Why do You Think Asking Students to Predict an Answer Makes Them Remember it Better?

Have you ever watched the Oscars on TV?  When the celebrity announcer opens the envelope, says,

“The Oscar for best picture goes to…”

Then pauses dramatically, how do you feel? Interested, eager to hear the answer, or even excited?  You probably have an idea in your mind of who the winner will be, and you are dying to find out if you are right!

Of course, part of the reason we want to know is that we love to see our favorites, like Titanic, win.  But there is more brain science at work here in the way our minds react to prediction, and it’s a concept we can use to improve our teaching, too.

Strategy: Prediction

Prediction is asking students to predict the answer to a question before teaching it in order to strengthen the memory in their minds. One example is giving a pretest at the beginning of a new unit of material.  Another example: I did it with the title of this article!

How it works

Did you stop to think about why prediction works when you read the title of this article? Let’s see if you were correct!  The reason asking students to make a prediction works is that the act of trying to come up with an answer makes our brain search around for prior knowledge related to the topic.  This activity makes connections between what we already know, and what we are learning. And more connections results in a stronger memory.  (A topic for a later edition of Bite-sized Teaching!)

In other words,

When we make a prediction, then find out what the answer is, our brain has already prepared a “place” for the answer, and it is firmly connected to our prior knowledge.

How you can use it

It’s easy to use this strategy to improve your teaching because all you have to do is ask your students a question prior to explaining a key concept. However, we know that it also benefits students to reflect on why they made the prediction, and whether they were correct.  So let’s see how we can incorporate each of these strategies into our teaching.

Example for a live presentation

Ask your audience a question about a key concept before you begin the topic.  You could ask them to answer out loud, or use a polling tool (like the one in Zoom for webinars, or Poll Everywhere for an in-person meeting). After you’ve explained the correct answer, ask them if they predicted correctly. You could even ask someone who didn’t predict the correct answer to explain why they think they didn’t.

If I were teaching about using prediction as a teaching technique, I could ask,

“Why do you think asking students to predict an answer makes them remember it better?”

After my students had given their answers, I could follow up with,

“Did anyone predict the wrong answer?  Tell us why you think that was!”

Example for an online course

For an online course, try including a multiple choice or short answer quiz question before the instructional video that explains the concept.  For my lesson on prediction, I could use something like:

Why do you think asking students to predict an answer makes them remember it better?

1. Because prediction reduces the number of neurons in the brain.
2. Because prediction causes students to search their mind for prior information related to the topic.
3. Because prediction tires the mind, which makes it more susceptible to learning.
4. Because it stops students from looking at their phones while you’re talking.

Summing it up

• Prediction is asking students to predict the answer to a question before teaching it in order to strengthen the memory in their mind.
• It works because, when we make a prediction then find out what the answer is, our brain has already prepared a “place” for the answer, and it is firmly connected to our prior knowledge.
• To use this strategy, simply ask your students a question prior to explaining a key concept. For additional benefits, ask them to reflect on why they made the prediction, and whether they were correct.

I hope you can predict that I would love to hear what you think of using prediction as a method to help your students remember key information! Leave a comment below to let me know.