Increasing Retention without Increasing Study Time
Authors: Doug Rohrer (University of South Florida) and Hal Pashler (University of California, San Diego)Published in: Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2007 (Vol. 132, 354-380)
Objective: Explore strategies for long-term retention of learned material.
Focus on the duration of study sessions and the distribution of study time.
Key Findings:
Mastery should be achieved before stopping study sessions.
Immediate further study is inefficient.
The spacing effect's benefits depend on the intervals between study sessions and tests.
Educational Challenges:
Many students struggle with retention despite extensive classroom time.
Examples of poor retention include basic math and geography knowledge.
Need for Effective Learning Strategies:
Importance of defining strategies that promote long-lasting retention.
Research includes testing subjects up to a year after study sessions.
Definition: Continuing study after achieving error-free performance.
Common Practice: Seen in educational settings, especially in mathematics.
Effectiveness of Overlearning:
Initial studies show short-term benefits but diminishing returns over time.
Example: Vocabulary learning showed significant gains at one week but negligible after four weeks.
Efficiency Comparison:
Overlearning may not be the best use of study time compared to reviewing older material.
Overlearning is beneficial for short-term retention or critical tasks (e.g., emergency procedures).
Concept: Distribution of study time across sessions enhances retention.
Research Findings:
Spacing is superior to massed study sessions.
Optimal inter-session intervals (ISI) vary based on retention intervals (RI).
Experiments:
Studied Swahili-English word pairs with varying ISIs (5 minutes to 14 days).
Found that a 1-day ISI yielded the best recall after a 10-day RI.
For obscure object names, a 1-month ISI was optimal after a 6-month RI.
Findings:
Optimal ISI increases with longer RIs.
Performance declines with increased RI, but optimal ISI improves retention.
Research on Overlearning and Spacing:
Overlearning did not significantly improve test scores in mathematics.
Spacing practice problems across sessions led to better retention than massing similar problems.
Current Format Issues:
Textbooks often promote massing and overlearning.
Proposed Format:
Shuffle practice problems to enhance spacing and variety, improving learning outcomes.
Other Learning Decisions:
Importance of self-testing versus re-studying answers.
Retrieval practice is generally more effective.
Future Directions:
Need for empirical research to inform educational practices.
Potential for educational software to optimize study schedules for better retention.
A selection of studies and reviews that support the findings and implications discussed in the manuscript.
A comprehensive list of studies and literature cited throughout the manuscript, providing a foundation for the research and
Authors: Doug Rohrer (University of South Florida) and Hal Pashler (University of California, San Diego)Published in: Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2007 (Vol. 132, 354-380)
Objective: Explore strategies for long-term retention of learned material.
Focus on the duration of study sessions and the distribution of study time.
Key Findings:
Mastery should be achieved before stopping study sessions.
Immediate further study is inefficient.
The spacing effect's benefits depend on the intervals between study sessions and tests.
Educational Challenges:
Many students struggle with retention despite extensive classroom time.
Examples of poor retention include basic math and geography knowledge.
Need for Effective Learning Strategies:
Importance of defining strategies that promote long-lasting retention.
Research includes testing subjects up to a year after study sessions.
Definition: Continuing study after achieving error-free performance.
Common Practice: Seen in educational settings, especially in mathematics.
Effectiveness of Overlearning:
Initial studies show short-term benefits but diminishing returns over time.
Example: Vocabulary learning showed significant gains at one week but negligible after four weeks.
Efficiency Comparison:
Overlearning may not be the best use of study time compared to reviewing older material.
Overlearning is beneficial for short-term retention or critical tasks (e.g., emergency procedures).
Concept: Distribution of study time across sessions enhances retention.
Research Findings:
Spacing is superior to massed study sessions.
Optimal inter-session intervals (ISI) vary based on retention intervals (RI).
Experiments:
Studied Swahili-English word pairs with varying ISIs (5 minutes to 14 days).
Found that a 1-day ISI yielded the best recall after a 10-day RI.
For obscure object names, a 1-month ISI was optimal after a 6-month RI.
Findings:
Optimal ISI increases with longer RIs.
Performance declines with increased RI, but optimal ISI improves retention.
Research on Overlearning and Spacing:
Overlearning did not significantly improve test scores in mathematics.
Spacing practice problems across sessions led to better retention than massing similar problems.
Current Format Issues:
Textbooks often promote massing and overlearning.
Proposed Format:
Shuffle practice problems to enhance spacing and variety, improving learning outcomes.
Other Learning Decisions:
Importance of self-testing versus re-studying answers.
Retrieval practice is generally more effective.
Future Directions:
Need for empirical research to inform educational practices.
Potential for educational software to optimize study schedules for better retention.
A selection of studies and reviews that support the findings and implications discussed in the manuscript.
A comprehensive list of studies and literature cited throughout the manuscript, providing a foundation for the research and
