Low-Stakes Quizzes Improve Learning and Reduce Overconfidence in College Students
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Published:
Jun 29, 2021
Keywords:
retrieval practice; learning; memory; metacognition
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Abstract
Retrieval practice is a straightforward and effective way to improve student learning, and its efficacy has been demonstrated repeatedly in the laboratory and in the classroom. In the current study, we implemented retrieval practice in the form of daily reviews in the classroom. Students (N = 47) in a cognitive psychology course completed a daily review at the beginning of each class. These consisted of 2-4 questions that encouraged students to practice retrieving material covered in lectures from the previous week. Then at the end of the semester, students took a comprehensive final exam consisting of content that was either on a daily review, a unit exam, both or neither. We replicated previous work such that retrieval practice improved memory. Specifically, we found that students performed significantly better on questions whose information had been covered on both a daily review and unit exam. However, student performance did not differ amongst items covered only on a daily review, a unit exam, or on neither. Additionally, we extended previous work and found that students were significantly less overconfident for information covered on both a daily review and unit exam. The current results indicate that retrieval practice helps college students remember material over the course of a semester and also improves their ability to evaluate their own knowledge of the material.
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Kenney, K. L., & Bailey, H. (2021). Low-Stakes Quizzes Improve Learning and Reduce Overconfidence in College Students. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v21i2.28650
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References
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Butler, A. C., Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H. L. (2008). Correcting a metacognitive error: Feedback increases retention of low-confidence correct responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 14, 918-928. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.34.4.918
Carpenter, S. K., & Kelly, J. W. (2012). Tests enhance retention and transfer of spatial learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 19, 443-448. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0221-2
Carpenter, S. K., Pashler, H., Wixted, J. T., & Vul, E. (2008). The effects of tests on learning and forgetting. Memory & Cognition, 36, 438-448. https://doi.org/10.3758/mc.36.2.438
Carpenter, S. K., & Pashler, H. (2007). Testing beyond words: Using tests to enhance visuospatial map learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14, 474-478. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03194092
Carrier, M. & Pashler, H. (1992). The influence of retrieval on retention. Memory & Cognition, 20, 632–642. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03202713
Cepeda, N. J., Coburn, N., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., Mozer, M. C., & Pashler, H. (2009). Optimizing distributed practice: Theoretical analysis and practical implications. Experimental Psychology, 56, 236–246. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169.56.4.236
Cranney, J., Ahn, M., McKinnon, R., Morris, S., & Watts, K. (2009). The testing effect, collaborative learning, and retrieval-induced facilitation in a classroom setting. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 21, 919-940. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440802413505
Cull, W. L. (2000). Untangling the benefits of multiple study opportunities and repeated testing for cued recall. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, 215–235. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-0720(200005/06)14:3<215::aid-acp640>3.3.co;2-t
Fritz, C., Morris, P. E., Acton, M., Voelkel, A. R., & Etkind, R. (2007). Comparing and combining expanding retrieval practice and the keyword mnemonic for foreign vocabulary learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 499-526. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1287
Hacker, D. J., Bol, L., Horgan, D. D., & Rakow, E. A. (2000). Test prediction and performance in a classroom context. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 160-170. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.1.160
Hintzman, D. L. (1974). Theoretical implications of the spacing effect. In R. L. Solso (Ed.), Theories in Cognitive Psychology: The Loyola Symposium (pp. 77–99). Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.
Karpicke, J. D., Butler, A. C. & Roediger III, H. L. (2009). Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practice retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17, 471-479. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210802647009
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H.L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 15, 966-968. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., & Roediger III, H. L. (2009). Repeated testing improves long-term retention relative to repeated study: A randomized controlled trial. Medical Education, 43, 1174-1181. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03518.x
Landauer, T. K., & Eldridge, L. (1967). Effects of tests without feedback and presentation-test interval in paired-associate learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 75, 290–298. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025047
Leeming, F. C. (2002). The exam-a-day procedure improves performance in psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 29, 210-212. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top2903_06
Lipowski, S. L., Pyc, M. A., Dunlosky, J., & Rawson, K. A. (2014). Establishing and explaining the testing effect in free recall for young children. Developmental Psychology, 50, 994-1000. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035202
Lyle, K. B., & Crawford, N. A. (2011). Retrieving essential material at the end of lectures improves performance on statistics exams. Teaching of Psychology, 38, 94-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628311401587
Maddox, G. B. (2016). Understanding the underlying mechanism of the spacing effect in verbal learning: A case for encoding variability and study-phase retrieval. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 28, 684-706. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2016.1181637
McDaniel, M. A., Agarwal, P. K., Huelser, B. J., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger III, H. L. (2011). Test enhanced learning in a middle school science classroom: The effects of quiz frequency and placement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 399-414. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021782
McDaniel, M. A., Anderson, J. L., Derbish, M. H., & Morrisette, N. (2007). Testing the testing effect in the classroom. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19, 494-513.
