The Impact of Mode of Notetaking, Sleep, and Studying on Test Performance

Abstract

In university, it is typical that students learn information for an exam. However, what makes the processes of learning, studying, and sleep occur optimally to ensure memory in the long-term? In the current study, I manipulated the mode of notetaking during learning acquisition, sleep during a consolidation period, and retrieval in the context of studying. I examined how these factors interact to impact memory retention when tested on the material. Participants included Princeton University undergraduate student (N = 33). The key hypotheses were that handwriting (vs. typing), sleep (vs. wake), and studying (vs. not studying) would benefit memory, and that the combination of these factors would provide the largest benefit. Contrary to the predictions, method of notetaking, sleep, and studying did not have significant effects on test performance. However, some data were trending towards supporting the prediction that sleep would produce less forgetting than wake. Due to a small sample size, these findings are very preliminary and should be interpreted with caution. In light of these results, one possibility is that handwriting and typing notes produce no noticeable difference in memory outcomes in a controlled setting with few distractions. However more research is needed to disentangle the separate effects of typing (e.g. distractions from computers, etc.).