Does pre-testing promote better retention than post-testing?
Category
Journal Article
Authors
Latimier, A., Riegert, A., Peyre, H., Ly, S.T., Casati, R., & Ramus, F.
Year
2019
Title
Does pre-testing promote better retention than post-testing?
Journal / book / conference
Nature Partner Journal, Science of Learning
Abstract
Compared with other learning strategies, retrieval practice seems to promote superior long-term retention. This has been found mostly in conditions where learners take tests after being exposed to learning content. However, a pre-testing effect has also been demonstrated, with promising results. This raises the question, for a given amount of time dedicated to retrieval practice, whether learners should be tested before or after an initial exposure to learning content. Our experiment directly compares the benefits of post-testing and pre-testing relative to an extended reading condition, on a retention test 7 days later. We replicated both post-testing (d = 0.74) and pre-testing effects (d = 0.35), with significantly better retention in the former condition. Post-testing also promoted knowledge transfer to previously untested questions, whereas pre-testing did not. Our results thus suggest that it may be more fruitful to test students after than before exposure to learning content.
Issue
4(1)
Pages
1–7
relative links
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-019-0053-1