning suggested by this study are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps, in the case of the study but not in the real world. Search for an answer on Stack Exchange. Open the IDE. Write some code. This is a process that uses both methods but even if learning isn't the goal is probably the most effective way to learn to code.

There is a problem with education that treats learning like it is linear. Learning is cyclic. The mathematician Alfred North Whitehead had already applied Boyd's Law of Iteration[1] to education circa 1929.[3] The first step is the romantic phase where a student is casually introduced to new material. To learn about biology of fishes, go to an aquarium and experience fish, wonder about fish, be introduced to the concept of a habitat and see a cuttlefish up close. The second step in education is the precision step. This is rout memorization. This is knowing the names of different fish and which environments they live in. Learn the parts of the fish, the heart, the gills, and the lateral line. The last step is generalization. It is here that relationship between the lateral line and detecting movement is understood and new and original ideas are formed.

During this learning process on fish there is also a cyclic learning math. At some point the cycle begins anew with math and fish together. The generalization step is a grad student working with a research scientist using knowledge of fish and statistics to monitor the size of fish populations deriving conclusions that lead to policies effecting fisheries and conservation.

There is still a cycle after this. What if the grad student needs to learn a computer language to manage data and build models?

It doesn't seem wise to through out a chapter overview and outline which research shows helps if students are just lazy. This phase should be the romance with the subject matter. It should create interest on the subject that the student carries during the rest of the phases of learning.

I'm searching for information about Whitehead's Aim of Education and found an overview for teachers.[4]Is Depaul a serious university? In the OP article there are two camps; the romance and generalization learning camp and the precision active recall camp. Remember that I don't believe they are mutually exclusive. Whoever wrote this chart is clearly in the generalization only camp because their examples of precision are about making generalizations. There is a whole group of people who don't believe memorizing stuff is important and they are rewriting or misinterpreting stuff to fit their narrative.

[1] http://blog.codinghorror.com/boyds-law-of-iteration/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtKJrB5rOKs

[3] https://books.google.com/books?id=WbXs-vyWPPgC&printsec=fron...

[4] http://teacher.depaul.edu/documents/romance-precision-genera...