Deep Processing

What is deep processing?

Deep processing refers to encoding that attends to meaning and its relationships, as in deciding whether a word fits a sentence. It contrasts with shallow processing, which attends to surface properties, such as capitalization, or to a word’s sound rather than its meaning.

Levels of processing: the evidence

Craik and Tulving studied word retention after different orienting questions. Their results support the importance of the kind of encoding, rather than time spent on the task alone.

Examples of deep processing

• Explaining how a new concept relates to a familiar one is meaningful elaboration.
• Deciding whether a word fits a sentence is semantic encoding.
• Organizing concepts by their relationships also makes meaning central to the task.

These examples describe what the learner does; the later memory test determines how well that encoding served the goal.

Deep processing in studying and teaching

The framework’s creators discuss elaboration, distinctiveness, and the relation between learning and test demands. “Deep” does not mean any activity that is difficult or multisensory.

When studying or teaching, ask learners to explain relationships, give an example, or compare concepts. Then check the knowledge or skill you want them to retain. An elaborate activity can still miss the point of the lesson.