Students’ Temporal Distributing of Learning Activities in Psychology Courses: Factors of Influence and Effects on the Metacognitive Learning Outcome

Abstract

Studies demonstrate that students' study behavior is frequently dysfunctional, because they tend to cram shortly before examinations. This behavior is antithetical to spaced learning and can impair academic achievement. We investigated the extent that the temporal distribution of learning activities (a) varies as a function of the organization of the course, (b) is subject to individual differences and (c) affects the metacognitive learning outcome. Participants of four lecture-like educational psychology courses (N ¼ 259) were presented with learning materials stored on the university's online learning platform. New materials were published weekly and access to these materials was automatically registered. The students completed either a test at the end of the semester (in two end-term-test courses) or fulfilled written assignments throughout the semester (in two multiple-assignment courses). Students in the multiple-assignment courses accessed the materials more continuously than students in the end-term-test courses. Cluster analyses in the end-term-test courses revealed students primarily accessing the materials late in the semester and students accessing the materials continuously throughout the semester. Continuous access was associated with more accurate metacognitive monitoring. The results are discussed in the context of the relation between metacognitive monitoring and the regulation of study behavior.

Retrieval Practice Effects in a Psychology Lecture: Illustrating the Relevance of Study Design, Item Difficulty, and Selection of Dependent Measures

“…Although no testing effect emerged at the level of cognitive performance in the present study, retrieval practice improved the learners’ metacognitive monitoring accuracy which is highly relevant in supporting effective self-regulated learning processes (Thiede et al, 2003; Winne & Hadwin, 1998). Previous studies revealed that many students tend to regulate their learning activities in suboptimal ways (e.g., Dunlosky et al, 2013; Wissman et al, 2012) or showed substantial individual differences in self-regulated study behavior (e.g., Barenberg et al, 2018). Thus, interventions to optimize learners’ self-regulation are often needed and retrieval practice may be one option.…”

Implementing distributed practice in statistics courses: Benefits for retention and transfer.

“…On the other hand, massed or crammed practice is often promoted in real learning contexts by the fact that a university course is usually finalized by an exam at the end. However, multiple tests across the period of the whole course can increase the realization of repeated, distributed practice phases of students in the context of their self-regulated learning (Mawhinney, Bostow, Laws, Blunenfeld, & Hopkins, 1971; see also Barenberg, Roeder, & Dutke, 2018). Our results of Experiment 1 furthermore suggest that learners might need additional instructional support to benefit from distributed practice.…”

Using Day and Night – Scheduling Retrieval Practice and Sleep

“…Optimal learning schedules not only improve memory, they can also improve the metacognitive monitoring and, therefore, the regulation of study behaviour. Students that accessed course material continuously through the semester showed better metacognitive learning outcomes and a higher accuracy of confidence judgements (Barenberg, et al, 2018).…”