To Improve Recall, Multitask

Science Daily recently reported on a new study that suggests learners who doodle while listening recall more facts than their non-doodling peers. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology. Researcher and University of Plymouth Psychology professor Dr. Jackie Andrade explains that the intensity of a learner's attention waxes and wanes while listening to information because it is human nature to have competing thoughts clamoring for one's cognitive resources. From the results of the study, Dr. Andrade infers that doodling places a low but constant load on one's attention, thereby driving out extraneous brain activity that would otherwise compete for a learner's attention.

One reason this study is relevant here is because it addresses one of the central questions this blog will be used to explore: Is multitasking possible? The study seems to suggest that multitasking is possible, at least to a very limited extent. One explanation of the observed results is that people can multitask if one task demands their attention while the other task(s) can be performed on "auto pilot." In Dr. Andrade's study, subjects merely shaded in pre-drawn shapes while listening, and they were instructed not to worry about neatness, or even staying in the lines. In other words, "doodling" is used loosely. A more apt word would be "scribbling."

Semantics aside, the study is very interesting and has practical, classroom applications. Question: What are some environmentally friendly alternatives to wasting pencils and paper that can be performed on autopilot and wouldn't be annoying if a classroom full of students were doing it? Hmmm...