Week 6 - Spacing & Interleaving PDF

PSYC1022 Learning to Learn Week 6 Spacing and Interleaving Overview Introduction Ebbinghaus’ early studies Laboratory studies in the 1960s and 1970s Causes...

PSYC1022 Learning to Learn Week 6 Spacing and Interleaving Overview Introduction Ebbinghaus’ early studies Laboratory studies in the 1960s and 1970s Causes of the spacing effect Spacing in educational contexts Why has spacing been ignored in education? Limitations to the spacing effect Conclusions and recommendations Spacing vs Interleaving Spacing has to do with the temporal aspects of repeated information - WHEN do repeated presentations occur? Interleaving has to do with sequencing - the order that material from different categories of information is presented Interleaved material is usually spaced  Ebbinghaus (1885) Memorised nonsense syllables (consonant-vowel-consonants [CVCs]; e.g., DAK) to the ticking of a metronome and then attempted to recall them later Massed Learning: Day 1: 68 massed repetitions of a 12-syllable list Day 2: 7 additional repetitions were needed for one perfect recital Spaced Learning Day 1: 38 spaced repetitions of a 12-syllable list Day 2: 7 additional repetitions were needed for one perfect recital Ebbinghaus (1885) “…with any considerable number of repetitions, a suitable distribution of them over a space of time is decidedly more advantageous than the massing of them at a single time" (Ebbinghaus, 1885/1913, p. 89). Laboratory Research Hundreds of laboratory studies have since con rmed Ebbinghaus’ conclusion Ruch (1928) reviewed dozens of studies on the spacing effect and concluded that the spacing effect was robust Many studies conducted during 1960s and 1970s  Greeno (1964) Participants studied word-digit pairs (e.g., bath - 5) Shown word (e.g., bath - ?) and asked to produce the associated digit response Feedback was provided Three presentations of each pair Presentations spaced (15 intervening items) or massed (0 or 1 intervening items) Greeno (1964) All done in an hour! Why is Spacing Effective? Encoding Variability - spaced (vs. massed) repetitions associate the to-be-remembered information with several contexts, which can facilitate retrieval  Encoding Variability Massed Encoding Retrieval Context 1 Presentation 1 Context ? Presentation 2 Presentation 3 Context 1 Spaced Presentation 1 Context 2 Presentation 2 Context ? Context 3 similarity Presentation 3 Why is Spacing Effective? De cient Processing Account - processing of second and subsequent repetitions is de cient in the massed condition due to inability to maintain attention (habituation) Overall amount of processing across all repetitions: massed < spaced Retrieval Account - spaced (vs. massed) repetitions prompt retrieval of previous encounters with the to-be-remembered information during study, which facilitates later retention (retrieval practice) no retrieval necessary for massed presentations (because information is still in short-term memory) Spacing Effect Demonstration You studied some nouns that were presented in different colours All nouns were presented twice Half the nouns were presented massed and the other half spaced Nouns were presented in different colours and you were also asked to imagine each object in the colour shown At test, you tried to remember the nouns, and also the colour that they appeared in on each presentation (memory for source) fi fi  Spacing Effect Demonstration Primarily interested in your memory for the colour of the rst presentation If this source memory was better in spaced than massed, then it helps us distinguish between the three theories First presentation: De cient processing (in massed condition) can’t have happened yet Encoding variability (in spaced condition) can’t have happened yet Only study-phase retrieval could be driving the spacing effect Spacing Effect Demonstration * Spacing Effect Demonstration * ns ns fi  But What About Education? “Our educational system is designed to impart knowledge, and the signi cance of this great effort depends on the degree of permanence of the effects that are achieved. Much of the information acquired in classrooms is lost soon after nal examinations are taken, but beyond the general advice to practice and rehearse frequently, we have little to offer those who wish to minimize or prevent such losses” (Bahrick, 1979, p. 297). But What About Education? Participants studied Spanish translations pairs until they mastered them Spacing slows Relearned the pairs learning, but again over 5 more forgetting is sessions much less after 30 Took a nal test 30 days days later But What About Education? “With all of these characteristics in its favor, the spacing effect would seem to have considerable potential for improving classroom learning. However, there is little evidence that this potential has been realized” (Dempster, 1988, p. 627). fi  But What About Education? “In a recent sampling of practitioner-oriented textbooks suitable for use in teacher education programs, I found either little or no mention of the practical bene ts of the spacing effect, and in some cases the spacing effect was confused with other phenomena (e.g., Good & Brophy, 1986; Mayer, 1987; Slavin, 1986; Woolfolk, 1987). One well- known educator, in fact, advised against spaced practice at least in the early stages of learning (Hunter, 1983).” (Dempster, 1988, p. 627). Educationally Relevant Studies Bird (2010) found that longer spacing gaps improved English- learning adults’ understanding of subtle grammatical rules Correct sentences such as: “Albert Einstein has been a great mathematician” [was] Two practice sessions separated by 3 vs 14 days Tested 60 days later Bird (2010)  Educationally Relevant Studies Rohrer and Taylor (2006) Student required to nd the number of permutations of a sequence of items with at least one repeated item. e.g., the sequence abbccc has 60 permutations, including cabcbc and abcbcc. Either practiced all