Some of the Reasons Why Preparing for Exams Is so Hard: What Can Be Done to Make It Easier?

Educational Psychology Review

Volumn 9, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 1-38

  Pressley, Michael ^a   Yokoi, Linda ^a   Van Meter, Peggy ^b   Van Etten, Shawn ^a   Freebern, Geoffrey ^a  

^a STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK   (United States)

^b PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Information processing; Learning strategies; Studying; Teaching

Indexed keywords

EID: 0031541372     PISSN: 1040726X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/A:1024796622045     Document Type: Article

References (129)

1. Aiken, E. G., Thomas, G. S., and Shennum, W. A. (1975). Memory for a lecture: Effects of notes, lecture rate, and information density. J. of Educ. Psychol. 67: 439-444.
2. Ames, C. (1984). Competitive, cooperative, and individualistic goal structures: A motivational analysis. In Ames, R., and Ames, C. (eds.), Research on Motivation in Education (Vol. 1), Academic Press, New York, pp. 117-207.
3. Anderson, V. (1992). A teacher development project in transactional strategy instruction for teachers of severely reading-disabled adolescents. Teaching & Teacher Educ. 8: 391-403.
4. Anderson, R. C., and Biddle, W. B. (1975). On asking people questions about what they are reading. In Bower, G. (ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 9), Academic Press, New York.
5. Anderson, R. C., and Pearson, P. D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading. In Pearson, P. D. (ed.), Handbook of Reading Research, Longman, New York.
6. Anderson, V., and Roit, M. (1993). Planning and implementing collaborative strategy instruction for delayed readers in grades 6-10. Elem. School J. 94: 121-137.
7. Armbruster, B. B., Anderson, T. H., and Meyer, J. L. (1991). Improving content-area reading using instructional graphics. Reading Res. Quart. 26: 393-416.
8. Bahrick, H. P., and Hall, L. K. (1991). Preventive and corrective maintenance of access to knowledge. Appl. Cognit. Psychol. 5: 1-18.
9. Baumeister, R. F., Heatherton, T. F., and Tice, D. M. (1994). Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation, Academic Press, San Diego.
10. Bielaczyc, K., Pirolli, P., and Brown, A. L. (March 1991). The Effects of Training in Explanation Strategies on the Acquisition of Programming Skills. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
11. Borkowski, J. G., Carr, M., Rellinger, E. A., and Pressley, M. (1990). Self-regulated strategy use: Interdependence of metacognition, attributions, and self-esteem. In Jones, B. F. (ed.), Dimensions of Thinking: Review of Research, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 53-92.
12. Bretzing, B. H., and Kulhavy, R. W. (1981). Notetaking and passage styles. J. Educ. Psychol. 73: 242-250.
13. Britton, B. K., and Gülgöz, S. (1991). Using Kintsch's computational model to improve instructional text: Effects of repairing inference calls on recall and cognitive structures. J. Educ. Psychol. 84: 329-345.
14. Britton, B. K., Gülgöz, S., and Glynn, S. (1993a). Impact of good and poor writing on learners: Research and theory. In Britton, B. K., Woodward, A., and Binkley, M. (eds.), Learning from Textbooks: Theory and Practice, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 1-46.
15. Britton, B. K., Woodward, A., and Binkley, M. (1993b). Learning from Textbooks: Theory and Practice, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
16. Britton, B. K., Van Dusen, L., Gülgöz, S., and Glynn, S. (1989). Instructional texts rewritten by five expert teams: Revisions and retention improvements. J. Educ. Psychol. 81: 226-239.
17. Britton, B. K., Van Dusen, L., and Gülgöz, S. (1991). Reply to "A response to 'instructional texts rewritten by five expert teams.'" J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 149-152.
18. Brooks, R. (1990). Indelible memories of school: Of contributions and self-esteem. School Field 1: 121-129.
19. Brophy, J. (1981). Teacher praise: A functional analysis. Rev. Educ. Res. 51: 5-32.
20. Chall, J. S., Conard, S. S., and Harris-Sharples, S. (1991). Should Textbooks Challenge Students? The Case for Easier and Harder Books, Teachers College Press, New York.
21. Chambliss, M. J., and Calfee, R. C. (1989). Designing science textbooks to enhance student understanding. Educ. Psychol. 24: 307-322.
