Learners’ choices and beliefs about self-testing
Abstract
Students have to make scores of practical decisions when they study. We investigated the effectiveness of, and beliefs underlying, one such practical decision: the decision to test oneself while studying. Using a flashcards-like procedure, participants studied lists of word pairs. On the second of two study trials, participants either saw the entire pair again (pair mode) or saw the cue and attempted to generate the target (test mode). Participants were asked either to rate the effectiveness of each study mode (Experiment 1) or to choose between the two modes (Experiment 2). The results demonstrated a mismatch between metacognitive beliefs and study choices: Participants (incorrectly) judged that the pair mode resulted in the most learning, but chose the test mode most frequently. A post-experimental questionnaire suggested that self-testing was motivated by a desire to diagnose learning rather than a desire to improve learning.
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When asked to make item-based judgments of learning, individuals often indicate they will remember restudied material better than tested material, when the opposite is nearly always true.
“In terms of the testing effect, when asked to make item-based judgments of learning, individuals often indicate that they will remember restudied material better than tested material, when the opposite is nearly always true (e.g., Karpicke, 2009; Kornell & Son, 2009; Potts & Shanks, 2014; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006).”
From The benefits of successive relearning on multiple learning outcomes. (2022) · cites this paper as Kornell & Son, 2009
Cites
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Flavell, J. H. (1979) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.34.10.906 · Cited by 11,282 · cited 2× · see citing works
“A satisfactory theory of study-time allocation should reflect the fact that students’ goals include more than just finding the study strategy that will have the largest direct benefit for learning (Flavell, 1979; Thiede & Dunlosky, 1999).”
BackgroundTest-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x · Cited by 2,867 · see citing works
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The Critical Importance of Retrieval for Learning
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1152408 · Cited by 1,791 · cited 2× · see citing works
“When an item can already be recalled, additional presentations, at least in some circumstances, appear to confer little or no benefit, whereas additional tests can have large effects (Karpicke & Roediger, 2007 , 2008 ).”
BackgroundThe promise and perils of self-regulated study
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Self-citationWhen Does Feedback Facilitate Learning of Words?
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“When learners use flashcards, which are a ubiquitous study tool (Kornell, in press ; Kornell & Bjork, 2007 ), they generally cycle through a set of cards repeatedly, looking at the front of each card, testing themselves, and then looking at the back.”
Self-citationApplication of the testing and spacing effects to name learning
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Self-Regulated Learning: Beliefs, Techniques, and Illusions
Bjork, R. A., Dunlosky, J., & Kornell, N. (2013) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143823 · Cited by 1,468 · see citing works
Self-citationThe effect of testing versus restudy on retention: A meta-analytic review of the testing effect.
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Learning Versus Performance: An Integrative Review
Soderstrom, N. C., & Bjork, R. A. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691615569000 · Cited by 651 · see citing works
Rethinking the Use of Tests: A Meta-Analysis of Practice Testing
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Metacognitive awareness of learning strategies in undergraduates
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Quizzing in Middle‐School Science: Successful Transfer Performance on Classroom Exams
McDaniel, M. A., Thomas, R. C., Agarwal, P. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (2013) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.2914 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
van Gog, T., & Sweller, J. (2015) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-015-9310-x · Cited by 164 · see citing works
The Power of Successive Relearning: Improving Performance on Course Exams and Long-Term Retention
Rawson, K. A., Dunlosky, J., & Sciartelli, S. M. (2013) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-013-9240-4 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Metacognition of the testing effect: Guiding learners to predict the benefits of retrieval
Tullis, J. G., Finley, J. R., & Benjamin, A. S. (2013) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-012-0274-5 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Finn, B., & Tauber, S. K. (2015) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-015-9313-7 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Ebersbach, M., Feierabend, M., & Nazari, K. B. B. (2020) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3639 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
The benefits of successive relearning on multiple learning outcomes.
Higham, P. A., Zengel, B., Bartlett, L. K., & Hadwin, J. A. (2022) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000693 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Williams, A. E., Denaro, K., Dennin, M. B., & Sato, B. K. (2021) · Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1108/jarhe-10-2019-0272 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kornell, N., & Son, L. K.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Barnard College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kornell, Nate
- Venue
- Memory
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2009-06-22
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 493-501
- ISSN
- 0965-8211 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0686
- OpenAlex
- W2098278435
- Cited by
- 190
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 5.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Memory (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
- Keywords
- self-testing, metacognitive beliefs, metacognition, study habits, word pair learning, metacognitive monitoring, metacognitive confidence, student motivation, flashcards
- MeSH terms
- Association, Audiovisual Aids, Educational Measurement, Humans, Language, Learning, Models, Psychological, Random Allocation, Mental Recall, Statistics as Topic
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