ASSESSMENT TO PRODUCE LEARNING The Testing Effect

Overview: Learning Process DisruptionGoal-SettingMaking ConnectionsRehearsingFeedback (and Revision)

Frequent Assessment  “The Critical Importance of Retrieval for Learning” Test and Study80% Test but NO Study80% NO Test OR Study33% Study but NO Test35% Karpicke and Roediger Science

Transience “When information has not been used for longer and longer periods of time, it becomes less and less likely that it will be needed in the future... our memory systems have picked up on this... and in essence made a bet that when we haven't used information recently, we probably won't need it in the future.” Daniel Schacter The Seven Sins of Memory

Limits of Memory “In long-term-memory the limiting factor is not storage capacity, but rather the ability to find what you need when you need it. Long-term memory is rather like having a vast amount of closet space—it is easy to store many items, but it is difficult to retrieve the needed item in a timely fashion.” Michelle Miller College Teaching

Transience Redux  “Memories... are encoded by modifications in the strengths of connections among neurons. When we experience an event or acquire a new fact, complex chemical changes occur at the junctions—synapses— that connect neurons with one another. Experiments indicate that with the passage of time, these modifications can dissipate... Unless strengthened by subsequent retrieval and recounting, the connections become so weak that recall is eventually precluded. Daniel Schacter The Seven Sins of Memory

The Testing Effect Frequent, Low-Stakes Assessments  Short-answer quizzes  Clicker questions  Writing exercises  Group application tasks  Integrative activities

“Testing” on the Edges  Oral Questions  What did we cover in Wednesday’s class? How about Monday’s class?  What was the most important concept from last night’s reading?  How does this idea connect to the material we covered last week?  What key concept from today should you remember for the final exam?

The Minute Paper: Learning Class concluded with “brief questions about the material that had just been discussed in class.” Course ConditionFailure/Dropout % Control sections34.5 Minute paper sections16.7 Brian J. Rogerson Journal of Chemical Education 80.2

The Minute Paper: Evaluations In addition to learning, course evaluations improved: Course ConditionHighest Course Rating % Control Sections50 “Minute Paper” sections68.1 Rogerson

The Pre-Testing Effect “In a series of experiments, [Kornell, Hays, and Bjork] showed that if students make an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve information before receiving an answer, they remember the information better than in a control condition in which they simply study the information. Trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning.” Roediger and Finn Scientific American