Teaching secondary school students how to learn: Effects of a learning strategies intervention on students' achievement
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: This study reports on a naturalistic intervention conducted in a secondary school aimed at enhancing students' use of effective, evidence-based learning strategies grounded in cognitive science—specifically, retrieval practice and the minimization of distractions—under the hypothesis that such training would enhance academic performance. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study compared an experimental cohort with a control cohort from the previous academic year. Students in the experimental group reported a higher frequency of evidence-based study strategies and a lower incidence of maladaptive behaviors, such as listening to music while studying. They also achieved higher scores on a post-intervention exam, with even greater differences observed on an unannounced follow-up test administered one week later. Importantly, the effects of the intervention remained significant after controlling for cognitive ability, study time, and pre-intervention test scores. These findings suggest that a brief, scalable, and teacher-led intervention can effectively modify students' study habits and yield measurable improvements in academic achievement. • A scalable, teacher-led intervention taught secondary students evidence-based study strategies such as retrieval practice. • The intervention emphasized retrieval practice and minimizing distractions (extraneous cognitive load). • Students who received the intervention improved significantly on both immediate and delayed exams. • Gains in academic performance remained robust after controlling for cognitive ability and study time. • This study is among the first to provide strong evidence for the effects of strategy instruction in a real-world secondary school setting.
Source: Acta Psychologica
Institution: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,670
OpenAlex ID: W7118998283