22. Ciborowski, J. (1993). Textbooks and the Students Who Can't Read Them: A Guide for Teaching Content, Brookline Books, Cambridge, MA.
23. Collins, C. (1991). Reading instruction that increases thinking abilities. J. Reading 34: 510-516.
24. Committee on High School Biology (1990). Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
25. Cordon, L. A., and Day, J. D. (1996). Strategy use and comprehension on standardized reading tests. J. Educ. Psychol. 88: 288-295.
26. Crooks, T. J. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation practices of students. Rev. Educ. Res. 58: 438-481.
27. Dewey, J. (1913). Interest and Effort in Education, Riverside, Boston.
28. DiVesta, F. J., and Gray, G. S. (1972). Listening and notetaking. J. Educ. Psychol. 63: 8-14.
29. Dreher, M. J., and Brown, R. F. (1993). Planning prompts and indexed terms in textbook search tasks. J. Educ. Psychol. 85: 662-669.
30. Dreher, M. J., and Guthrie, J. (1990). Cognitive processes in textbook search processes. Reading Res. Quart 25: 323-339.
31. Duffy, T. M., Haugen, D., Higgins, L., McCaffrey, M., Mehlenbacher, B., Burnett, R., Cochran, C, Sloane, S., Wallace, D., Smith, S., and Hill, C. (1989). Models for the design of instructional text. Reading Res. Quart. 24: 434-457.
32. Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. Am. Psychol. 41: 1040-1048.
33. Epstein, W., Glenberg, A. M., and Bradley, M. M. (1984). Coactivation and comprehension: Contribution of text variables to the illusion of knowing. Mem. Cognit. 12: 355-360.
34. Einstein, G. O., Morris, J., and Smith, S. (1985). Note-taking, individual differences, and memory for lecture information. J. Educ. Psychol. 77: 522-532.
35. Fredericksen, N. (1984). The real test bias: Influences of testing on teaching and learning. Am. Psychol. 39: 193-202.
36. Ghatala, E. S., and Levin, J. R. (1975). Children's recognition memory processes. In Levin, J. R., and Allen, V. L. (eds.), Cognitive Learning in Children: Theories and Strategies, Academic Press, New York, pp. 61-100.
37. Glenberg, A. M., and Epstein, W. (1987). Inexpert calibration of comprehension. Mem. Cognit. 15: 84-93.
38. Glenberg, A. M., Sanocki, T., Epstein, W., and Morris, C. (1987). Enhancing calibration of comprehension. J. Exp. Psychol.: General 116: 119-136.
39. Glenberg, A. M., Wilkinson, A. C., and Epstein, W. (1982). The illusion of knowing: Failure in the self-assessment of comprehension. Mem. Cognit. 10: 597-602.
40. Glover, J. A. (1989). The "testing" phenomenon: Not gone but nearly forgotten. J. Educ. Psychol. 81: 392-399.
41. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence, New York: Bantam.
42. Grabe, M. (1989). Evaluation of purposeful reading skills in elementary-age students. J. Educ. Psychol. 81: 628-630.
43. Graves, M. F., and Slater, W. H. (1991). A response to "Instructional texts rewritten by five expert teams." J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 147-148.
44. Guri-Rozenblit, S. (1989). Effects of a tree diagram on students' comprehension of main ideas in an expository text with multiple themes. Reading Res. Quart. 24: 236-247.
45. Guthrie, J. T. (1988). Locating information in documents: Examination of a cognitive model. Reading Res. Quart. 23: 178-199.
46. Guthrie, J. T., and Dreher, M. J. (1990). Literacy as search: Explorations via computer. In Nix, D., and Spiro, R. (eds.), Cognition Education and Multimedia: Exploring Ideas in High Technology, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
47. Guthrie, J. T., Bennett, S., and Weber, S. (1991). Processing procedural documents: A cognitive model for following written directions. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 3: 249-265.
48. Hartley, J., and Marshall, S. (1974). On notes and notetaking. Univ. Quart. 28: 225-235.
49. Hembree, R. (1988). Correlates, causes, effects, and treatment of test anxiety. Rev. Educ. Res. 58: 47-77.
50. Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. J. Res. Math. Educ. 21: 33-46.
51. James, W. (1884). What is an emotion? Mind 9: 188-205.
52. James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology (Vol. 2). Henry Holt, New York.
53. Kiewra, K. A. (1991). Aids to lecture learning. Educ. Psychol. 26: 37-53.
