Reading 1

Question 1

Issue in the classroom: how to optimize long term retention

Why worry about this? Two reasons:

Answer 1

• Pashler (2006): educational failures often reflect problems in retaining information over time, rather than in acquiring the information in the first place
• Interventions that seem to make learning more difficult and slow the rate of learning can actually be effective in enhancing long- term retention

Question 2

The positive effects of spacing are large and they are evident in many domains, including…

Answer 2

classical conditioning, verbal learning, picture memorization, text comprehension, and motor skill acquisition

Question 3

Why is the spacing effect not popular amongst educators?

Answer 3

HOWEVER: attracts little attention from educators due to short retention intervals (as long as 1 day)

Question 4

How should one distribute his or her study time to optimize long-term retention?

Answer 4

The answer is: it depends on how long you wish to remember something

Question 5

When does the window for optimal memory performance open?

Answer 5

• …when the interstudy interval is between 10-20% of the retention interval
• Thus, a one-day gap between initial study and review is suitable for a one- week retention interval
• If a person wishes to retain information for several years, a delayed review of at least several months

Question 6

What is overlearning?

Answer 6

the continuation of study immediately after the learner has demonstrated perfect, errorless performance on a given learning task (basically doing too much!!)

Question 7

Is overlearning good?

Answer 7

• Before: yes
• Current day: overlearning may be the only option when the failure to perform has dire consequences (which is why airplane pilots repeatedly practice how to handle in-flight emergencies)
• Can also be effective when a person is content to retain information for just a short period of time, such as when a student spends the morning cramming for an afternoon exam

Question 8

Is overlearning good for long-term retention?

Answer 8

• However, when the goal is long-term retention, measured in weeks, months, or years, then overlearning “simply provides very little bang for the buck

Question 9

Skinner on overlearning?

Answer 9

• Based on operant conditioning, B.F. Skinner (1968) held that immediate feedback is essential for effective learning:
• Instructors must not delay in letting learners know if a given response is correct, and instantly correct any response that is wrong

Question 10

Kornell & Bjork study - what did it tell us?

Answer 10

• In experiments done by Kornell and Bjork, most participants believed they learned more from massed than from spaced presentations, even though their performance on the name-selection test proved otherwise
• Kornell and Bjork suggest that massing produces a sense of familiarity or fluency with the to-be- learned material that seduces subjects into thinking that they know the material better than they really do; a cognitive illusion