problems at once (massed) or the problems were split over two sessions (spaced) Final test consisting of novel problems of the same kind 1 or 4 weeks later Educationally Relevant Studies Rohrer and Taylor (2006) Educationally Relevant Studies fi  Educationally Relevant Studies Blocked Interleaved Interleaved Short spacing Long spacing Both short and gaps gaps long spacing gaps Educationally Relevant Studies Why has Spacing Effect Been Ignored in Education? Problem 1: Metacognition is at odds with the reality (metacognitive illusion)  Problems with Metacognition Spacing - Baddeley & Longman (1978) Postmen trained over several sessions to type alpha-numeric code material using a conventional typewriter keyboard Learning: One 1-hr session per day over 12 weeks > Two 2-hr sessions per day over 3 weeks (spacing effect) Metacognition: Opposite results were obtained for questions “How satisfactory did you nd your training schedule?”, “If trained again, which schedule would you choose?”, and “How keen would you be to undergo further training on the same schedule?” Why has Spacing Effect Been Ignored in Education? Problem 2: Education system is such that students are seldom disabused of this metacognitive illusion Massed learning can be effective in the short term Exams are administered immediately after a cramming session and there are seldom later exams on material (that don’t also involve a cramming session) Students (and educators) never see how much has been forgotten Rohrer & Taylor, 2007 Students practiced computing the geometric volume of four differently shaped objects fi  Rohrer & Taylor, 2007 Blocking (massing) leads to good short- term (practice) performance Blockers led to believe they mastered the material Rohrer & Taylor, 2007 Blocking (massing) leads to poor long-term (test) performance one week later Why has Spacing Effect Been Ignored in Education? Problem 3: Pressure to present material in modularised form to facilitate organisation and immediate comprehension Organisation ( uent learning) vs. desirable dif culty (dis uent learning) Topics and problems/review questions are massed in textbook chapters, and seldom revisited in later chapters Lectures are organised by topic which are seldom revisited in later lectures (except during an end-of-term review) fl  Limitations to Spaced Learning Is it the case that longer spacing intervals yield better long-term learning? NO - although the limited research on longer retention intervals (e.g., > 1 week) has masked this effect. Optimal spacing interval depends on the retention interval. Cepeda et al. (2008) tested 26 combinations of spacing X retention intervals in a massive online study. Optimal Spacing Short Short Spacing Retention Interval Interval Original Spaced Test Learning Practice Optimal Spacing Short Long Spacing Retention Interval Interval Original Spaced Test Learning Practice  Optimal Spacing Long Long Spacing Retention Gap Interval Original Spaced Test Learning Practice Cepeda et al. (2008) 26 experimental groups! Participants learned obscure facts, had a review session, and wrote a recognition and recall test Cepeda et al. (2008)  Cepeda et al. (2008) Conclusions Spaced learning enhances long-term retention in a wide variety of contexts and population groups (even honeybees!) Although spacing intervals can be too long, virtually any spacing interval of 1- day or more is better than massed learning Despite these clear learning bene ts, spaced learning is yet to be fully exploited in educational contexts Reasons may centre around metacognitive illusions and the way that assessment is implemented What can we do about it? Recommendations Design a schedule to space your learning Separate learning sessions on the same material by at least one day I’ll study PSYC1016 material on Monday and Wednesday And PSYC1022 on Tuesday and Thursday Avoid cramming! Stay on top of the material as the semester progresses Do a little often fi  References Baddeley, A. D., & Longman, D. J. A. (1978). The in uence of length and frequency of training session on the rate of learning to type. Ergonomics, 21, 627–635. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140137808931764 Bahrick, H. P. (1979). Maintenance of knowledge: Questions about memory we forgot to ask. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 108, 296–308. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.108.3.296 Bird, S., (2010). Effects of distributed practice on the acquisition of second language English syntax. Appl. Psycholinguist. 31, 635–650. Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing effects in learning: A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095–1102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02209.x Dempster, F. N. (1988). The spacing effect: A case study in the failure to apply the results of psychological research. American Psychologist, 43(8), 627–634. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.43.8.627 Ebbinghaus, H., 1885/1913. Memory (H.A. Ruger, C.E. Bussenius, Transl.). Teachers College Greeno, J. G. (1964). Paired-associate learning with massed and distributed repetitions of items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(3), 286–295. https:// doi.org/10.1037/h0044977 Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2006). The effects of overlearning and distributed practice on the retention of mathematics knowledge. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, 1209–1224. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1266 Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2007). The shuf ing of mathematics problems improves learning. Instructional Science, 35(6), 481–498. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11251-007-9015-8 Ruch, T. C. (1928). Factors in uencing the relative economy of massed and distributed practice in learning. Psychological Review, 35, 19 – 45. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/h0074423 fl fl fl