54. Kiewra, K. A., and Fletcher, H. J. (1984). The relationship between notetaking variables and achievement measures. Human Learn. 3 273-280.
55. Kiewra, K. A., DuBois, N. F., Christian, D., McShane, D., Meyerhoffer, M., and Roskelley, D. (1991). Note-taking functions and techniques. J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 240-245.
56. King, A. (1989). Effects of self-questioning training on college students' comprehension of lectures. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 14: 366-381.
57. King, A. (1990). Enhancing peer interaction and learning in the classroom through reciprocal questioning. Am. Educ. Res. J. 27: 664-687.
58. King, A. (1991). Effects of training in strategic questioning on children's problem-solving performance. J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 307-317.
59. King, A. (1992). Comparison of self-questioning, summarizing, and notetaking-review as strategies for learning from lectures. Am. Educ. Res. J. 29: 303-323.
60. Kobasigawa, A. (1983). Monitoring retrieval processes by children. J. Genet. Psychol. 142: 259-269.
61. Kucan, L. (December 1993). Uncovering Cognitive Processes in Reading. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Charleston.
62. Kuhl, J. (1984). Volitional aspects of achievement motivation and learned helplessness: Toward a comprehensive theory of action control. In Maher, B. A. (ed.), Progress in Experimental Personality Research (Vol. 13), Academic Press, New York, pp. 100-173.
63. Kuhl, J. (1985). Volitional mediators of cognition-behavior consistency: Self-regulatory processes and action versus state orientation. In Kuhl, J., and Beckmann, J. (eds.), Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior, Springer-Verlag, West Berlin.
64. Lange, C. G. (1885). One leudsbeveegelser (translated by I. A. Haupt). In Dunlap, K. (ed.), The Emotions, Williams & Wilkens, Baltimore, 1922, pp. 33-90.
65. Levin, J. R. (1982). Pictures as prose-learning devices. In Flammer, A., and Kintsch, E. (eds.), Discourse Processing, North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 412-444.
66. Levin, J. R. (1983). Pictorial strategies for school learning: Practical illustrations. In Pressley, M., and Levin, J. R. (eds.), Cognitive Strategy Research: Educational Applications, Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 213-237.
67. Levin, J. R., and Mayer, R. E. (1993). Understanding illustrations in text. In Britton, B. K., Woodward, A., and Binkley, M. (eds.), Learning from Textbooks: Theory and Practice, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 95-113.
68. Lundeberg, M. A. (1987). Metacognitive aspects of reading comprehension: Studying understanding in legal case analysis. Reading Res. Quart. 22: 407-432.
69. Lundeberg, M. A., and Fox, P. W. (1991). Do laboratory findings on test expectancy generalize to classroom outcomes? Rev. Educ. Res. 61: 94-106.
70. Maki, R. H., and Berry, S. L. (1984). Metacomprehension and text material. J. Exp. Psychol.: Learn. Mem. Cognit. 10: 663-679.
71. Maki, R. H., and Serra, M. (1992). The basis of test predictions for text material. J. Exp. Psychol.: Learn. Mem. Cognit. 18: 116-126.
72. Maki, R. H., Foley, J. M., Kajer, W. K., Thompson, R. C., and Willert, M. G. (1990). Increased processing enhances calibration of comprehension. J. Exp. Psychol.: Learn. Mem. Cognit. 16: 609-616.
73. Martin, V. L., and Pressley, M. (1991). Elaborative interrogation effects depend on the nature of the question. J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 113-119.
74. Mayer, R. E. (1980). Elaboration techniques that increase the meaningfulness of technical text: An experimental test of the learning strategy hypothesis. J. Educ. Psychol. 72: 770-784.
75. Mayer, R. E. (1985). Structural analysis of science prose: Can we increase problem-solving performance? In Britton, B. K., and Black, J. B. (eds.), Understanding Expository Prose: A Theoretical and Practical Handbook for Analyzing Explanatory Text, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 65-87.
76. Mayer, R. E., and Cook, L. K. (1981). Effects of shadowing on prose comprehension and problem solving. Mem. & Cognit. 9: 101-109.
77. Mayer, R. E., Sims, V., and Tajika, H. (1995). A comparison of how textbooks teach mathematical problem solving in Japan and the United States. Am. Educ. Res. J. 32: 443-460.
