<p> Numerous studies have shown retrieval practice to be an effective strategy for improving memory. One account proposed to explain this benefit is the episodic context account (Karpicke et al., 2014). This account proposes that contextual information is reinstated and updated when an item is retrieved. This updated context is then used to aid in retrieval. Examining memory for contextual information, in addition to item memory, may provide additional insight into retrieval practice and what contextual cues are relevant in retrieval. The current study examined memory for temporal-contextual information at 2 different grain sizes: (a) memory for which list a word occurred in, and (b) memory for when an item occurred within a list. Previous research has shown that retrieval practice enhances memory for list temporal contextual information, as assessed by a list discrimination task (Brewer et al., 2010; Chan & McDermott, 2007). In contrast, Karpicke and Zaromb (2010) found worse memory following retrieval practice (relative to restudy) for within-list temporal-contextual information, as assessed by an order reconstruction task. In both experiments of the current study, participants studied multiple lists of words and either engaged in a word stem completion cued recall task, or restudied the words. Our results were partially consistent with previous research. We found no difference in performance between the retrieval practice and restudy groups when assessed on a list discrimination test. However, performance was worse for the retrieval practice group relative to restudy when assessed on an order reconstruction task. Finally, in both experiments, there was no difference in recognition accuracy. Overall, our results suggest that certain retrieval practice tasks may differentially affect memory for various grain sizes of temporal-contextual information. </p>

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The phenomenon of transfer—our ability to perform novel tasks by generalizing from past experiences—has long captivated theorists and practitioners. As educators it is essential for us to understand what types of learning best promote transfer and to structure our curricula accordingly. With that goal in mind, this dissertation outlines two lines of research. For the first line of research I adopted an experimental approach in the domain of problem solving, examining a training technique whereby the learner solves practice problems for the same principle in dissimilar contexts as opposed to highly similar contexts. The key finding was that contextual variability improved transfer outcomes when a set of training problems were solved spaced in time (akin to a closed-book test), but not when prior training problems and their solutions remained visible throughout training (akin to an open-book test). This finding suggests that contextual variability during training can be beneficial because it forces the learner to more effortfully recall what they have learned in the past. For the second line of research I then adopted a correlational approach, investigating a ubiquitous self-report inventory, the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ), which is meant to quantify student learning approaches to predict educational outcomes. However, the SPQ’s predictive validity has recently been challenged because deep learning and its corresponding outcomes remain poorly defined. To tackle this measurement issue, my colleagues and I operationally defined outcome measures in real university courses to tap more precisely into transfer of learning. Across several studies we found limited evidence for the SPQ’s ability to predict transfer outcomes, leading us to suggest that educators and researchers should be more cautious about using this self-report inventory to characterize student learning. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / A central goal of education is to equip students with ‘flexible’ knowledge, enabling them to transfer the far-reaching principles they have learned to solve new, real-world problems. But what conditions of training are most conducive to transfer? One understudied technique involves being tested on the same principle in dissimilar contexts. The experiments reported in Chapter 2 provide evidence for this training technique in the domain of problem solving. Aside from direct interventions, another approach has been to measure individual differences among students to predict how much they engage in “deep learning”—a process closely associated with transfer. However, four correlational studies in Chapters 3 and 4 revealed little support for this approach, highlighting the difficulty of characterizing learning strategies using self-reports. In sum, this shows promise for interventions involving repeated testing in dissimilar contexts, but little promise for a self-report inventory meant to capture individual differences in student learning.

This study examines the efficacy of using artificial intelligence (AI) generated questions andfeedback to enhance learning through retrieval practice (RP) compared to traditionalrestudying (S). Additionally, the study explored the correlation between students' attitudestowards AI and learning outcomes as measured immediately after learning and two days afterthe learning intervention. Conducted with 18 participants from Umeå University, the researchevaluates the potential of ChatGPT in facilitating RP and improving retention andcomprehension of text-based materials. Participants were presented with two texts and eachtext was assigned to either the RP or S condition. In the RP condition, participants answeredAI-generated questions with feedback, in the S condition, participants reread the texts. Resultsindicate that RP significantly outperformed S in the day 1 and day 3 tests, aligning withestablished research on the testing effect (TE). The authors suggest that AI, as ChatGPT, caneffectively support RP by generating questions and providing dynamic and personalizedfeedback, potentially reducing educators' workload. It highlights the importance of furtherresearch to optimize AI-generated content and feedback mechanisms and to explorelonger-term memory effects. The findings advocate for integrating AI tools in educationalsettings to enhance active learning and retention, and stresses the need for ongoingexploration of AI's role in education.

