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Temporal Spacing of Learning: Can It Help Reduce Forgetting?

Temporal Spacing of Learning: Can It Help Reduce Forgetting?. Hal Pashler University of California, San Diego Dept of Psychology. Douglas Rohrer, USF. John Wixted, UCSD. Shana Carpenter, UCSD. Nicholas Cepeda, UCSD & Univ of Colorado. Ed Vul, MIT. Michael Mozer,

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Temporal Spacing of Learning: Can It Help Reduce Forgetting?

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  1. Temporal Spacing of Learning: Can It Help Reduce Forgetting? Hal Pashler University of California, San Diego Dept of Psychology

  2. Douglas Rohrer, USF John Wixted, UCSD Shana Carpenter, UCSD Nicholas Cepeda, UCSD & Univ of Colorado

  3. Ed Vul, MIT Michael Mozer, Univ of Colorado Computer Science Dept.

  4. Forgetting: A Classic Topic in Experimental Psychology

  5. Forgetting in K-12 Education • Educational failure may often reflect forgetting as well as • absence of initial mastery. • “Regression” to partial understanding and • initial misunderstandings (Bob Siegler). • Summer Vacation Set-backs

  6. Father Guido Sarducci’s 5-Minute College “People who went to college can tell you what they learned in just 5 minutes. So, at my college, students learn just the same stuff – all in 5 minutes.”

  7. Our Research Aim: Identify procedures that • reduce rate of forgetting • can readily be applied in educational contexts.

  8. Topics 1. Temporal Distribution of Practice within Study Sessions 2. Temporal Distribution of Study Sessions 3. Overlearning 4. Form and Timing of Feedback 5. Testing Effects

  9. Analyzing Temporal Distribution of Study Sessions Retention Interval (RI) Inter-study Interval (ISI) Study Something Once Study It Again Test Time • Huge Literature showing poor learning with very short ISI (“spacing effect”) • Scarcely any application in classroom or instructional technology

  10. Why no practical translation if the literature is so huge? 425 papers

  11. Spacing Research with Significant Retention Intervals (> 1 day) 14 papers (Many with serious methodological problems)

  12. 10-day Retention Interval Study Interstudy Interval = 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 14 days Tasks Swahili-English Vocabulary Jani? Horse Session 1: Study to Criterion [0,1,2,4,7, or 14 days] Session 2: Fixed amount of further study [10 day RI] Session 3: Test

  13. Data from 182 subjects tested for 3 sessions 10-day RI Facts Objects

  14. 6-Month Retention Interval Interstudy Interval = 0, 1, 7, 28, 84, or 168 days Tasks 1. Learn names of little-known objects ? Coccolith. 2. Learn little-known facts Who invented snow golf? Rudyard Kipling.

  15. Data from 161 subjects tested for 3 sessions 10-day RI Swahili 6-month RI: Facts 6-month RI: Object Names

  16. Let’s Plot Performance as a Function of ISI/RI Ratio Optimum ISI = 10 – 20% of retention interval?

  17. ISI = {0, 7, 14, 21, or 105 days} X RI = {7, 35, 70, or 350 days} Larger Experiment now in Progress • Web-based Learning of Facts • Session 1: Train to Criterion • Session 2: 2 Test/Study Repetitions • Test: Recall, then 5-Alternative Recognition

  18. Recall Data (n ~ 2,000 subjects) 7 days RI 35 days RI 70 days RI 350 days RI

  19. Recognition Data (n ~ 2,000 subjects) 7 days RI 35 days RI 70 days RI 350 days RI

  20. Generalizing Beyond Fact & Vocabulary Learning • Large effects of spacing generalize to learning novel mathematical problem-solving skill (combinatorics) [USF] • Pattern-recognition skills may not show similar spacing effects [www.learnmelanoma.org]

  21. Empirical Conclusions • Using appropriate inter-study interval can produce 100% - 200% improvement in ultimate memory • Too short an ISI is much worse than too long • Using ISI of about 10-20% of retention interval seem to optimize memory over a wide time range

  22. Tentative Practical Implications • To determine optimum spacing, you need to know how long you want the learner to retain the information. • For most educational goals, 6-mo. delayed reviews likely to be very cost-effective (Preuss School Study) • Cumulative finals probably have huge effect on what students retain over years.

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