Retrieval Practice Research Articles

Examining the influence of item exposure and retrieval practice effects on test performance in a large‐scale workforce development training programme

AbstractMany workforce development training programmes use learning gains as a measure of programme effectiveness. However, research on K‐12 education suggests that posttest scores may be influenced by pretesting effects. Pretesting may improve posttest performance by giving learners preknowledge of posttest content. Alternatively, pretesting may enhance learning via the retrieval practice effect. Cross‐classified analysis was used to detect pretesting effects in archival data from a large‐scale agriculture workforce development programme. Data included scores from 14,302 learners, 352 trainers and 261 training centres. Results indicated that pretesting led to higher scores on posttests. Follow‐up logistic regression analyses found no effect for time lag between pretest and posttest. In addition, pretested learners did not perform better on items that were included on both forms, suggesting that score differences were due to retrieval practice effects rather than preknowledge of posttest content. These results provide evidence that pretesting may enhance learning in large‐scale workforce development training courses.

Turning Roadblocks into Speed Bumps: A Call for Implementation Reform in Science Communication About Retrieval Practice

Turning Roadblocks into Speed Bumps: A Call for Implementation Reform in Science Communication About Retrieval Practice

The effect of retrieval practice on vocabulary learning for DHH children.

On average, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children have difficulty developing expressive spoken vocabulary comparable to hearing peers. Yet, there are no evidence-based practices to guide classroom instruction for teachers of the deaf. Retrieval practice-a robust learning strategy-has been shown to improve children's retention of vocabulary, but it has not been investigated with DHH children who use listening and spoken language. The present study examined whether DHH children benefit from using retrieval practice to learn new vocabulary. Sixteen DHH children (in the age range of 5.0-8.11years) were taught a set of new vocabulary words using retrieval practice or repeated exposure. A recall test was administered two days later. Results showed that DHH children were twice as likely to recall a word taught through retrieval practice than exposure (OR = 2.01, p = .02). Presence of an additional diagnosis and number of practice trials were also significant predicting factors of vocabulary learning.

Single-paper meta-analyses of the effects of spaced retrieval practice in nine introductory STEM courses: is the glass half full or half empty?

BackgroundUndergraduate STEM instructors want to help students learn and retain knowledge for their future courses and careers. One promising evidence-based technique that is thought to increase long-term memory is spaced retrieval practice, or repeated testing over time. The beneficial effect of spacing has repeatedly been demonstrated in the laboratory as well as in undergraduate mathematics courses, but its generalizability across diverse STEM courses is unknown. We investigated the effect of spaced retrieval practice in nine introductory STEM courses. Retrieval practice opportunities were embedded in bi-weekly quizzes, either massed on a single quiz or spaced over multiple quizzes. Student performance on practice opportunities and a criterial test at the end of each course were examined as a function of massed or spaced practice. We also conducted a single-paper meta-analysis on criterial test scores to assess the generalizability of the effectiveness of spaced retrieval practice across introductory STEM courses.ResultsSignificant positive effects of spacing on the criterial test were found in only two courses (Calculus I for Engineers and Chemistry for Health Professionals), although small positive effect sizes were observed in two other courses (General Chemistry and Diversity of Life). Meta-analyses revealed a significant spacing effect when all courses were included, but not when calculus was excluded. The generalizability of the spacing effect across STEM courses therefore remains unclear.ConclusionsAlthough we could not clearly determine the generalizability of the benefits of spacing in STEM courses, our findings indicate that spaced retrieval practice could be a low-cost method of improving student performance in at least some STEM courses. More work is needed to determine when, how, and for whom spaced retrieval practice is most beneficial. The effect of spacing in classroom settings may depend on some design features such as the nature of retrieval practice activities (multiple-choice versus short answer) and/or feedback settings, as well as student actions (e.g., whether they look at feedback or study outside of practice opportunities). The evidence is promising, and further pragmatic research is encouraged.

