Contextual Enrichment and Distribution of Practice in the Classroom

Abstract

Small scale experiments have led us to believe that teaching a lot in a short time is inefficient, perhaps because it overtaxes student resources. This principle, however, has not been adequately tested in realistic instructional settings. Another untested practical notion derived from psychological theory is that diversifying environmental contexts of teaching and providing contextual aids for the organization of course content can make instruction more effective, particularly when it is massed. These predictions were tested with an 8-hour statistics course, consisting of four videotaped lessons. The lessons were presented either within a single day or over 4 days. Environmental context was either diversified, by teaching the lessons in four different rooms, or was held constant by using a single room setting. Retention was tested 5 days after training in a totally new environment. Field independence of subjects was measured by the Group Embedded Figures test. We found: (1) Distribution of lessons over 4...