Improving self-regulated learning with a retrieval practice intervention.

Abstract

Repeated retrieval practice is a powerful learning tool for promoting long-term retention, but students use this tool ineffectively when regulating their learning. The current experiments evaluated the efficacy of a minimal intervention aimed at improving students' self-regulated use of repeated retrieval practice. Across 2 experiments, students made decisions about when to study, engage in retrieval practice, or stop learning a set of foreign language word pairs. Some students received direct instruction about how to use repeated retrieval practice. These instructions emphasized the mnemonic benefits of retrieval practice over a less effective strategy (restudying) and told students how to use repeated retrieval practice to maximize their performance-specifically, that they should recall a translation correctly 3 times during learning. This minimal intervention promoted more effective self-regulated use of retrieval practice and better retention of the translations compared to a control group that received no instruction. Students who experienced this intervention also showed potential for long-term changes in self-regulated learning: They spontaneously used repeated retrieval practice 1 week later to learn new materials. These results provide a promising first step for developing guidelines for teaching students how to regulate their learning more effectively using repeated retrieval practice. (PsycINFO Database Record

Learning from failure: Errorful generation improves memory for items, not associations

“…Optimising the learning of educational materials is of critical importance to educators and students alike. Testing is one technique that has been particularly endorsed in recent years (Ariel & Karpicke, 2017;Kornell & Vaughn, 2016;Metcalfe, 2017;Pashler, Rohrer, Cepeda, & Carpenter, 2007). It is now well-established that the process of retrieving information from memory in an initial test can improve retrieval in a later test relative to simply restudying information.…”

Generative retrieval results in positive academic emotions and long-term retention of cardiovascular anatomy using transthoracic echocardiography

“…Recently, with minimal instruction on how to use generative retrieval, learners developed study habits including effective and self-regulated use of generative retrieval, as well as possible changes in long-term study habits (1). Similarly, in another study, students who were given feedback on their performance with generative retrieval as a study strategy and received instruction and guidance on how to use the strategy were found to perform better at a later testing point (9).…”

Distributed Practice: Rarely Realized in Self-Regulated Mathematical Learning

“…A potential measure to motivate students to keep on working even in the distributed practice schedule could be to inform them prior to the practice phase about the positive effects of distributed practice. For example, at least in completely self-regulated learning, Ariel and Karpicke (2018) could show that informing students about the positive effect of retrieval practice resulted in higher use of this strategy. That is, increasing the metacognitive knowledge of students could motivate them to implement even practice strategies that are more challenging, a mechanism that could also help to increase the use of distributed practice.…”