Effective Combination of Oral Reading and Retrieval Practice Strategies: The Moderating Effect of Reading Model Development

The complementary view of strategy combinations points to the fact that a combination of strategies that promote memory encoding and retrieval practice strategies can be effective in improving memory retention. This study examines the effectiveness of the combination of oral reading and retrieval practice strategies and the effect of the development of reading patterns on their effectiveness. This study designed a mixed experimental design of 3 (grades: Grade three, Grade five, college students) × 2 (reading mode: oral reading and silent reading) × 2 (learning strategies: re-learning and retrieval practice). Among them, reading mode is the within-subject variable, and learning strategy and grade are the between-subjects variables. The dependent variable is the ratio of specific words recalled in the final test. The results show that the oral and retrieval practice is a significant and effective combination of memory strategies for primary school students who are mainly oral reading or in the transition from oral reading to silent reading. It is significantly better than the three strategy combinations of oral reading combined with re-leaning, silent reading combined with re-learning, and silent reading combined with retrieval practice. For adult students who dominated silent reading, silent reading combined with retrieval practice is the best memory strategy.

Word learning by children with developmental language disorder: Identifying gaps in our understanding of spaced retrieval effects.

Current evidence shows that children with developmental language disorder (DLD) benefit from spaced retrieval during word learning activities. Word recall is quite good relative to recall with alternative word learning procedures. However, recall on an absolute basis can be improved further; many studies report that fewer than two-thirds of the words are learned, even with the assistance of spaced retrieval during the learning activities. In this article we identify details of spaced retrieval that are less well understood in an effort to promote more effective learning through retrieval practice. We discuss the importance of factors such as: (a) integrating immediate retrieval with spaced retrieval trials; (b) determining whether gradual increases in spacing have more than short-term benefits relative to equal spacing; (c) discovering the number of successful retrievals sufficient to ensure later recall; (d) using spaced retrieval to avoid erosion of phonetic details on later recall tests; and (e) whether the well-documented difficulties with learning word forms might be tied to a particular subgroup of children with DLD. We also speculate on some of the possible reasons why spaced retrieval is beneficial in the first place. Although many children with DLD make gains in word learning through procedures that incorporate spaced retrieval, there are numerous details involved in the process that can alter its success. Until we have a better understanding of the boundaries of spaced retrieval's effectiveness, we will not be taking full advantage of this promising addition to word learning procedures. Spaced retrieval activities can be an important addition to the resources that clinicians and educators have available to assist children in their word learning. With a deeper understanding of the issues discussed here, we should be able to put spaced retrieval to even greater use.

The facilitative effect of the keyword mnemonic on L2 vocabulary retrieval practice

Keyword mnemonics and retrieval practice are two learning strategies that facilitate foreign language vocabulary learning. This study examined the combination of these strategies for learning English L2 vocabulary with a limited retrieval time. We recruited 110 Chinese college students studying English as a foreign language to investigate the effects of four learning strategies on the retention of English–Chinese word pairs: restudy, retrieval practice, imposed keyword mnemonic combined with retrieval practice, and induced keyword mnemonic combined with retrieval practice. The results revealed that when retrieval practice was constrained to two times, the final performance of the retrieval practice group did not exceed that of the restudy group; however, the combined keyword-retrieval group outperformed the restudy group, regardless of whether the keyword was imposed or induced. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in memory retention performance between the induced and imposed keyword-retrieval combinations. The findings suggest that when retrieval practice is constrained to two times, the keyword-retrieval strategy combination significantly enhances English L2 vocabulary learning compared to restudy or retrieval practice alone, and both the imposed and induced keyword mnemonics can strengthen its efficiency.

