Where and how to learn: The interactive benefits of contextual variation, restudying, and retrieval practice for learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182096848
Author(s):  
Megan N Imundo ◽  
Steven C Pan ◽  
Elizabeth Ligon Bjork ◽  
Robert A Bjork
Keyword(s):  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Word List ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Good Place ◽  
Contextual Variation ◽  
Subsequent Recall ◽  
Testing Condition

Students are often advised to do all of their studying in one good place, but restudying to-be-learned material in a new context can enhance subsequent recall. We examined whether there are similar benefits for testing. In Experiment 1 ( n = 106), participants studied a 36-word list and 48 hr later—when back in the same or a new context—either restudied or recalled the list without feedback. After another 48 hr, all participants free-recalled the list in a new context. Experiment 2 ( n = 203) differed by having the testing-condition participants restudy the list before being tested. Across both experiments, testing in a new context reduced recall, which carried over to the final test, whereas restudying in a new context did not impair (and in Experiment 2, significantly enhanced) recall. These findings reveal critical interactions between contextual-variation and retrieval-practice effects, which we interpret as consistent with a distribution-of-memory-strengths framework.

scholarly journals Retrieval Practice Consistently Benefits Student Learning: A Systematic Review of Applied Research in Schools and Classrooms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pooja K. Agarwal ◽  
Ludmila Nunes ◽  
Janell Blunt
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Total N ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Improved Learning ◽  
Improve Student Learning ◽  
Classroom Time

Given the growing interest in retrieval practice among educators, it is valuable to know when retrieval practice does and does not improve student learning—particularly for educators who have limited classroom time and resources. In this literature review, we developed a narrow operational definition for “classroom research” compared to previous reviews of the literature. We screened nearly 2,000 abstracts and systematically coded 50 experiments to establish a clearer picture of benefits from retrieval practice in real world educational settings. Our review yielded 49 effect sizes and a total n = 5,374, the majority of which (57%) revealed medium or large benefits from retrieval practice. We found that retrieval practice improved learning for a variety of education levels, content areas, experimental designs, final test delays, retrieval and final test formats, and timing of retrieval practice and feedback; however, only 6% of experiments were conducted in non-WEIRD countries. Based on our review of the literature, we make eight recommendations for future research and provide educators with a better understanding of the robust benefits of retrieval practice across a range of school and classroom settings.

scholarly journals Retrieval practice facilitates memory updating by enhancing and differentiating medial prefrontal cortex representations

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifang Ye ◽  
Liang Shi ◽  
Anqi Li ◽  
Chuansheng Chen ◽  
Gui Xue
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Memory Updating ◽  
Practice Condition ◽  
Memory Integration

Updating old memories with new, more current information is critical for human survival, yet the neural mechanisms for memory updating in general and the effect of retrieval practice in particular are poorly understood. Using a three-day A-B/A-C memory updating paradigm, we found that compared to restudy, retrieval practice could strengthen new A-C memories and reduce old A-B memory intrusion, but did not suppress A-B memories. Neural activation pattern analysis revealed that compared to restudy, retrieval practice led to stronger target representation in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) during the final test. Critically, it was only under the retrieval practice condition that the MPFC showed strong and comparable competitor evidence for both correct and incorrect trials during final test, and that the MPFC target representation during updating was predictive of subsequent memory. These results suggest that retrieval practice is able to facilitate memory updating by strongly engaging MPFC mechanisms in memory integration, differentiation and consolidation.

scholarly journals Repeated Retrieval Practice to Foster Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara M. van Peppen ◽  
Peter P. J. L. Verkoeijen ◽  
Anita Heijltjes ◽  
Eva Janssen ◽  
Tamara van Gog
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Syllogistic Reasoning ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Repeated Retrieval

There is a need for effective methods to teach critical thinking. Many studies on other skills have demonstrated beneficial effects of practice that repeatedly induces retrieval processes (repeated retrieval practice). The present experiment investigated whether repeated retrieval practice is effective for fostering critical thinking skills, focusing on avoiding biased reasoning. Seventy-five students first took a pre-test. Subsequently, they were instructed on critical thinking and avoiding belief-bias in syllogistic reasoning and engaged in retrieval practice with syllogisms. Afterwards, depending on the assigned condition, they (1) did not engage in extra retrieval practice; (2) engaged in retrieval practiced a second time (week later); or (3) engaged in retrieval practiced a second (week later) and a third time (two weeks later). Two/three days after the last practice session, all participants took a post-test consisting of practiced tasks (to measure learning relative to the pre-test) and non-practiced (transfer) tasks. Results revealed no significant difference between the pretest and the posttest learning performance as judged by the mean total performance (MC-answers + justification), although participants were, on average, faster on the post-test than on the pre-test. Exploring performance on MC-answers-only suggested that participants did benefit from instruction/practice but may have been unable to justify their answers. Unfortunately, we were unable to test effects on transfer due to a floor effect, which highlights the difficulty of establishing transfer of critical thinking skills. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that addresses repeated retrieval practice effects in the critical thinking domain. Further research should focus on determining the preconditions of repeated retrieval practice effects for this type of tasks.

