PSYC1022 Learning to Learn - Week 7

PSYC1022 Learning to Learn - Week 7

• Successive Relearning combines retrieval practice and spaced learning
• Retrieval practice and spaced practice are highly effective study strategies
• Ebbinghaus and the savings score are discussed
• Animal conditioning is relevant
• Studies by Rawson et al. (2018) and Higham et al. (2022) are cited
• Exposure confound is a potential issue in some studies

Retrieval Practice

• Active repetition is more effective than passive repetition
• Recall from memory is better than looking in a textbook
• Waiting to recall material after partial learning is beneficial

Typical Design

• Initial learning is followed by a practice test and a distractor task
• Restudy is performed if the test is not successful
• Final test assesses learning

Higham et al. (2023)

• Graph demonstrating the proportion of correct answers across spaced learning sessions
• Participants who restudied information once, twice, or thrice outperformed those who did not
• Restudying information improves retention over time

10 Benefits of Testing (Roediger, Putnam & Smith, 2011)

• Retrieval of information improves long-term retention of the material
• Testing identifies knowledge gaps
• Subsequent learning is improved when testing is done
• Improved mental organization of knowledge
• Knowledge transfer is enhanced
• Testing can aid in retrieval of previously untested information
• Metacognitive monitoring is enhanced
• Testing prevents interference from previously learned material
• Testing provides instructors with feedback
• Frequent testing motivates students to study more

Spaced Practice

• The school-boy doesn't force himself to learn vocabulary and rules at once but knows that he will have to recall them in the morning
• This suggests that spreading out learning over time improves retention

Successive Relearning

• Retrieval practice is used to achieve mastery over spaced sessions
• If a question isn't answered correctly, feedback is provided for further attempts
• The criterion level defines how often a question must be answered correctly to achieve mastery
• Trials-to-criterion represents the number of attempts needed to reach the criterion level
• The dropout method skips questions once the criterion level has been met

Successive Relearning - Memory Retention

• The graph shows that memory retention is higher when material is repeatedly restudied
• It takes longer for memory to decrease to 80% retention when restudying is done

Savings Score

• With successive learning attempts, less time is needed to achieve mastery
• "Forgotten" memories aren't lost, but become temporarily inaccessible
• Relearning makes recalled memories accessible again
• The savings score is the difference in time or attempts to master material across the initial and subsequent learning attempts

Calculating Savings Score

• Savings = [(Time/trials to mastery in first learning) - (Time/trials to mastery in relearning)] / (Time/trials to mastery in first learning) * 100%

Example Savings Calculation

• Chelsea took 20 minutes to learn a set of material the first time, and 15 the second time after 2 days. Her savings score is 25%.
• John took 16 attempts to master material and 10 attempts to relearn the material after a week. His savings score is 37.5%.

Savings Score in Animal Conditioning

• Re-conditioning was faster than initial acquisition in animal studies

Rawson et al. (2018)

• 48 Lithuanian-English word pairs used in the study
• Initial study trial per vocabulary item presented
• Relearning trials with mastery criteria of 1 repetition or 3, with corrective feedback.
• Further relearning took place over 4 sessions, each a week apart

Rawson et al. (2018) - Retention Study

• Graph shows percentages of correct answers within 3 weeks after 4th relearning
• Relearning trials are better for long term retention than no relearning

Confounding Variable: Exposure

• Learning to mastery is confounded with the total exposure time
• More exposure time leads to more relearning attempts
• Studies that did not control exposure time provide unreliable conclusions about learning

Successive Relearning Intervention in Introductory Psychology (Higham et al., 2022)

• First study to implement a restudy control condition
• Students completed 20 fill-in-the-blank questions each week in addition to a restudy of the information
• Three practice sessions per week
• Criterion level = 1

Successive Relearning Intervention in Introductory Psychology (Higham et al., 2022) - Session Design

• Two-day spacing in relearning sessions (lecture on Monday, practice on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday)
• Mastery learning with feedback, and dropout method
• Metacognitive measures with JOLs questionnaire
• Included surveys on attention, mastery, and anxiety
• Two semester-cumulative tests used

Design (PSYC1022 Relearning Scheme)

• Counterbalanced design, weekly practice tasks alternated throughout the semester
• First final test: 42 days after first lecture
• Second final test 68 days after the first lecture
  • Different and cumulative tests

Question Types

• Practice questions, used for repeated repetition
• Test questions, used to assesses knowledge
• New questions, questions not yet learned

Relearning and Restudying

• Relearning and restudying were investigated in introductory psychology classes
• Inventing details is called confabulation.

Performance During Practice (Higham et al., 2022) - Graphs

• Graph displaying mean recall accuracy across the first three learning session weeks

Exposure Duration (Higham et al, 2022) - Graphs

• Graph plotting session 1, session 2, and session 3 durations based on weekly exposure times.

Experimental Data (Test 1 and Test 2)

• Relearning was superior to restudying in both tests.

Metacognitive and Other Rating Data

• Judgments of Learning (JOLs) are examined. This study measures participant's perceived ability to answer questions correctly.
• Anxiety is evaluated. The results reveal the levels of participants' anxiety throughout the relearning and restudying interventions.
• Mastery is investigated as a measure of learned materials presented. Low scores are correlated with greater mastery.
• Attention is studied.

Student Feedback

• Positive learner responses to filling-in-the-blank tasks vs simply reading statements.
• Preferences for question-based exercises.

Conclusions

• Successive relearning improved student test results.
• A restudy control group proved the benefits of successive relearning.
• Learners found question answering engaging.
• Spaced retrieval practice is beneficial.
• Metacognition is sensitive to successive relearning, but not from the initial stages

This quiz covers key concepts from Week 7 of PSYC1022, focusing on Successive Relearning, retrieval practice, and the importance of spaced learning. It discusses the effectiveness of active repetition, studies by Ebbinghaus and others, and highlights the typical design of retrieval practice studies. Prepare to evaluate your understanding of these effective study strategies.