Prática da Lembrança: Perspectivas Teóricas e a Hipótese do Aprendizado Baseado na Simulação Construtiva

A large number of recent studies demonstrates that the act of remembering previously studied contents is an eff ective strategy to promote the long-term retention of these contents. This strategy, known as “retrieval practice”, has been viewed as an eff ective strategy to improve learning in diff erent educational settings. However, there is still no consensus about which cognitive mechanisms produce its benefi ts. The present work is a narrative review which covers the main theories about the cognitive mechanisms underlying the benefi ts of retrieval practice. After critically reviewing such theories, we propose a new theoretical account, which is based on cognitive neuroscience fi ndings and intends to resolve inconsistencies found in previous theories. This new hypothesis assumes that the benefi t of retrieval practice results from the engagement of constructive episodic simulations, which are sustained by neural structures of the default mode network. More importantly, while such episodic simulation processes can be engaged by memory tasks, such as retrieval practice, they can be also engaged by tasks involving semantic elaboration or imaginative processes. Consequently, the present hypothesis predicts that the benefi ts of retrieval practice can be reproduced by non-retrieval tasks, as long as they engage constructive episodic simulations. Keywords: Retrieval practice, constructive episodic simulation, memory, learning, cognition

Retrieval practice – a tool to be able to retain higher mathematics even 3 months after the exam

Retrieval practice – a tool to be able to retain higher mathematics even 3 months after the exam

Lower constraint testing enhances the testing effect for some contextual details but not others.

Retrieval practice has been shown to be an effective means of learning new information, a memory phenomenon known as the testing effect or the retrieval practice effect. Some work suggests that the magnitude of the testing effect can be enhanced when the test used for retrieval practice uses fewer cues to retrieve previously studied information. It is unclear, however, whether such testing benefits extend to peripheral contextual details associated with studied materials (e.g., location where stimuli appear, font color in which items are presented, etc.). In this experiment, we examine both item memory (i.e., memory for the studied items) and context memory under conditions where the intervening test offers fewer cues (i.e., lower constraint) compared to more cues (higher constraint) to better understand item and context memory testing effects. Participants first studied word pairs presented in one of eight locations as well as in either red or green font color. Then, in the re-exposure phase, participants processed materials in two types of intervening tests (lower constraint and a higher constraint test) as well as in a restudy condition, before a final memory test. For item memory, results showed that memory was better in the lower constraint testing condition compared to both the higher constraint testing condition as well as the restudy (control) condition. For context memory, results indicated improved memory for location context under lower constraint testing compared to both higher constraint testing and restudy conditions. There was no difference in memory, however, for color context across all conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that providing fewer cues to aid retrieval in the intervening test can induce better memory for both items as well as some contextual details.

Supplemental Material for Retrieval Practice Can Promote New Learning With Both Related and Unrelated Prose Materials

Supplemental Material for Retrieval Practice Can Promote New Learning With Both Related and Unrelated Prose Materials

Supplemental Material for Distributed Retrieval Practice and Picture Illustrations: Improving Initial Aural Foreign Vocabulary Learning

Supplemental Material for Distributed Retrieval Practice and Picture Illustrations: Improving Initial Aural Foreign Vocabulary Learning

베이지안 추론을 통한 과대-과소예측자의 학습전략 사용 및 효과판단에서의 착각 분석

The purpose of this study is to analyze the tendency of over- and under-prediction in the context of predicting test scores, and what learning strategies are used a lot by over-predictors(OPs) and how they judge their effects through conditional probability. 74 undergraduate students selected the three most frequently used and effective learning strategies respectively from the 10 strategies. 72% of students overestimated the test score, which was strong enough to reach 29% even in the fourth-tier students with the highest actual score. The mean difference is significant(t=5.06, p<.001). In the conditional probability of strategies most used and judged to be effective by two types of predictors, the 'low' strategy is judged to be less effective than the high degree of use, and the 'high' strategy shows the opposite illusion. However, although the conditional probability of use differs greatly between the 'high' and 'low', the conditional probability of effect does not differ significantly. In the rate of up and down between the prior and the posterior probability, the OP has a lower posterior than the prior in both the use and effect judgment. In other words, it means that the percentage of all students who use (or judge that it is effective) is higher than that of the OPs. This was the same as 'distributed practice', and the conditional probability of use and effect of 'retrieval practice' only is slightly higher than that of all students. Contrary to expectations in the degree of use and effect judgment of the 'low' strategy, it was confirmed that students' illusion of the 'low' strategy was very serious through a Bayesian reasoning.

