What Do Students Remember from Introductory Psychology?

Abstract

In 2 studies, students in introductory psychology courses completed a free-recall task designed to measure their memory for the course. In Study 1, the most frequently recalled items were vivid instructional tools, such as dramatic videos and novel in-class demonstrations. The ratings of these responses measured how relevant they were to a course concept. Only 15% of responses were highly relevant to course material. Students' relevance of responses correlated positively with final grade and test-score percentage. Study 2 found that the concepts students remembered most frequently had vivid instructional techniques accompanying them.