This study was designed to determine if college students perform differently when they are tested more frequently than less frequently. The purpose of this research study was: (a) to determine if there is a difference in achievement between students given weekly tests (experimental group) and students given monthly tests (control group), (b) to determine if there is a difference in knowledge retention between students given weekly tests and students given monthly tests, and (c) to determine if there is a difference in time spent studying between students given weekly tests and students given monthly tests. The research design used was a true experimental form of the posttest-only with control technique. The participants were 109 students taking Principles of Marketing at Concord College in Athens, West Virginia. Fifty were enrolled in the fall of 1996, and the study was replicated with 59 students who were enrolled in the spring of 1997. Half of each class (fall and spring) was randomly assigned to weekly testing and the other halves were assigned to monthly testing. The weekly and monthly groups were taught simultaneously by the researcher both semesters. To test for differences in achievement between the weekly group and the monthly group, the mean test scores were compared at 80-question intervals. To test for differences in knowledge retention between the weekly group and the monthly group, the mean final exam scores were compared. To test for differences in hours spent studying between the weekly group and the monthly group, the means from the self-reported study hours surveys were compared at 80-question intervals. Based on the results of analysis of covariance, the research showed a significant difference in achievement between the weekly and the monthly groups in favor of the weekly group ( p = .007). However, the difference between the weekly and monthly group final exam scores was not significant ( p = .553), and the difference between the weekly and monthly groups' self-reported study hours was also not significant ( p = .231). / Ph. D.

In a distributed learning strategy, study time is spread across multiple study sessions, without increasing total study time. The benefits of distributed practice, also known as spaced practice, on learning of rote-memory tasks (e.g., spelling, addition, and cued-recall of word pairs) are well known. However, few researchers have looked at the effects of distributed practice on the learning of abstract materials (e.g., physics problems, logical deductions, and algebra). We examined the effects of distributed practice on learning the abstract task of matrix multiplication. In Experiment 1, we taught participants matrix multiplication in either a massed (i.e., 0-day interstudy gap), or distributed (i.e., 7-day interstudy gap) format and tested students at 2 or 21 days after completion of the last study session. Results showed no significant differences between the massed and spaced groups. However, when only those participants scoring 80% or greater on study session one were included in the analyses, a benefit of spacing was seen at the 21-day retention interval. Although not statistically significant, this leads us to believe that spacing does have benefits for abstract learning when the task is mastered initially. Experiment 2 looked at overlearning as another learning strategy. In overlearning, all study takes place in one session, but participants continue to study after mastery of material has been achieved. It is commonly accepted that overlearning is a beneficial strategy, but it is unknown whether the benefits are worth the time invested. We assessed the effects of two levels of massed practice to gauge the benefits of overlearning on long-term retention. Participants completed either 2 or 8 matrix multiplication problems (i.e., low or high massing, respectively) and were tested 1 or 4 weeks after the study session. Results showed a benefit of high massing when analyses included participants who mastered the material (i.e., scored over 50%) during the study session. However, this higher degree of learning was not particularly efficient, because this latter result suggests that overlearning may not be worth the time invested.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 39 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: In a distributed learning strategy, study time is spread across multiple study sessions, without increasing total study time. The benefits of distributed practice, also known as spaced practice, on learning of rote-memory tasks (e.g., spelling, addition, and cued-recall of word pairs) are well known. However, few researchers have looked at the effects of distributed practice on the learning of abstract materials (e.g., physics problems, logical deductions, and algebra). We examined the effects of distributed practice on learning the abstract task of matrix multiplication. In Experiment 1, we taught participants matrix multiplication in either a massed (i.e., 0-day interstudy gap), or distributed (i.e., 7-day interstudy gap) format and tested students at 2 or 21 days after completion of the last study session. Results showed no significant differences between the massed and spaced groups. / ABSTRACT: However, when only those participants scoring 80% or greater on study session one were included in the analyses, a benefit of spacing was seen at the 21-day retention interval. Although not statistically significant, this leads us to believe that spacing does have benefits for abstract learning when the task is mastered initially. Experiment 2 looked at overlearning as another learning strategy. In overlearning, all study takes place in one session, but participants continue to study after mastery of material has been achieved. It is commonly accepted that overlearning is a beneficial strategy, but it is unknown whether the benefits are worth the time invested. We assessed the effects of two levels of massed practice to gauge the benefits of overlearning on long-term retention. Participants completed either 2 or 8 matrix multiplication problems (i.e., low or high massing, respectively) and were tested 1 or 4 weeks after the study session. / ABSTRACT: Results showed a benefit of high massing when analyses included participants who mastered the material (i.e., scored over 50%) during the study session. However, this higher degree of learning was not particularly efficient, because this latter result suggests that overlearning may not be worth the time invested. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