An Online Program for Primary Care Practitioners to Enhance Confidence in Ability to Care for Patients With or at Risk of Painful Knee Osteoarthritis.

Primary care practitioners (PCPs) care for the majority of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Despite the existing evidence-based guidelines, PCPs often feel unequipped to evaluate and effectively treat patients with KOA. To address this need, we designed and implemented a free internet-based program focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of KOA. We assessed whether the program led to improvements in participants' confidence in their knowledge and skills related to effectively recognizing and caring for patients with or at risk of KOA. We used Caffarella's integrative model to develop a program aligned with the American College of Rheumatology 2019 Guideline for the treatment of KOA. The program incorporated 18 case-based questions to provide retrieval practice and mastery experiences. We assessed changes in participants' confidence in their KOA knowledge and skills after program completion. Of the first 353 learners completing the program, 53.8% were women, 41.9% had a clinical focus in primary care, and 69.1% were nonphysicians. Overall confidence in KOA knowledge and skills improved after program completion (P < 0.001; effect size=1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.12-1.45), with largest improvements among participants with lower pre-program confidence. A total of 95.8% of participants indicated they would recommend the program to others. A free online program focusing on the effective care for patients with KOA attracted a wide range of learners, even though it targeted PCPs. Participants overwhelmingly endorsed it as highly relevant and would recommend it to others. Whether improvements in confidence translate into better patient outcomes is an important area for future research.

Personal Reflections on Science Communication and Sharing Retrieval Practice Research with Teachers

Personal Reflections on Science Communication and Sharing Retrieval Practice Research with Teachers

Re-examining the testing effect as a learning strategy: the advantage of retrieval practice over concept mapping as a methodological artifact.

Several previous studies appear to have demonstrated that studying with retrieval practice produces more learning than studying with concept mapping, a finding based on which an extended use of retrieval practice in educational practice was recommended. However, a closer examination of the methods used in these previous studies reveals a crucial confounding variable: Whereas participants in the concept mapping conditions performed a concept mapping task without any subsequent memorizing of the learning material, participants in the retrieval practice conditions performed not only retrieval practice but also an additional memorization task, which doubled the total memorization time. The present preregistered study examined whether the advantage observed in the retrieval practice condition over the concept mapping condition in previous studies was actually driven by additional memorization rather than by retrieval practice. While we replicated the previous finding that retrieval practice in combination with additional memorizing produces more learning than concept mapping without additional memorizing, this advantage of retrieval practice over concept mapping vanished when participants in the concept mapping condition, too, memorized the learning material after having created a concept map. These findings demonstrate that the assumed advantage of retrieval practice over concept mapping in fact represents a methodological artifact. Besides serving as a reminder of the importance of a solid methodology, the present study also illustrates the importance of using of an adequate terminology. Depicting a learning strategy condition as "retrieval practice" when the condition actually encompasses not only retrieval practice but also additional memorizing obfuscates the possibility that observed memory advantages may not be fueled by retrieval practice, i.e., the learning strategy as such. We conclude by giving an outlook on the ramifications of our findings for cognitive and educational psychology.

The effects of summarization and factual retrieval practice on text comprehension and text retention in elementary education.

When reading a text in school, the goal is both text comprehension and text retention. We examined the effects of the learning strategies summarization and factual retrieval practice on third- and fourth-grade pupils' text comprehension and retention of factual knowledge from a text, using restudy as a control condition. The experiment was conducted in an authentic classroom setting, with teachers executing the experiment using original course materials. In 2016, 57 regular third- and fourth-grade pupils (M = 9.04 years old) read three different texts, and each applied three different learning strategies (summarization, retrieval practice and restudy, which were counterbalanced across texts) in subsequent practice sessions. After a 2-week delay, a final test was administered. The learning strategy summarization had a larger positive effect on text comprehension than factual retrieval practice, but had a similar effect compared to restudy. The learning strategy factual retrieval practice had a larger positive effect on text retention than both summarization and restudy. Implications for educational practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