78. McCormick, C. B., and Pressley, M. (1995). Educational Psychology: Learning, Instruction, and Assessment, HarperCollins, New York.
79. McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teaching Tips: A Guide for the Beginning College Teacher, D.C. Heath, Boston.
80. McLeod, D B., and Adams, V. M. (eds.) (1989). Affect and Mathematical Problem Solving: A New Perspective, Springer-Verlag, New York.
81. Meichenbaum, D. (1977) Cognitive Behavior Modification, Plenum, New York.
82. Meyer, B. J. F. (1975). The Organization of Prose and Its Effects on Memory, North Holland, Amsterdam.
83. Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus-or-minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychol Rev. 63: 81-97.
84. Morris, L. W., Bransford, J. D., and Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. J. Verb. Learn. Verb. Behav. 16: 519-533.
85. Nelson, J., and Hayes, J. R. (1988). How the Writing Context Shapes College Students' Strategies for Writing from Sources. Technical Report No. 16, University of California and Carnegie-Mellon University, Center for Study of Writing at University of California and Carnegie-Mellon, Berkeley.
86. Newman, R. S., and Goldin, L. (1990). Children's reluctance to seek help with schoolwork. J. Educ. Psychol. 82: 92-100.
87. Nicholls, J. G. (1989). The Competitive Ethos and Democratic Education, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
88. Nye, P. A., Crooks, T. J., Powley, M., and Tripp, G. (1984). Student notetaking related to university examination performance. Higher Educ. 13: 85-97.
89. Osbon, D. K. (ed.) (1991). Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, HarperCollins, New York.
90. Palmatier, R. A., and Bennett, J. M. (1974). Notetaking habits of college students J. Read. 18: 215-218.
91. Peper, R. J., and Mayer, R. E. (1986). Generative effects of notetaking during science lectures. J. Educ. Psychol. 78: 34-38.
92. Pressley, M., Snyder, B. L., Levin, J. R., Murray, H. G., and Ghatala, E. S. (1987). Perceived readiness for examination performance (PREP) produced by initial reading of text and text containing adjunct questions. Reading Res. Quart. 22: 219-236.
93. Pressley, M. (with C. B. McCormick) (1995a). Advanced Educational Psychology for Educators, Researchers, and Policymakers, HarperCollins, New York.
94. Pressley, M. (with C. B. McCormick) (1995b). Cognition, Teaching, and Assessment, HarperCollins, New York.
95. Pressley, M., and Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal Protocols of Reading: The Nature of Constructively Responsive Reading, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
96. Pressley, M., and Ghatala, E. S. (1988). Delusions about performance on multiple-choice comprehension tests. Reading Res. Quart. 23: 454-464.
97. Pressley, M., and Ghatala, E. S. (1989). Metacognitive benefits of taking a test for children and young adolescents. J. Exp. Child Psychol. 47: 430-450.
98. Pressley, M., Borkowski, J. G., and Schneider, W. (1989). Good information processing: What it is and what education can do to promote it. Int. J. Educ. Res. 13: 866-878.
99. Pressley, M., and Ghatala, E. S. (1990). Self-regulated learning: Monitoring learning from text. Educ. Pshychol. 25: 19-33.
100. Pressley, M., Ghatala, E. S., Woloshyn, V., and Pirie, J. (1990a). Being really, really certain you know the main idea doesn't mean you do. Yearbook Nat. Reading Conf. 39: 249-256.
101. Pressley, M., Ghatala, E. S., Woloshyn, V., and Pirie, J. (1990b). Sometimes adults miss the main ideas in text and do not realize it: Confidence in responses to short-answer and multiple-choice comprehension items. Reading Res. Quart. 25: 232-249.
102. Pressley, M., Wood, E., Woloshyn, V. E., Martin, V., King, A., and Menke, D. (1992a). Encouraging mindful use of prior knowledge: Attempting to construct explanatory answers facilitates learning. Educ. Psychol. 27: 91-110.
103. Pressley, M., El-Dinary, P. B., Gaskins, I., Schuder, T., Bergman, J. L., Almasi, J., and Brown, R. (1992b). Beyond direct explanation: Transactional instruction of reading comprehension strategies. Elem. School J. 92: 511-554.
104. Pressley, M., Schuder, T., SAIL Faculty and Administration, Bergman, J. L., and El-Dinary, P. B. (1992c). A researcher-educator collaborative interview study of transactional comprehension strategies instruction. J. Educ. Psychol. 84: 231-246.
