Topic 2: Retrieval Studies

Question 1

More training pairs / More recall

Answer 1

Question: Is practicing recall better than training?

Task: Learn Swahili-English pairs, then recall one word of the pair

Condition (4): Training (more vs. less) * Recall (more vs. less)

Protocol: Training followed by testing phases (4 times)

Measure: % of correct answers

Findings: % of correct trials was higher for recall than non recall condition… more recall is great/training does not help

Question 2

Difficulty of retrieval

Answer 2

Question: Does the difficulty of the retrieval practice influence how well we remember information?

Task: Learn Swahili-English pairs, then recall one word of the pair

Condition (2): Less difficult (1 minute between training and recall) vs. more difficult (6 minutes between training and recall)

Protocol: Training/recall until required criterion level is reached.

• Training/recall: 25 minutes (testing)
• Training/recall: 1 week (testing)
• Criterion level: # of correct retrievals per items required during practice before next training session
• Test on all pairs

Measure: Proportion of correct answers during final test

Findings: More difficult retrieval conditions (more time between training and recall) are more effective than the counterpart, especially after a week

Question 3

Feedback

Answer 3

Question (2): Is feedback effective? How effective is retrieval without feedback?

Task: Study training material then perform MCQ test with training material

Condition (4): No practice test, practice test & no feedback, practice test & immediate feedback, practice test & delayed feedback

Protocol: Study –> delay –> outcome test

Measure: % of correctly answered questions on the outcome test

Findings (2): Feedback improves the effectiveness of learning in addition to retrieval practice. Retrieval practice is effective compared to learning without retrieval.

Question 4

Transfer of learning

Answer 4

Question: Is retrieval useful when learning needs to be transferred?

Task: Study set of questions and answers then tested on similar questions

Condition (3): Restudy, restudy & highlight, practice test

Protocol: Study training set –> test on testing set

Measure: % of correctly answered questions on testing set

Findings: Retrieval improves transfer of learning compared to studying without retrieval

Question 5

Concept mapping compared to retrieval

Answer 5

Question (2): What is the actual usefulness of retrieval practice, compared to concept mapping? What is our subjective intuition about the usefulness of retrieval practice, compared to concept mapping?

Task: Study material then test

Condition (4): Study (2) (concept mapping vs. retrieval) & Test (2) (Concept mapping vs. retrieval)

Protocol: Study –> delay –> test

Measure: Judgment, actual performance

Findings (2): People through concept mapping is more effective. Retrieval is more effective.

Question 6

Findings

Answer 6

1. Recall is better, training does not help.
2. Difficult recall is best (with larger breaks in between testing), especially after a longer period of time.
3. Feedback improves learning, especially after a delay and added with retrieval
4. Recall improves transfer of learning
5. Retrieval > concept mapping