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Despite its popularity, memorizing information is one of the least effective learning strategies. While it may seem efficient, students are more likely to forget memorized material if they don鈥檛 reinforce their learning with other strategies, and a looks at how incorporating guesswork into a lesson can significantly boost students鈥� ability to recall information.

In the study, researchers asked 32 young adults to recall pairs of words under two conditions: rote memorization and trial and error. In the rote memorization condition, they simply memorized and recalled the words they were shown. In the trial-and-error condition, they were shown the first word and had to guess what the second word could be. Researchers then provided feedback on whether the answer was a 鈥渘ear miss鈥濃�攃lose to the correct answer鈥攐r 鈥渙ut in left field.鈥�

The participants were asked to recall their words after a 10-minute break. In the rote memorization condition, they had a recall rate of 54 percent. In the trial-and-error condition, they had a slightly higher recall rate of 65 percent on their聽鈥渙ut in left field鈥� guesses. But when their guesses were a聽鈥渘ear miss,鈥� they had a recall rate of 79 percent鈥�25 percentage points higher than when they memorized the word pairs.

To illustrate the difference between 鈥渘ear miss鈥� and 鈥渙ut in left field鈥� answers, the study authors offer the following example. Imagine you鈥檙e teaching a lesson and you ask your class, 鈥淲ho is Justin Trudeau?鈥� One student, recognizing that the name is connected to politics, may guess 鈥渢he prime minister of France鈥� based on the French-sounding last name. Another student may guess 鈥渢he pop singer鈥濃�擩ustin Timberlake. While both are wrong, the first is closer than the second to the correct answer: Justin Trudeau is the prime minister of Canada.

Of course, if a student already knows the answer, they鈥檙e likely to be able to recall it in the future. But both students who initially got the answer wrong are more likely to remember the correct answer鈥攁s long as they鈥檙e given feedback鈥攖han a student who tries to memorize the fact.

鈥淥ur research found evidence that mistakes that are a 鈥榥ear miss鈥� can help a person learn the information better than if no errors were made at all,鈥� study author Nicole Anderson. 鈥淭hese types of errors can serve as stepping stones to remembering the right answer. But if the error made is a wild guess and out in left field, then a person does not learn the correct information as easily.鈥�

Why does guessing improve memory? When students try to answer questions on their own鈥攁s opposed to when answers are given to them鈥攖hey engage in productive struggle, which helps them make sense of what they鈥檙e learning. Posing questions to students helps them think through a problem, bridging the gap between what they know and what they don鈥檛.

But despite how common mistakes are, students often perceive them as negative and as a potential threat to their self-worth. A 鈥攐ne where the teacher and students treat mistakes as learning opportunities鈥攃an create better conditions for learning.

The takeaway: Look for ways to聽incorporate guesswork into your teaching鈥攇etting students to answer questions will help boost their memory more than if they attempt to memorize the material.