The Students Who Killed Their Rats

Most people are dangerously unaware of the crucial 4th Pillar of Learning.

What is the 4th Pillar of Learning?

It’s called Consolidation. That’s right, most people aren’t even familiar with the term.

They fall for the myth of cramming. Don’t make that mistake. Your life one day could depend on it.

Introduction

When you’re seeking to learn something new – really learn it – be skeptical of anyone who claims they can teach it quickly.

The next story explains why.

Putting Cramming to the Test

In 2005, a team of medical professors in Toronto, Canada wanted to find the best way to teach their young medical students basic surgery techniques, to prepare them for their upcoming practice test on live rats. The professors’ traditional method was to assemble the students together for a single day of intense training. ¹You can read the 2006 study here: C-A. E. Moulton, A. Dubrowski, H. MacRae, B. Graham, E. Grober, & R. Reznick, “Teaching surgical skills: What kind of practice makes perfect?,” Annals of Surgery 244 (2006), 400–4o9. 

The professors felt the single-day format would be simpler for everyone. But what about the students’ actual learning? Did they learn best using this format?  The professors had a hunch the students would learn better in training spread over a longer period.  So they decided to test the idea, and organized two groups.  The first group of students attended the full 8 hours of training in a single day.  The second group attended 4 two-hour sessions, held weekly for four weeks.

We all know what the first group did, and we have a word for it. They crammed. The format forced them to cram difficult new material into an intense 8-hour period, presumably taking up what otherwise was half their weekend.

The second group received the same instruction from the same professors, with one difference. Their learning was paced evenly over four weeks. They received two hours of training one week, then two hours the next, until they too had logged the 8 hours.

Which group did better? 

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