To recall educational content from a lecture or textbook is an efficient way to learn (Karpicke &amp; Blunt, 2011), which is referred to as retrieval practice (Karpicke &amp; Roediger, 2008). It is currently seldom used among students (Karpicke, Butler, &amp; Roediger, 2009), even though it provides benefits such as reducing test anxiety (Agarwal, D’Antonio, Roediger III, McDermott, &amp; McDaniel, 2014), longer lasting memories (Karpicke &amp; Blunt, 2011), and also benefit future learning (Pastötter &amp; Bäuml, 2014). But, in order for retrieval practice to work efficiently, the students must not fail to recall too much of the educational content (Kornell, Bjork, &amp; Garcia, 2011). So in order to help students use retrieval practice, I suggest they are provided with an outlining of the educational content, as this probably helps them remember and recall more of it. In this thesis, I conclude with an experimental approach that it is possible to help students remember such knowledge outlines, and how it can be done. Furthermore, since knowledge such as knowledge about the human anatomy, can be catalytic in the sense that it can enhance future learning (Hattie, 2009; Van Overschelde &amp; Healy, 2001), I also suggest that catalytic knowledge should be identified and made memorable by educators using similar techniques as in this study.

<div> <div> <div> <p>Recent research asserts that the mnemonic benefits gained from retrieval-based learning vanish for complex materials. Subsequently, it is recommended that students study worked examples when learning about complex, problem-centered tasks. The experiments that have evaluated the effectiveness of studying worked examples tend to overlook the mental processing that students engage in when completing retrieval-based learning activities. In contrast, theories of transfer-appropriate processing emphasize the importance of compatibility between the cognitive processing required by the test and the cognitive processing that is activated during learning. For learners to achieve optimal test performance, according to transfer-appropriate processing, they need to study in such a way that they are engaging in the same mental processing that will be required of them when tested. This idea was used to generate testable predictions that compete against the claim that the retrieval practice effect disappears for complex materials, and these competing predictions were evaluated in three experiments that required students to learn about the Poisson probability distribution. </p><p><br></p> <p>In Experiment 1, students learned the general procedure for how to solve these problems by either repeatedly recalling the procedural steps or by simply studying them. The retrieval practice condition produced better memory for the procedure on an immediate test compared to the study only condition. In Experiment 2, students engaged in the same learning activities as Experiment 1, but the test focused on their problem- solving ability. Students who practiced retrieval of the procedural steps experienced no benefit on the problem-solving test compared to the study only condition. In Experiment 3, students learned to solve Poisson probability problems by studying four worked examples, by studying one worked example and solving three practice problems, or by studying one worked example and solving three practice problems with feedback. Students were tested on their problem-solving ability one week later. The problem- solving learning activities outperformed the worked example condition on the final problem-solving test. Taken together, the results demonstrate a pronounced retrieval practice effect but only when the retrieval-based learning activities necessitated the same mental processing that was required during the final assessment, providing support for the transfer-appropriate processing account.</p></div></div></div>

