A Community for Science-Based Learning.

The Problem with Highlighting

For Instructors, Ineffective Techniques, Expert Interview / January 16, 2016 / By Katherine Rawson, Ph.D.

Highlighting is a prevalent study technique among students, with many believing that marking text will help them remember the selected information better or make later study sessions more effective. Although the interactive nature of deciding what to highlight can sometimes boost learning, highlighting is a generally ineffective study strategy. In this video, Dr. Katherine Rawson (Kent State University) explains why.

Here are a few videos that we think will be useful guides on how to take notes.

Another useful video on how to take great notes.

Katherine Rawson studying

About the Author

Katherine Rawson, Ph.D.

Katherine Rawson (Ph.D., University of Colorado) is a Professor of Psychology at Kent State University. Her research program consists of two interrelated areas of research: One area explores how to optimize learning in educationally-relevant domains, with an emphasis on strategies that promote the durability and efficiency of student learning, and the self-regulatory processes that support such learning. The other area explores the cognitive processes involved in skill acquisition, with a particular interest in mechanisms underlying the automatization of reading processes.

NewerHow To Make Daily Quizzes Work

OlderMake It Stick

Mindset