Highlighting text feels active and effective, but often leads to passive learning. Many students highlight or underline text and believe they’re engaging with the material. But in reality, this rarely results in deep understanding. It may feel like learning, but it’s not active processing. Highlighting is often just preparation for learning, not a learning strategy in itself. Example: A student highlights large parts of the text while reading, but performs poorly on a test because they didn’t actively process or apply the content. Tip: Highlighting can be more effective if different colors are used to indicate relationships between ideas.
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
Fowler, R. L., & Barker, A. S. (1974). Effectiveness of highlighting for retention of text material. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59(3), 358–364.
Peterson, L. R. (1992). Memory and marking text: Empirical support for the highlighting illusion. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 17(3), 312–316.