The testing effect with free recall: Organization, attention, and order effects

Mulligan, Neil W.; Buchin, Zachary L.; Zhang, Angela L.

doi:10.1016/j.jml.2022.104333

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Kornell et al, 2011), indirect testing effects refer to beneficial consequences of retrieval on encoding new material (forward effect of testing; Pastötter & Bäuml, 2014) or re‐exposure of retrieved material (test‐potentiated learning; Arnold & McDermott, 2013). Indirect testing effects show that testing promotes subsequent encoding (Mulligan et al, 2022; Pastötter et al, 2011). For example, previously unknown facts are repeatedly presented to participants (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Retrieval‐based learning in special education

Tempel

Sollich

2023

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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Retrieval-based learning has been investigated in various populations. The present study examined retrieval-based learning in a sample of students at a special-needs school with educational tracks for learning and mental development. In addition, a comparison group of students at a regular school was examined. Learning conditions were manipulated within participants. In a first session, participants either received restudy cycles only, or they received alternating test and restudy cycles. A second session then comprised the opposite form of practice. In both sessions, a final test assessed memory after a short distractor phase. This procedure was the same in two experiments but with different kinds of item material. For both kinds (images and image-word pairs), a testing effect occurred, that is higher recall of tested items. These results show that lower cognitive ability or lack of experience with regularly being tested in school do not prevent students from benefiting from retrieval-based learning. K E Y W O R D S intellectual disability, learning disability, retrieval practice, testing effect Key Points• Two experiments examined retrieval-based learning in a sample of students at a special-needs school with educational tracks for learning and mental development.• The study material consisted either of a series of images (Experiment 1) or image-word pairs (Experiment 2). • Two learning conditions were compared: Alternating study and retrieval practice was compared with study only. • In both experiments, a significant benefit of alternating study and retrieval practice occurred.

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confidence: 99%

Retrieval‐based learning in special education

Tempel

Sollich

2023

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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“…Previous studies using categorized word lists reported mixed results regrading organization following free recall retrieval practice. Whereas Zaromb and Roediger (2010) found that free recall retrieval practice enhanced organizational processes, Knouse et al (2016) and Mulligan et al (2022) did not obtain an effect of free recall retrieval practice on organization. Using textual materials, our study also provided mixed evidence regarding the effect of free recall on organization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Therefore, whenever a retrieval practice activity for one material precedes a restudy activity for another material, it is likely to boost the effectiveness of the restudy activity and in turn eliminate the benefits of testing over restudying that would otherwise have been obtained. Indeed, Mulligan et al (2022) recently observed that a (standard, backward) testing effect (a benefit of tested over restudied materials) that was obtained when testing and restudying were manipulated between participants, was reversed when these activities were manipulated within participants, resulting in a negative testing effect (a benefit of restudying over testing). Thus, the forward testing effect might work against any direct test effect in a within-subject design.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free-recall retrieval practice tasks for students with ADHD: whole-text versus section recall

Stern,

Halamish

2023

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionThe present study examined the relative effectiveness of two free-recall-based retrieval practice methods for text learning among students with ADHD.MethodParticipants with and without ADHD read texts and practiced them by freely recalling the information either after reading each section or after reading the whole text. Two days later, participants completed a free-recall criterion test on the texts.ResultsThe results suggested that although more idea units were recalled during practice in the section recall condition than in the whole-text recall condition, the whole-text recall condition outperformed the section recall condition on the criterion test in terms of the proportion of idea units recalled, although neither retrieval practice conditions outperformed restudying. These findings were obtained for both groups. Exploratory analyses further demonstrated a benefit of the whole-text over section recall also in terms of the order in which idea unites were recalled and suggested that the recall of ADHD participants was less well ordered compared with participants without ADHD.DiscussionBased on these findings, when using retrieval practice, whole-text free-recall can be recommended for students with ADHD, along with implementing strategies to enhance the mental organization of the studied materials.

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“…However, the testing effect for feedback items was based on a comparison between nontested, no-feedback items and tested-feedback items (nontested items cannot receive feedback). Therefore, the feedback effect here stemmed from a combination of both the reexposure from feedback and the beneficial effects of posttest processing of the feedback (Arnold & McDermott, 2013b; Mulligan et al, 2022).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The magnitude of the testing effect is independent of retrieval practice performance.

Chan,

Davis,

Yurtsever

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Practicing retrieval is a potent learning enhancer. Theoretical accounts of the testing effect generally suggest that the magnitude of the testing effect is dependent on retrieval practice performance, such that conditions that promote better retrieval practice performance should result in a greater testing effect. Empirical evidence, however, has been mixed. Although some studies showed a positive association between retrieval practice performance and the testing effect, others have shown either no relation or the reverse. In the present study, we experimentally manipulated retrieval practice performance using a retrieval-based response deadline manipulation and an encoding-based study trial manipulation. Across six experiments, the magnitude of the testing effect was independent of retrieval practice performance. However, when we aggregated the data across the experiments, participants with superior retrieval practice performance showed a greater testing effect-an individual difference. This dissociation between experimental and correlational outcomes suggests that the positive relation between retrieval practice performance and the testing effect is not causal, and indeed, simulation data showed that the correlation between retrieval practice performance and testing effect was an artifact. We discuss the challenges these findings present to existing accounts of the testing effect. Public Significance StatementPracticing retrieval from memory can enhance learning and retention-the testing effect. However, research has produced mixed evidence about whether the benefits of retrieval depend on practice performance, with some suggesting that conditions that elicit better practice performance produce a greater testing effect, whereas others demonstrating either no effect or the opposite. In the present experiments, we showed that conditions that favored better retrieval practice performance did not produce a greater testing effect. These results challenge existing theories, and they demonstrate that students can reap similar benefits from retrieval practice regardless of whether or not learning conditions are optimized for successful retrieval practice.

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The testing effect with free recall: Organization, attention, and order effects

Cited by 8 publications

References 64 publications

Retrieval‐based learning in special education

Retrieval‐based learning in special education

Free-recall retrieval practice tasks for students with ADHD: whole-text versus section recall

The magnitude of the testing effect is independent of retrieval practice performance.

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