Does Item Difficulty Affect the Magnitude of the Retrieval Practice Effect? An Evaluation of the Retrieval Effort Hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Felipe Rodrigues de Lima ◽  
Sebastião Venâncio ◽  
Júlia Feminella ◽  
Luciano Grüdtner Buratto
Keyword(s):  
Recall Test ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Practice Effect ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
Nonsignificant Trend ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Practice Phase ◽  
Effort Hypothesis

Abstract Retrieving information by testing improves subsequent retention more than restudy, a phenomenon known as the retrieval practice effect. According to the retrieval effort hypothesis (REH), difficult items require more retrieval effort than easier items and, consequently, should benefit more from retrieval practice. In two experiments, we tested this prediction. Participants learned sets of easy and difficult Swahili–Portuguese word pairs (study phase) and repeatedly restudied half of these items and repeatedly retrieval practiced the other half (practice phase). Forty-eight hours later, they took a cued-recall test (final test phase). In both experiments, we replicated both the retrieval practice and the item difficulty effects. In Experiment 1 (N = 51), we found a greater retrieval practice effect for easy items, MDifference = .26, SD = .17, than for difficult items, MDifference = .19, SD = .19, t(50) = 2.01, p = .05, d = 0.28. In Experiment 2 (N = 28), we found a nonsignificant trend—F(1, 27) = 2.86, p = .10, $$ {\upeta}_{\mathrm{p}}^2 $$ = .10—toward a greater retrieval practice effect for difficult items, MDifference = .28, SD = .22, than for easy items, MDifference = .18, SD = .21. This was especially true for individuals who benefit from retrieval practice (difficult: MDifference = .32, SD = .18; easy: MDifference = .20, SD = .20), t(24) = –2.08, p = .05, d = –0.42. The results provide no clear evidence for the REH and are discussed in relation to current accounts of the retrieval practice effect.

scholarly journals Retrieval practice transfer effects for multielement event triplets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Samantha Pickering ◽  
Lisa Henderson ◽  
Aidan J Horner
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Related Material ◽  
Test Conditions ◽  
Practice Transfer ◽  
Integrated Information

Retrieval practice (RP) leads to improved retention relative to re-exposure and is considered a robust phenomenon when the final test conditions are identical to RP conditions. However, the extent to which RP “transfers” to related material is less clear. Here we tested for RP transfer effects under conditions known to induce integration of associated material at encoding, which may make transfer more likely. Participants learned multielement triplets (locations, animals, and objects) and one pairwise association from each triplet was tested through RP, re-exposed, or not re-exposed (control). Two days later participants completed a final test of all pairwise associations. We found no evidence for an RP effect compared to re-exposure, but both tested/re-exposed pairs were better remembered than the not re-exposed control condition. We also found that transfer occurred from both tested to untested and re-exposed to not re-exposed pairs. Our results highlight that RP and re-exposure can boost retention for directly tested/re-exposed event pairs and associated but untested/not re-exposed event pairs, suggesting re-exposure of integrated information can be of pedagogical value. The results also question the boundary conditions for an increase in retention for RP relative to re-exposure, highlighting the need for a better theoretical understanding of RP effects.

The Effect of Retrieval Practice on Transitive Inference

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 377-392
Author(s):  
Milton E. Picklesimer ◽  
Zachary L. Buchin ◽  
Neil W. Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Testing Effect ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Transitive Inference ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Element Interactivity ◽  
Significant Negative Effect ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Retention Intervals

Abstract. Compared to restudying, retrieval practice has often been found to enhance memory (the testing effect). However, it has been proposed that materials with high element interactivity may not benefit from retrieval practice. Transitive inference (TI) requires just such interactivity, in which information must be combined across multiple learning elements or premises. The current study employed a 7-element TI paradigm in which participants initially learned a set of premises (e.g., A > B, B > C, C > D, etc.), then engaged in either restudy or retrieval practice with the premises, and then were given a final test that assessed memory for the original premises and one’s ability to make transitive inferences about them (e.g., to infer that B > D). Three experiments examined TI on final tests with retention intervals of a few minutes (Experiment 1), 2 days (Experiment 2), or up to a week (Experiment 3). Retrieval practice consistently failed to enhance transitive inference. Furthermore, retrieval practice significantly reduced TI in Experiment 1. Across experiments, TI was numerically worse in the retrieval-practice than restudy condition in 4 of 5 comparisons, and a small-scale meta-analysis revealed a significant negative effect of retrieval practice on TI.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document