105. Rohwer, W. D., Jr. (1984). An invitation to a developmental psychology of studying. In Morrison, F. J., Lord, C. A., and Keating, D. P. (eds.), Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology (Vol. 1), Academic Press, New York, pp. 1-57.
106. Ruddell, R. B., and Boyle, O. F. (1989). A study of cognitive mapping as a means to improve summarization and comprehension of expository prose. Reading Res. Instr. 29: 12-22.
107. Simpson, M. L., Hayes, C. G., Stahl, N., Connor, R. T., and Weaver, D. (1988). An initial validation of a study strategy system. J. Reading Behav. 20: 149-180.
108. Snyder, B. L. (1988). What Do Adults Do When Studying for a Test with Unpredictable Questions? Unpublished master's thesis, University of Western Ontario, Department of Psychology, London, Ontario.
109. Stipek, D., and MacIver, D. (1989). Developmental change in children's assessment of intellectual competence. Child Devel. 60: 521-538.
110. Suritsky, S. K., and Hughes, C. A. (1991). Benefits of notetaking: Implications for secondary and postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Learn. Disab. Quart. 14: 7-18.
111. Sutman, F. (1992). Science content errors: An issue of immediate concern. J. Res. Sci. Teaching 29: 437-439.
112. Symons, S., and Pressley, M. (1993). Prior knowledge affects text search success and extraction of information. Reading Res. Quart 28: 250-261.
113. Thomas, J. W., and Rohwer, W. D., Jr. (1987). Grade-level and course-specific differences in academic studying. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 12: 344-364.
114. Thomas, J. W., and Rohwer, W. D., Jr. (1993). Proficient autonomous learning: problems and prospects. In Rabinowitz, M. (ed.), Cognitive Science Foundations of Instruction, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 1-32.
115. Tobias, S. (1979). Anxiety research in educational psychology. J. Educ. Psychol. 71: 573-582.
116. Tobias, S. (1985). Test anxiety: Interference, defective skills, and cognitive capacity. Educ. Psychol. 20: 135-142.
117. Turner, G. (1992). College students' self-awareness of study behaviors. Coll. Stud J. 26: 129-134.
118. van Etten, S. W., Freebern, G., and Pressley, M. (in press). College students' beliefs about exam preparation. Contemp. Educ. Psychol.
119. van Meter, P., Yokoi, L., and Pressley, M. (1994). College students' theory of notetaking derived from their perceptions of notetaking. J. Educ. Psychol. 86: 323-338.
120. vos Savant, M. (1995). "I've Forgotten Everything I Learned in School!" St. Martin's Griffin, New York.
121. Walczyk, J. J., and Hall, V. C. (1989). Is the failure to monitor comprehension an instance of cognitive impulsivity? J. Educ. Psychol. 81: 294-298.
122. Webb, N. M. (1989). Peer interaction and learning in small groups. Int. J. Educ. Res. 13: 21-39.
123. Wegner, D. M., and Pennebaker, J. W. (1993). Handbook of Mental Control, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
124. Wigfield, A, Eccles, J. S., MacIver, D., Reuman, D. A., and Midgley, C (1991). Transitions during early adolescence: Changes in children's domain-specific self-perceptions and general self-esteem across the transition to junior high school. Devel. Psychol. 27: 552-565.
125. Woloshyn, V. E., Willoughby, T., Wood, E., and Pressley, M. (1990). Elaborative interrogation facilitates adult learning of factual paragraphs. J. Educ. Psychol. 82: 513-524.
126. Woloshyn, V. E., Pressley, M., and Schneider, W. (1992). Elaborative interrogation and prior knowledge effects on learning of facts. J. Educ. Psychol. 84: 115-124.
127. Wood, E., Pressley, M., and Winne, P. H. (1990). Elaborative interrogation effects on children's teaming of factual content J. Educ. Psychol. 82: 741-748.
128. Woodward, A. (1993). Do illustrations serve an instructional purpose in U.S. textbooks? In Britton, B. K., Woodward, A., and Binkley, M. (eds.), Learning from Textbooks: Theory and Practice, Erlbaum & Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 115-134.
129. Wyatt, D., Pressley, M., El-Dinary, P. B., Stem, S., Evans, P., and Brown, R. (1993). Comprehension strategies, worth and credibility monitoring, and evaluations: Cold and hot cognition when experts read professional articles that are important to them. Learn. Indiv. Diff. 5: 49-72.