The effect of constant versus varied training on transfer in a cognitive skill learning task: The case of the Tower of Hanoi Puzzle

The Pursuit of Effective Working Memory Training: a Pre-registered Randomised Controlled Trial with a Novel Varied Training Protocol

“…In perceptual-motor learning, varied training has consistently been shown to facilitate transfer (e.g. Braun et al, 2009), and similar findings have also been reported for cognitive skill acquisition such as task-switching (Karbach & Kray, 2009;Sabah et al, 2019), problem-solving (Vakil & Heled, 2016), mental calculations (Sanders et al, 2002), and oral reading fluency (Reed et al, 2019).…”

“…Our VT protocol entailed quickly shifting WM tasks employing variable paradigms, stimuli, and stimulus sequence predictability. Inspired by the success of earlier VT research in other domains (Braun et al, 2009;Karbach & Kray, 2009;Reed et al, 2019;Sabah et al, 2019;Sanders et al, 2002;Vakil & Heled, 2016), we expected that VT would encourage the development of more general rules (strategies) to solve WM tasks, and that this would result in the generalisation of training effects stretching beyond the trained task and its untrained variants. For this purpose, we ran a pre-registered randomised controlled trial with methodological and statistical rigor, comparing VT training (n = 60) to traditional training with a single adaptive WM task (TT; n = 63), as well as to an active control group practising with a general knowledge quiz task (AC; n = 65).…”

Transfer: A Review for Biology and the Life Sciences

“…Interleaved practice has been shown to be beneficial for a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills, such as science category learning (e.g., Eglington and Kang, 2017), mathematics learning and problem solving (e.g., Mayfield and Chase, 2002;Goldin et al, 2014;Rohrer et al, 2015), and complex skill acquisition (e.g., Vakil and Heled, 2016). In the study by Eglington and Kang (2017), students practiced how to categorize organic chemical compounds into the correct chemical categories either using blocked or interleaved practice.…”

Is planning related to dynamic testing outcomes? Investigating the potential for learning of gifted and average-ability children

“…It can, furthermore, not be discounted that the ToL might not only measure planning, but also, more generally, visual-spatial working memory (Gilhooly, Wynn, Phillips, Logie, & Sala, 2002). In future studies, therefore, it is advisable to examine different aspects of children's planning ability utilizing several different tasks as well as different measures, such as accuracy (Yang, Chen, Wang, & Zhu, 2017), completion time or the time it takes children to perform the first move (Vakil & Heled, 2016). Investigating both proficiency and efficiency in planning measures will potentially provide a more in-depth insight into the role of children's planning abilities in static and dynamic test outcomes.…”