<p>Globally, the misinformation crisis exposed the need for cognitive researchers to</p> <p>investigate interventions that will mitigate the influence of misinformation within memory. One</p> <p>proposed solution is a retraction, whereby misinformation is indicated to be inaccurate. Previous</p> <p>studies have demonstrated that providing a retraction after misinformation may reduce references</p> <p>to misinformation. The continued reliance on misinformation even after it has been corrected is</p> <p>known as the continued influence effect (CIE). It is unclear whether repeated retractions and the</p> <p>spacing of repeated retractions can reduce the CIE. In the present study, two experiments were</p> <p>conducted to investigate whether spacing repeated retractions among news messages would be</p> <p>more effective at reducing the CIE compared to massing retractions. Both experiments exposed</p> <p>participants to a news story containing misinformation. Each experiment included four retraction</p> <p>conditions: no retraction, a single retraction, or repeated retractions that were spaced or massed.</p> <p>In Experiment 1, a single retraction reduced reliance on misinformation, but we did not observe</p> <p>an additional benefit of repeated retractions when there were two retractions. In Experiment 2, we</p> <p>provided participants with three repeated retractions. Using this stronger manipulation, repeated</p> <p>retractions reduced references to misinformation compared to a single retraction, but there was no</p> <p>benefit of spacing them out. Collectively, our results suggest that repeating corrective messages</p> <p>can help reduce references to misinformation, with no supporting evidence that it matters how</p> <p>the repetitions are organized.</p>

This study was an investigation into the effects of repetition on a listening comprehension test for second language learners. Repetition has been previously examined in a cursory way, usually as a secondary question to a primary treatment. Additionally, the method of repetition was limited to one way and to one treatment condition; therefore, it is not clear how different methods of repetition have influenced the results. To date, there are few studies on the influence of repetition on listening comprehension tests in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) situations. The purpose of this study was to examine four methods of repetition on listening comprehension with Japanese learners of English. In addition, the effect of repetition method on proficiency level, question type, and question difficulty was also examined. The participants were 2,041 students attending a private university in Tokyo, Japan. They experienced five conditions: non-repetition, immediate repetition, delayed repetition theory, delayed repetition A, and delayed repetition B. The participants listened to 12 passages under one of the five randomized conditions, and then answered five questions in one of three question types: true-false, multiple-choice, or short-answer. Additionally, the test included questions intended to measure two levels of comprehension, specific details and inference. Finally, the participants were divided into two listening proficiency levels based on the Global Test of English Communication. The results indicated that the type of repetition had an effect on listening comprehension. Overall, both proficiency groups in the delayed repetition conditions had higher comprehension scores. In addition, the delayed repetition conditions were better for all question types (true-false, multiple-choice, and short-answer) with each proficiency group responding equally well. Finally, the delayed repetition conditions reduced the range of question difficulty, especially when participants were allowed to preview questions. The theoretical implications of this study are that comprehension scores are affected by the strength of memory trace, focus of attention, and activated memory. The pedagogical implications are that delayed repetition is useful in the classroom because it not only improves comprehension scores on tests, but also reinforces material learned across several activities, and incorporates recycling into the curriculum design. The results will help test-makers consider new avenues to testing, teachers to incorporate delayed repetition into classroom activities, and administrators to incorporate delayed repetition into the curriculum. / CITE/Language Arts

