Research has demonstrated that incorporating short review periods within lessons covering interesting subjects frequently enhances student understandi...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Research has demonstrated that incorporating short review periods within lessons covering interesting subjects frequently enhances student understanding and memory retention. Convinced that applying this identical approach to boring material would produce contrasting outcomes, instructors examined pupils studying an especially monotonous topic and anticipated that learners who were given regular brief review intervals throughout their learning period would ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
exhibit reduced understanding scores compared to those who studied the content continuously.
indicate that the review periods became progressively more beneficial as the instruction advanced.
perceive that they had devoted more time to the subject matter than was actually the case.
display enhanced concentration on the most difficult ideas presented in the instruction.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Research has demonstrated that incorporating short review periods within lessons covering interesting subjects frequently enhances student understanding and memory retention." |
|
| "Convinced that applying this identical approach to boring material would produce contrasting outcomes," |
|
| "instructors examined pupils studying an especially monotonous topic and anticipated that learners who were given regular brief review intervals throughout their learning period would ______" |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Instructors hypothesized that review periods would have opposite effects on boring material compared to the positive effects research showed for interesting material.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The research showed that review periods help students with interesting subjects
- But the instructors were "convinced" that the same approach with boring material would produce "contrasting outcomes"
- So they expected the opposite result - that review periods would actually hurt performance with monotonous material
exhibit reduced understanding scores compared to those who studied the content continuously.
- This matches exactly what the instructors anticipated - worse performance with review periods
- "Contrasting outcomes" means if research showed improvement, they expected the opposite: reduced scores
indicate that the review periods became progressively more beneficial as the instruction advanced.
- This suggests review periods become more beneficial over time
- This would be a positive outcome, not "contrasting" with the positive research findings
perceive that they had devoted more time to the subject matter than was actually the case.
- This is about time perception, not learning outcomes
- Doesn't address whether review periods help or hurt performance
display enhanced concentration on the most difficult ideas presented in the instruction.
- Enhanced concentration would be a positive learning outcome
- This contradicts the instructors' expectation of "contrasting outcomes"