Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences
Vol. 46, 19 April 2024
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Brain training techniques are commonly used to enhance an individual’s learning and memory, especially in classroom teaching and self-directed learning contexts. Among a range of techniques, the item-level methods that focus on boosting memory for a specific item are the most well-known and widely applied ones. In this work, the mechanisms underlying two item-level brain training techniques, spaced repetition and retrieval practice, are investigated. Studies have proved that learners who are trained according to a spaced repetition schedule are prone to show better acquisition of language and science concepts compared to those who learn under mass conditions. Yet, the method currently relies on somehow primitive algorithms. Therefore, the optimal time interval for the second exposure to a learnt content could vary primarily among individuals. Reviewing pieces of information through retrieval practice, based on the testing effect, also leads to better performance in final assessments in most cases. Frequent testing with relatively few questions each time seems to produce the best results. However, most of the research on these two techniques up to now is in semantic learning scenarios such as language acquisition, so the evidence for determining the effectiveness of either method on other types of learning is somehow few.
memory consolidation, brain training, spaced repetition, retrieval practice
1. Ullman, M. T., & Lovelett, J. T. (2018). Implications of the declarative/procedural model for improving second language learning: The role of memory enhancement techniques. Second Language Research, DOI:10.1177
2. Attneave, F., B., M., & Hebb, D. O. (1950). The Organization of Behavior; A Neuropsychological Theory. The American Journal of Psychology, 63(4). DOI:10.2307
3. Cowan, E. T., Schapiro, A. C., Dunsmoor, J. E., & Murty, V. P. (2021). Memory consolidation as an adaptive process. In Psychonomic Bulletin and Review (Vol. 28, Issue 6). DOI:10.3758
4. Lee, S. H., Liu, X. L., & Coutanche, M. N. (2021). Editorial: Neural Mechanisms of Memory Retrieval and Its Links to Other Cognitive Processes. In Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Vol. 15). DOI:10.3389
5. Murre, J. M. J., & Dros, J. (2015). Replication and analysis of Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve. PLoS ONE, 10(7). DOI:10.1371
6. Tabibian, B., Upadhyay, U., De, A., Zarezade, A., Schölkopf, B., & GomezRodriguez, M. (2019). Enhancing human learning via spaced repetition optimization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(10). DOI:10.1073
7. Dunlosky, & Nelson. (1994). Spaced repetition. Kornell & Bjork.
8. Kang, S. H. K. (2016). Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning: Policy Implications for Instruction. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(1). DOI:10.1177
9. Vlach, H. A., & Sandhofer, C. M. (2012). Distributing Learning Over Time: The Spacing Effect in Children’s Acquisition and Generalization of Science Concepts. Child Development, 83(4). DOI:10.1111
10. Allen, G. A., Mahler, W. A., & Estes, W. K. (1969). Effects of recall tests on longterm retention of paired associates. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 8(4). DOI:10.1016
11. Roediger, H. L., Putnam, A. L., & Smith, M. A. (2011). Ten Benefits of Testing and Their Applications to Educational Practice. In Psychology of Learning and Motivation -Advances in Research and Theory (Vol. 55). DOI:10.1016
12. Rickard, T. C., & Pan, S. C. (2018). A dual memory theory of the testing effect. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 25(3). DOI:10.3758
13. Kornell, N., Bjork, R. A., & Garcia, M. A. (2011). Why tests appear to prevent forgetting: A distribution-based bifurcation model. Journal of Memory and Language, 65(2). DOI:10.1016
14. Carpenter, S. K. (2009). Cue Strength as a Moderator of the Testing Effect: The Benefits of Elaborative Retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 35(6). DOI:10.1037
15. Wiklund-Hörnqvist, C., Stillesjö, S., Andersson, M., Jonsson, B., & Nyberg, L. (2021). Retrieval practice facilitates learning by strengthening processing in both the anterior and posterior hippocampus. Brain and Behavior, 11(1). DOI:10.1002
16. Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3). DOI:10.1111
17. Bangert-Drowns, R. L., Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C. (1991). Effects of Frequent Classroom Testing. Journal of Educational Research, 85(2). DOI:10.1080
18. Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2020). Desirable Difficulties in Theory and Practice. In Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (Vol. 9, Issue 4). DOI:10.1016
19. Lumosity®. Lumosity [Online]. Available: https://www.lumosity.com/en/
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open Access Instruction).