The spacing effect is one of the most remarkable and reliable phenomenon to emerge from the experimental research in learning and memory. In fact, over the past 100 years it has been demonstrated with a wide range of learning paradigms, materials, and participants. Not surprisingly, several researchers have outlined suggestions for its application to the classroom (e.g., Demspter, 1988; Rohrer & Pashler, 2007). However, while it is important that educational practices are grounded in research, it is equally important that researchers consider established teaching practices when formulating experiments. This point is especially pertinent to the research on the spacing effect because despite its 100 year history, there are relatively few ecologically valid demonstrations of its effect. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the congruence between teaching practices with respect to repetition and the timing of repetitions, and research methodologies used in studies of the spacing effect. Specifically, the research objectives of this study were to investigate teachers': 1) self-reported use and opinion of repetition as a teaching strategy, 2) self-reported preferences and beliefs regarding massed versus distributed methods of teaching, and 3) self-reported beliefs about the ecological validity of massed versus distributed teaching methods. Data for this study were gathered from 303 US teachers who completed a self-report web-based survey. While results revealed that teachers reported to use repetition in their classrooms, reported reasons for using repetition varied by grade level taught. With respect to the timing of repetitions, results indicated that teachers are knowledgeable of the benefits to memory of spaced repetitions. Interestingly, principles of the spacing effect were often reported as impractical to use in the classroom, and massed methods of teaching were overwhelmingly viewed as more ecologically valid. Results suggest the that breakdown between the research on the spacing effect and educational practice may not stem from lack of knowledge on part of the teachers, but rather from a lack of congruence between teaching practices and research methodologies. Important implications for researchers seeking to conduct ecologically valid demonstrations of the spacing effect are discussed. / Educational Psychology

The goal of Intelligent Tutoring systems (ITSs) is to engage the students in sustained reasoning activity and to interact with students based on a deep understanding of student behavior. In order to understand student behavior, ITSs rely on student modeling methods to observes student actions in the tutor and creates a quantitative representation of student knowledge, interests, affective states. Good student models are going to effectively help ITSs customize instructions, engage student's interest and then promote learning. Thus, the work of building ITSs and advancing student modeling should be considered as two interconnected components of one system rather than two separate topics. In this work, we utilized the theoretical support of a well-known learning science theory, the spacing effect, to guide the development of an ITS, called Automatic Reassessment and Relearning System (ARRS). ARRS not only validated the effectiveness of spacing effect, but it also served as a testing field which allowed us to find out new approaches to improve student learning by conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The rich data set we gathered from ARRS has advanced our understanding of robust learning and helped us build student models with advanced data mining methods. At the end, we designed a set of API that supports the development of ARRS in next generation ASSISTments platform and adopted deep learning algorithms to further improve retention performance prediction. We believe our work is a successful example of combining theory and practice to advance science and address real- world problems.