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Isaksson, Anders och Karlsson, Sara (2020). Retrieval practice eller kontextuellt lärande?-en interventionsstudie om ordinlärning hos högstadieelever med språkstörning. Specialpedagogprogrammet, Institutionen för skolutveckling och ledarskap, Lärande och samhälle, Malmö Universitet, 90 hp.Förväntat kunskapsbidrag: Barn med språkstörning har svårare att lära in och förstå ord. De har ofta även begränsningar i ordförrådets djup. Svenska läro- och kursplanerna genomsyras idag av krav på språkliga förmågor. Kunskap om kurs- och läroplansord är viktigt både för läskunnighet och för lärande i klassrummet. Det är sedan tidigare känt att ordförrådsinterventioner kan vara effektiva för yngre barn och för barn i språklig sårbarhet av olika slag. Strategier och principer för intervention med mål att öka djupförståelsen av ord har utvecklats men de flesta är både småskaliga och begränsade. Studien är angelägen eftersom det i dagsläget finns väldigt få studier som utvärderat undervisningsstrategier som kan främja ordförråd i en svensk skolkontext. Utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv kan den här studien därmed bidra till förståelse för hur högstadieelever med språkstörning lär sig nya ord och i vilken mån inlärningen är beroende av kontext respektive aktiv framplockning/repetition. I ett didaktiskt perspektiv kan resultatet av studien ge nya kunskaper om hur undervisningen bör planeras för att främja utvecklingen av ordförrådet hos elever med språkstörning. Syfte: att utvärdera vilken potential metoderna retrieval practice respektive kontextuellt lärande har för att främja inlärning av nya ord för elever med språkstörning. Frågeställningar: 1. Vilken effekt har undervisning enligt metoden retrieval practice på utvecklingen av ordförrådet för högstadieelever med språkstörning? 2. Vilken effekt har undervisning enligt metoden kontextuellt lärande på utvecklingen av ordförrådet för högstadieelever med språkstörning? Teori: Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i två delvis kontrasterande teorier för ordinlärning, retrieval practice och kontextuellt lärande. Retrieval practice innebär upprepad framplockning genom självtestning av nya ord som en del av lärandet. Teorin bygger på tanken att man lär sig ett ords betydelse genom upprepad hämtning från minnet. Kontextuellt lärande utgår från tanken att man lär sig ord bäst genom att stöta på det i många olika sammanhang och därigenom utifrån kontextuella ledtrådar stegvis bygger upp en ökad förståelse om ordet. Metod: kvantitativ metod som bygger på en upprepad inomgruppsdesign som mäter elevernas kunskap om ord före och efter intervention genom de båda metoderna kontextuellt lärande och retrieval practice. Urval: Interventionerna genomfördes under två på varandra efterföljande läsår i sammanlagt tre högstadieklasser (ca 5 - 10 elever/klass) på en statlig specialskola för elever med språkstörning. Resultat: Eleverna kunde fler ord efter interventionerna än vad de gjorde innan. Ökning kunde ses både på de bearbetade målorden och de ej bearbetade kontrollorden. Störst förändring efter insatsen sågs på målorden i retrieval practice vilket indikerar att eleverna lärde sig ord något bättre med den metoden än med metoden kontextuellt lärande. Det fanns dock skillnader på individnivå där enstaka elever gynnades bättre av kontextuellt lärande. Specialpedagogiska implikationer: Trots att en viss positiv effekt gällande mål- och kontrollord för de båda metoderna kunde ses är effekten relativt liten i förhållande till tidsåtgång. Det är därför av vikt att pedagoger som arbetar med att utveckla ordförrådet hos elever med språkstörning är medvetna om att dessa elever har svårare att utvinna mening ur kontext än elever med typisk språkutveckling. Metoden skulle därför kunna innebära att det i ett inledande skede blir ett allt för stort informationsflöde för målgruppen. Aktiv framplockning genom retrieval practice ger effekt på hågkomsten men mer information kopplat till varje ord är nödvändigt för att kunna förstå och använda sig av ordet i flera sammanhang. Det är även viktigt att undervisande lärare har kunskap om att ordinlärning för elever med språkstörning inte sker implicit utan de behöver stöttning i processen genom explicit inlärning. Det krävs dessutom en stor mängd repetition för att elever med språkstörning ska befästa nya ord. Undervisande lärare bör därför tillsammans välja ut vilka ord man ska satsa på att eleverna ska lära sig. Förslagsvis ämnesövergripande ord som eleverna kan stöta på i många ämnen och sammanhang. / Isaksson, Anders and Karlsson, Sara (2020). Retrieval practice or contextual learning?-An intervention study on vocabulary learning in high school students with language impairment. Special Education Program, Department of School Development and Leadership, Learning and Society, Malmö University, 90 credits.Expected knowledge contribution: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) find it difficult to learn and understand words. They also often have limitations in the depth of vocabulary. Swedish curricula and syllabuses are permeated by demands on linguistic abilities. Knowledge of course and curriculum words is important for both literacy and classroom learning. It has been known for long that vocabulary interventions can be effective for younger children and for children with language impairment. Strategies and principles for intervention with the aim of increasing the deep understanding of words have been developed, but most of them are both small-scale and limited. The study is important because there are currently very few studies that have evaluated teaching strategies that can promote vocabulary in a Swedish school context. From a theoretical perspective, this study can thus contribute to an understanding of how high school students with DLD learn new words and to what extent learning is dependent on context or active retrieval / rehearsal. In a didactic perspective, the results of the study may provide new knowledge about how teaching should be planned to promote vocabulary development in students with DLD.Purpose: to evaluate the potential of the methods retrieval practice and contextual learning in promoting learning of new words for students with language impairment. Questions: 1. What effect does teaching according to the method of retrieval practice have on the development of vocabulary for high school students with language impairment? 2. What effect does teaching according to the method have on contextual learning on the development of vocabulary for high school students with language impairment? Theory: The study is based on two partially contrasting theories for vocabulary learning, retrieval practice and contextual learning. Retrieval practice involve repeated retrieval through self-testing of new words as part of the learning. The theory is based on the idea that one learns the meaning of a word through repeated retrieval from memory. Contextual learning is based on the idea that one learns words best by encountering it in many different contexts and thereby gradually build an increased understanding of the word based on contextual clues. Method: a quantitative method based on a repeated within-group design that measures students' knowledge of words before and after intervention through the two methods contextual learning and retrieval practice. Selection: The interventions were carried out for two consecutive academic years in a total of three high school classes (approx. 5 - 10 pupils / class) at a school for pupils with DLD. Results: The students knew more words after the interventions than before themAn increase was seen in both the processed target words and the unprocessed control words. The largest change after the effort was seen on the target words in retrieval practice, which indicates that the students learned words somewhat better with that method than with the method contextual learning. However, there were differences at the individual level where some students were better served by contextual learning. Special educational implications: Although some positive effect regarding target and control words for both methods could be seen, the effect is relatively small in relation to time spent. It is therefore important that educators who try to develop the vocabulary of pupils with language impairment are aware that these pupils have a harder time extracting meaning from context than pupils with typical language development. The method could therefor on an initial stage lead to an excessive flow of information that could cause problems for the target group. Active retrieval through retrieval practice has an effect on memory, but more information linked to each word is necessary to be able to understand and use the word in various contexts. It is also important that teachers have knowledge about the fact that vocabulary learning for students with language impairment does not occur implicitly. They also need support in the process through explicit learning. In addition, a large amount of repetition is required for students with language impairment to consolidate new words. Teaching should therefore together choose what words to invest in for students to learn. Suggestively interdisciplinary words that students may encounter in many subjects and contexts.

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