DESIGNING TUTORIALS TO AUGMENT MOBILITY FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Abstract The Augmenting User Geocoordinates &amp; Mobility with ENhanced Tutorials (AUGMENT) project aims to support aging adults experiencing navigation difficulties accompanying cognitive impairments due to stroke, mild cognitive impairment, and traumatic brain injury. We describe the process and principles for designing tutorials for Uber and Google Maps, two applications that can support improved mobility for those with navigation difficulties associated with cognitive impairment. Initially we examined predictors of self-reported navigation difficulty in a sample (n=300) of older adults aging normally. In the multiple regression, self-reported memory problems (beta = .35), severity of memory problems (beta=.18), and female gender (beta=.16) were the strongest predictors of wayfinding difficulty in addition to a standardized spatial orientation test (beta=.13). Finding that memory difficulties were strongly related to navigation difficulties even in normal aging implied that tutorials could not make strong demands on retention and helped define the queries for interviews in the needs assessment phase. Next, we interviewed aging adults with cognitive impairment and their care partners about navigation problems, focusing on difficulties using navigation devices and applications. We also presented screenshots of the two target apps and asked simple questions about actions that could be taken. We then designed prototype tutorials using principles such as directing attention to relevant display features by highlighting the features, minimizing extraneous workload, and providing spaced retrieval practice for interactions with the interface. We also describe the iterative design process being used to refine the tutorials and the planned summative test of tutorial efficacy.

The modulation and elimination of temporal organization in free recall.

Experiences occur in a continual succession, and the temporal structure of those experiences is often preserved in memory. The temporal contiguity effect of free recall reveals the temporal structure of memory: when a particular item is remembered, the next response is likely to come from a nearby list position. This effect is remarkably robust, appearing across a wide variety of methodological variations of the task. The temporal contiguity effect is also central to retrieved-context models, which propose temporal organization arises from the interaction of a temporal context representation with the contents of memory. Across six experiments, we demonstrate methodological manipulations that dramatically modulate and even eliminate temporal organization in free recall. We find that temporal organization is strongly modulated and in some cases potentially eliminated by strong semantic structure, the presence of retrieval practice, and a long list length. Other factors such as orienting task, paired-associate item structure, and retention interval duration have more subtle effects on temporal organization. In an accompanying set of simulations, we show that the modulation and elimination of the temporal organization follows lawful patterns predicted by the context maintenance and retrieval (CMR) retrieved-context model. We also find cases where CMR does not specifically predict the modulation of temporal organization, and in these cases our analysis suggests how the theory might be developed to account for these effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A lack of retrieval practice effects in children's recognition and recall memory of novel words during storybook reading

IntroductionRetrieval practice enhances adults' long-term memory over restudying. However, it is less clear whether young children also benefit from retrieval practice. This study assessed whether retrieval practice could support children's novel word learning in the context of storybook reading.MethodIn Experiments 1–3, preschoolers (N = 167, RangeAge = 26–68 months) were presented with 10 novel word-object pairs across four consecutive storybook readings. Half of the children were read the storybook four times (i.e., SSSS), whereas the other half of the children were read the storybook once and were then asked to retrieve the novel words during the subsequent three readings (i.e., STTT). Children's recall and recognition memory for the novel words was tested after a 5-min delay.Results and discussionResults revealed that although children had high retrieval success during learning, retrieval practice did not provide an advantage over re-reading for children's recall (Experiment 1), even when additional mapping and retrieval opportunities were provided (Experiment 2); that is, children who engaged in retrieval practice did not outperform children who re-read the storybooks. A retrieval practice effect also did not emerge in children's recognition memory of novel words (Experiment 3). Taken together, this study suggests that retrieval practice may only benefit young children under specific learning conditions. Future research should therefore consider characteristics of the learner and broader learning context to explain developmental differences in retrieval practice effects.