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2 references
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- Vol 1 RE: Chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, App A, App B
- Vol 2 RE: App D
- Vol 2 TE: App B
- Vol 3 RE: Chapter 4
- Vol 3 TE: App C
- Vol 4 RE: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 9, 17, 25, App A, App B, App C
- Vol 4 TE: App C
- Vol 5 RE: Chapters 7, 13, App A, App B
- Vol 5 TE: App C
- Vol 7 PE: App D
retrieval practicelong-term retentionspaced practiceretrieval feedbacktest-enhanced learningtransfer of learninglow-stakes assessmentJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Roediger and Butler review evidence that retrieving information is a learning event rather than merely a way to measure prior study. Compared with equivalent restudy, successful retrieval generally improves long-term retention, especially when recall is effortful, repeated, and distributed over time.
Key ideas
Very easy, massed retrieval may add little; expanding and equal-interval schedules can differ with the final retention interval. Correct-answer feedback strengthens the effect by repairing errors and preserving correct responses, and is particularly important after multiple-choice questions that expose learners to plausible misinformation. Benefits can extend beyond a practised cue to transfer and inference, although the degree depends on task design. Several theoretical accounts are considered, including elaboration of retrieval routes and effortful reconstruction, but no single mechanism fully explains the evidence.
Why it matters
For educators, retrieval practice should be low stakes, spaced, and aligned with meaningful knowledge, with prompt feedback and opportunities to retrieve in varied forms. Testing can support learning, but high-stakes testing, uncorrected error, and narrow drill are not equivalent to the research-based practice reviewed.
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- Vol 1 RE: Chapters 1, 5, 7, App A, App B
- Vol 1 TE: App A
- Vol 2 RE: Chapters 3, 8, 10, 11, App A, App C, App D
- Vol 2 TE: App B
- Vol 3 RE: Chapters 4, 6, App A
- Vol 3 TE: App C
- Vol 4 RE: Chapters 1, 3, 4, 8, App A, App C
- Vol 4 TE: App C
- Vol 5 RE: Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7
- Vol 5 TE: App C
- Vol 7 PE: App D
- Vol 7 RE: Chapters 1, 5, 8, 11, App B, App D
retrieval practicetest-enhanced learningdelayed retentionfree-recall testingmetacognitive misjudgmentspaced assessmentfeedback-based correctionJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Roediger and Karpicke report two experiments comparing repeated study with repeated free-recall testing for prose passages. Students either restudied material or attempted retrieval without feedback, then completed a final test after five minutes, two days, or one week.
Key ideas
Repeated study produced an advantage on the immediate test, but prior retrieval produced substantially better retention after the longer delays. Students who restudied were nevertheless more confident that they had learned the material, illustrating that fluent rereading and short-term performance can mislead judgements about durable learning. Because the retrieval tests supplied no corrective feedback, the experiments show that retrieval itself can strengthen memory, not merely provide another exposure to the text. They do not imply that feedback is unnecessary when errors or omissions matter.
Why it matters
For educators and learners, low-stakes recall should be spaced across time and followed by correction, with delayed assessment used to judge learning. The relevant comparison is not how familiar material feels now, but what can be reconstructed later without the source present.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
Citation checks
References are checked against publisher records, scholarly indexes, DOI or ISBN metadata, repositories and author records where available. An entry marked [Citation not verified] preserves the wording found in the relevant volume without attributing findings to an unconfirmed work.
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