week 7 successive learning Flashcards
what is retrieval practice?
actively recalling info improves memory better than passive
spaced learning
spreading out learning leads to better retention compared to cramming
successive relearning
combining retrieval practice with spaced learning for mastery over multiple sessions
what does savings score suggest
measures efficiency in relearning; indicates forgotten memories are not ERASED but temporarily inaccessible
Roediger, Putnam & Smith (2011) benefits of testing
- retrieval aids later retention of the material tested
- identifies gaps in knowledge
- learn more from next learning episode through testing
- better mental organization of knowledge
- improves transfer of knowledge to new contexts
- testing facilitates retrieval of info not tested
- improves metacognitive monitoring
- prevents interference from prior info when learning info
- testing provides feedback to instructors
- frequent testing encourages students to study
mastery
must answer each question correctly, if not, corrective feedback is provided and question is answered again later in the same session
criterion level
number of times a given question needs to be answered correctly to hit mastery
trials to criterion
the number of attempts to answer a question to criterion level
dropout method
once question has been answered to criterion level, it is dropped from further study within the learning session
definition of savings score
amount of time or learning attempts ‘saved’ from having previous learned the items
- measure of how faster relearning Is compared to original learning process
equation for savings score
time/trials to mastery for first learning - time/trials to mastery for relearning/trials to mastery for first learning x100
what was the purpose of Rawson et al 2018 study
To examine how successive relearning impacts memory retention and whether repeated relearning sessions lead to better long-term performance.
what was the method of Rawson et al 2018 study
- Learners studied 48 Lithuanian-English word pairs (e.g., “žolė - grass”).
- in the initial learning phase: ptsp studied the word pairs once
- in relearning sessions: Participants were required to retrieve each word pair to a certain mastery level:
Criterion Level: Answer correctly 1 or 3 times during a session.
-Dropout method: Once a word pair was mastered, it was removed from further study in that session. - Corrective feedback was provided after errors.
- Four spaced relearning sessions were conducted, each one week apart.
-After the fourth relearning session, participants were tested three weeks later.
what were the results of Rawson et al 2018 study
- Participants retained 77% of the word pairs three weeks after the last session.
- Relearning became faster across sessions, showing that memories were not entirely lost but easier to access with successive relearning.
what is a cofounding variable into the study of successive learning
exposure
how is exposure a cofounding variable
do to individual differences, ptsp may need more time reviewing info, reaching mastery criterion, corrective feedback etc
relearning time is a variable as…
criterion level is varied and within-session lag between repetitions is varied
what did the higham et al 2022 study examine
the impact of successive relearning compared to restudying on students’ retention and learning outcomes in an introductory psychology course.
what was the method of Hingham et al 2022 study?
Participants:
-Psychology students enrolled in an introductory course.
Procedure:
-Weekly Practice Sessions:
After each lecture, students logged onto a website to complete practice tasks.
Group 1: Answered 20 fill-in-the-blank (cued-recall) questions with corrective feedback.
Group 2: Restudied 20 statements (passive exposure).
Spacing Schedule:
-Sessions were spaced two days apart (e.g., lecture on Monday; practice on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday).
Intervention Features:
-Successive Relearning:
Used a dropout method where mastered questions were removed from the session.
Participants aimed to achieve mastery with feedback (answer correctly at least once).
Metacognition:
Participants predicted how well they would answer test questions after each session (Judgment of Learning, JOL, rated 0-100%).
Questionnaires assessed attention, mastery, and anxiety during each session.
Final Tests:
Conducted twice:
42 days after the first lecture.
68 days after the first lecture.
Tests were cumulative and included new material, practiced material, and restudied material.
what was the results of Hingham et al 2022 study?
- Retention:
Successive relearning led to significantly better performance than restudying.
Test 1 (42 days): Relearn (.52), Restudy (.35), New (.20).
Test 2 (68 days): Relearn (.53), Restudy (.43), New (.30). - Engagement:
Students found retrieval-based tasks more engaging but initially challenging. - Metacognition:
Students’ confidence (JOLs) improved over time, reflecting better awareness of the benefits of relearning.
George took 12 mins to perfectly recite a list of words twice. After two days, although he couldn’t recite any of the words at first, he was able to recite the list twice after 8 mins. What is his savings score?
33%
George took 12 mins to perfectly recite a list of words twice. After two days, although he couldn’t recite any of the words at first, he was able to recite the list twice after 8 mins. What is the criterion?
2
What typically happens after each relearning session with successive relearning?
learners take more time to forget the information than they did before
Rawson et al. (2018) investigated successive relearning of English word translations. What did they find?
Participants remembered over three quarters of the translations 3 weeks after 4 relearning sessions
What is one potential reasons that restudy control groups been omitted from much research on successive relearning?
it is hard to know how long to have participants restudy material because relearning (retrieval) performance varies so much between individuals
Higham et al. (2022) examined successive relearning over 3 sessions per week in an Introductory Psychology module and compared it to successive restudying. They found that students:
were more anxious when relearning vs restudying in the first session, but less anxious by the third session
Successive relearning is a combination of which two learning strategies?
spacing and retrieval practice
