Effects of testing on learning of functions

Kang, Sean H. K.; McDaniel, Mark A.; Pashler, Harold

doi:10.3758/s13423-011-0113-x

Cited by 47 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In a recent study, Kang, McDaniel, and Pashler (2011) demonstrated that testing can enhance transfer of mathematical function learning. Participants learned the relationship between x and y values either by seeing the two values side by side (i.e., pure study) or by attempting to estimate y given x before seeing the correct y value (i.e., test with feedback).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tests enhance retention and transfer of spatial learning

Carpenter

Kelly

2012

Psychon Bull Rev

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Many studies have reported that tests are beneficial for learning (e.g., Roediger & Karpicke, 2006a). However, the majority of studies on the testing effect have been limited to a combination of relatively simple verbal tasks and final tests that assessed memory for the same material that had originally been tested. The present study explored whether testing is beneficial for complex spatial memory and whether these benefits hold for both retention and transfer. After encoding a three-dimensional layout of objects presented in a virtual environment, participants completed a judgment-of-relative-direction (JRD) task in which they imagined standing at one object, facing a second object, and pointed to a third object from the imagined perspective. Some participants completed this task by relying on memory for the previously encoded layout (i.e., the test conditions), whereas for others the location of the third object was identified ahead of time, so that retrieval was not required (i.e., the study condition). On a final test assessing their JRD performance, the participants who learned through test outperformed those who learned through study. This was true even when corrective feedback was not provided on the initial JRD task and when the final test assessed memory from vantage points that had never been practiced during the initial JRD.Keywords Testing effect . Retrieval practice . Transfer . Navigation . Spatial learning Retrieving information on a test benefits learning. Many studies have demonstrated this by presenting information to be learned (e.g., Swahili-English word pairs, such as Farasi: Horse) and then requiring participants to retrieve the information (e.g., Farasi: _____) or to spend an equivalent amount of time restudying it (e.g., Farasi: Horse). On a final test, information learned through retrieval is often remembered better than information learned through restudying (e.g., Roediger & Butler, 2011; see also Roediger & Karpicke, 2006a).Commonly referred to as the testing effect or retrieval practice, this finding has been demonstrated across a wide range of verbal materials, including word lists (e.g., Carpenter & DeLosh, 2006), face-name pairs (e.g., Carpenter & DeLosh, 2005), paired associates (e.g., Carpenter, 2009Carpenter, , 2011, foreign language vocabulary (e.g., Carrier & Pashler, 1992;Finn & Roediger, 2011;Kang, 2010;Pyc & Rawson, 2010), general knowledge facts (e. g., Kornell, Hays, & Bjork, 2009;McDaniel & Fisher, 1991), and text passages (e.g., Agarwal, Karpicke, Kang, Roediger, & McDermott, 2008;Butler, 2010;Kang, McDermott, & Roediger, 2007;Roediger & Karpicke, 2006b). Demonstrations of the testing effect have been so numerous and reliable that it has been featured in a practice guide for educators as an instructional technique to improve student learning that is supported by strong evidence (e.g., Pashler et al., 2007).Confidence in the educational benefits of testing is hindered by two major limitations, however. First, studies of the testing effect have been based almos...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tests enhance retention and transfer of spatial learning

Carpenter

Kelly

2012

Psychon Bull Rev

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“…Testing enhances the transfer of learning from the specific questions from practice to new problems [63,[65][66][67], enhances re-learning of information [68], and results in higher exam scores [57].…”

Section: (3) the Testing Effect Generates Transfer Of Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurocognitive mechanisms of the “testing effect”: A review

Broek

Takashima

Wiklund-Hörnqvist

et al. 2016

Trends in Neuroscience and Education

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a b s t r a c tMemory retrieval is an active process that can alter the content and accessibility of stored memories. Of potential relevance for educational practice are findings that memory retrieval fosters better retention than mere studying. This so-called testing effect has been demonstrated for different materials and populations, but there is limited consensus on the neurocognitive mechanisms involved. In this review, we relate cognitive accounts of the testing effect to findings from recent brain-imaging studies to identify neurocognitive factors that could explain the testing effect. Results indicate that testing facilitates later performance through several processes, including effects on semantic memory representations, the selective strengthening of relevant associations and inhibition of irrelevant associations, as well as potentiation of subsequent learning.

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“…We included only studies that used a restudy control condition, because even though the term testing effect is also used to refer to beneficial effects of testing as an additional activity (e.g., McDaniel et al 2011;Smith and Karpicke 2014), any beneficial effects of testing as an additional activity could be due to increased time on task rather than the retrieval activity itself. Moreover, we only included studies that reported effects on a delayed final test, because even though some studies have shown testing effects on immediate final tests taking place shortly after the study/restudy or study/test phase (e.g., Carpenter 2009;Carpenter and DeLosh 2006;Carpenter and Kelly 2012;Kang et al 2011;Verkoeijen et al 2012), it has been shown that the testing effect often only becomes apparent at a delay of a couple of days or more, with restudy initially, being as, or sometimes even more, effective (e.g., Roediger and Karpicke 2006a;Wheeler et al 2003).…”

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Not New, but Nearly Forgotten: the Testing Effect Decreases or even Disappears as the Complexity of Learning Materials Increases

2015

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The testing effect is a finding from cognitive psychology with relevance for education. It shows that after an initial study period, taking a practice test improves long-term retention compared to not taking a test and-more interestingly-compared to restudying the learning material. Boundary conditions of the effect that have received attention include the test format, retrieval success on the initial test, the retention interval, or the spacing of tests. Another potential boundary condition concerns the complexity of learning materials, that is, the number of interacting information elements a learning task contains. This insight is not new, as research from a century ago already had indicated that the testing effect decreases as the complexity of learning materials increases, but that finding seems to have been nearly forgotten. Studies presented in this special issue suggest that the effect may even disappear when the complexity of learning material is very high. Since many learning tasks in schools are high in element interactivity, a failure to find the effect under these conditions is relevant for education. Therefore, this special issue hopes to put this potential boundary condition back on the radar and provide a starting point for discussion and future research on this topic. Keywords Testing effect . Retrieval practice . Complex learning tasks . Problem solving . Worked examplesIn 1989, Glover published an article entitled The Btesting^phenomenon: Not gone but nearly forgotten. The testing phenomenon, nowadays known as the testing effect or retrieval practice effect, B…refers to the finding that students who take a test on material between the time they first study and the time they take a final test remember more of the material than students who

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Effects of testing on learning of functions

Cited by 47 publications

References 24 publications

Tests enhance retention and transfer of spatial learning

Tests enhance retention and transfer of spatial learning

Neurocognitive mechanisms of the “testing effect”: A review

Not New, but Nearly Forgotten: the Testing Effect Decreases or even Disappears as the Complexity of Learning Materials Increases

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