During the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase by postsecondary institutions in providing academic programs and course offerings in a multitude of formats and venues (Biemiller, 2009; Kucsera & Zimmaro, 2010; Lang, 2009; Mangan, 2008). Strategies pertaining to reapportionment of course-delivery seat time have been a major facet of these institutional initiatives; most notably, within many open-door 2-year colleges. Often, these enrollment-management decisions are driven by the desire to increase market-share, optimize the usage of finite facility capacity, and contain costs, especially during these economically turbulent times. So, while enrollments have surged to the point where nearly one in three 18-to-24 year-old U.S. undergraduates are community college students (Pew Research Center, 2009), graduation rates, on average, still remain distressingly low (Complete College America, 2011). Among the learning-theory constructs related to seat-time reapportionment efforts is the cognitive phenomenon commonly referred to as the spacing effect, the degree to which learning is enhanced by a series of shorter, separated sessions as opposed to fewer, more massed episodes. This ex post facto study explored whether seat time in a postsecondary developmental-level algebra course is significantly related to: course success; course-enrollment persistence; and, longitudinally, the time to successfully complete a general-education-level mathematics course. Hierarchical logistic regression and discrete-time survival analysis were used to perform a multi-level, multivariable analysis of a student cohort (N = 3,284) enrolled at a large, multi-campus, urban community college. The subjects were retrospectively tracked over a 2-year longitudinal period. The study found that students in long seat-time classes tended to withdraw earlier and more often than did their peers in short seat-time classes (p < .05). Additionally, a model comprised of nine statistically significant covariates (all with p-values less than .01) was constructed. However, no longitudinal seat-time group differences were detected nor was there sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that seat time was predictive of developmental-level course success. A principal aim of this study was to demonstrate—to educational leaders, researchers, and institutional-research/business-intelligence professionals—the advantages and computational practicability of survival analysis, an underused but more powerful way to investigate changes in students over time.

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La façon dont une information se répète au cours du temps a une influence sur la façon dont nous nous souviendrons de cette information. Les recherches en psychologie ont mis en évidence l’effet de pratique distribuée, selon lequel on retient mieux les informations qui se répètent avec des intervalles inter-répétitions longs que celles qui se répètent avec des intervalles courts. Nos travaux ont porté spécifiquement sur les situations où l’information se répète sur plusieurs jours, et nous avons comparé l’efficacité relative de différents types d’agencement temporel des répétitions. Un agencement uniforme consiste en des répétitions se produisant à intervalles réguliers, un agencement expansif en des répétitions se produisant selon des intervalles de plus en plus espacés, et un agencement contractant en des répétitions se produisant selon des intervalles de plus en plus rapprochés. Les Expériences 1 et 2 consistaient en une phase d’apprentissage d’une semaine et ont révélé la supériorité des agencements expansif et uniforme après un délai de rétention de deux jours. L’Expérience 3 consistait en une phase d’apprentissage de deux semaines, et les sujets étaient ensuite testés lors de trois délais de rétention différents (2, 6 ou 13 jours). La supériorité de l’agencement expansif sur les deux autres agencements est apparue progressivement, suggérant que les différents agencements induisaient des taux d’oubli différents. Nous avons également tenté de tester différentes théories explicatives des effets de l’agencement temporel des répétitions sur la mémorisation, en particulier les théories de la variabilité de l’encodage (Expérience 4) et de la récupération en phase d’étude (Expérience 2). Les résultats observés tendent à confirmer la théorie de la récupération en phase d’étude. Nous insistons sur l’importance de la prise en compte des apports des autres disciplines des sciences cognitives dans l’étude de l’effet de pratique distribuée. / How information is repeated over time determines future recollection of this information. Studies in psychology revealed a distributed practice effect, that is, one retains information better when its occurrences are separated by long lags rather than by short lags. Our studies focused specifically on cases in which items were repeated upon several days. We compared the efficiency of three different temporal schedules of repetitions: A uniform schedule that consisted in repetitions occurring with equal intervals, an expanding schedule that consisted in repetitions occurring with longer and longer intervals, and a contracting schedule that consisted in repetitions occurring with shorter and shorter intervals. In Experiments 1 and 2, the learning phase lasted one week and the retention interval lasted two days. It was shown that the expanding and uniform schedules were more efficient than the contracting schedule. In Experiment 3, the learning phase lasted two weeks and the retention interval lasted 2, 6, or 13 days. It was shown that the superiority of the expanding schedule over the other two schedules appeared gradually when the retention interval increased, suggesting that different schedules yielded different forgetting rates. We also tried to test major theories of the distributed practice effect, such as the encoding variability (Experiment 4) and the study-phase retrieval (Experiment 2) theories. Our results appeared to be consistent with the study-phase retrieval theory. We concluded our dissertation by emphasizing the importance of considering findings from other areas in cognitive science–especially neuroscience and computer science–in the study of the distributed practice effect.