McDaniel, M. A., Thomas, R. C., Agarwal, P. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger III, H. L. (2013). Quizzing in middle-school science: Successful transfer performance on classroom exams. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27, 360-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440701326154
McDermott, K. B., Agarwal, P. K., D’Antonio, L., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Both multiple-choice and short-answer quizzes enhance later exam performance in middle and high school classes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20, 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000004
Miller, T. M., & Geraci, L. (2014). Improving metacognitive accuracy: How failing to retrieve practice items reduces overconfidence. Consciousness and Cognition, 29, 131-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.08.008
Pan, S. C., & Rickard, T. C. (2017). Does retrieval practice enhance learning and transfer relative to restudy for term-definition facts? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23, 278-292. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000124
Peterson, L.R., Wampler, R., Kirkpatrick, M., & Saltzman, D. (1963). Effect of spacing of presentations on retention of paired-associates over short intervals. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66, 206-209. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046694
Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2007). Examining the efficiency of schedules of distributed retrieval practice. Memory & Cognition, 35, 1917-1927. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03192925
Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2009). Testing the retrieval effort hypothesis: Does greater difficulty correctly recalling information lead to higher levels of memory? Journal of Memory and Language, 60, 437-447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2009.01.004
Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2012). Are judgments of learning made after correct responses during retrieval practice sensitive to lag and criterion level effects? Memory & Cognition, 40, 976-988. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-012-0200-x
Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. (2011). Optimizing schedules of retrieval practice for durable and efficient learning: How much is enough? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 140, 283–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023956
Roediger III, H. L., Agarwal, P. K., McDaniel, M. A., & McDermott, K. B. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: Long-term improvements from quizzing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 17, 382-395. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026252
Roediger III, H. L., & Butler, A. C. (2011). The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15, 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.09.003
Roediger III, H. L. & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17, 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Rowland, C. A. (2014). The effect of testing versus restudy on retention: a meta-analytic review of the testing effect. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 1432-1463. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037559
Wissman, K. T., Rawson, K. A. & Pyc, M. A. (2012). How and when do students use flashcards? Memory, 20, 568-579. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2012.687052
Adesope, O. O., Trevisan, D. A., & Sundararajan, N. (2017). Rethinking the use of tests: A meta-analysis of practice testing. Review of Educational Research, 87, 659-701. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316689306
Butler, A. C., Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H. L. (2008). Correcting a metacognitive error: Feedback increases retention of low-confidence correct responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 14, 918-928. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.34.4.918
Carpenter, S. K., & Kelly, J. W. (2012). Tests enhance retention and transfer of spatial learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 19, 443-448. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0221-2
Carpenter, S. K., Pashler, H., Wixted, J. T., & Vul, E. (2008). The effects of tests on learning and forgetting. Memory & Cognition, 36, 438-448. https://doi.org/10.3758/mc.36.2.438
Carpenter, S. K., & Pashler, H. (2007). Testing beyond words: Using tests to enhance visuospatial map learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14, 474-478. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03194092
Carrier, M. & Pashler, H. (1992). The influence of retrieval on retention. Memory & Cognition, 20, 632–642. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03202713
Cepeda, N. J., Coburn, N., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., Mozer, M. C., & Pashler, H. (2009). Optimizing distributed practice: Theoretical analysis and practical implications. Experimental Psychology, 56, 236–246. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169.56.4.236
Cranney, J., Ahn, M., McKinnon, R., Morris, S., & Watts, K. (2009). The testing effect, collaborative learning, and retrieval-induced facilitation in a classroom setting. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 21, 919-940. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440802413505
Cull, W. L. (2000). Untangling the benefits of multiple study opportunities and repeated testing for cued recall. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, 215–235. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-0720(200005/06)14:3<215::aid-acp640>3.3.co;2-t
Fritz, C., Morris, P. E., Acton, M., Voelkel, A. R., & Etkind, R. (2007). Comparing and combining expanding retrieval practice and the keyword mnemonic for foreign vocabulary learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 499-526. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1287
Hacker, D. J., Bol, L., Horgan, D. D., & Rakow, E. A. (2000). Test prediction and performance in a classroom context. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 160-170. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.1.160
Hintzman, D. L. (1974). Theoretical implications of the spacing effect. In R. L. Solso (Ed.), Theories in Cognitive Psychology: The Loyola Symposium (pp. 77–99). Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.
Karpicke, J. D., Butler, A. C. & Roediger III, H. L. (2009). Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practice retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17, 471-479. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210802647009
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H.L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 15, 966-968. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., & Roediger III, H. L. (2009). Repeated testing improves long-term retention relative to repeated study: A randomized controlled trial. Medical Education, 43, 1174-1181. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03518.x
Landauer, T. K., & Eldridge, L. (1967). Effects of tests without feedback and presentation-test interval in paired-associate learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 75, 290–298. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025047
Leeming, F. C. (2002). The exam-a-day procedure improves performance in psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 29, 210-212. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top2903_06
Lipowski, S. L., Pyc, M. A., Dunlosky, J., & Rawson, K. A. (2014). Establishing and explaining the testing effect in free recall for young children. Developmental Psychology, 50, 994-1000. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035202
Lyle, K. B., & Crawford, N. A. (2011). Retrieving essential material at the end of lectures improves performance on statistics exams. Teaching of Psychology, 38, 94-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628311401587
Maddox, G. B. (2016). Understanding the underlying mechanism of the spacing effect in verbal learning: A case for encoding variability and study-phase retrieval. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 28, 684-706. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2016.1181637
McDaniel, M. A., Agarwal, P. K., Huelser, B. J., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger III, H. L. (2011). Test enhanced learning in a middle school science classroom: The effects of quiz frequency and placement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 399-414. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021782
McDaniel, M. A., Anderson, J. L., Derbish, M. H., & Morrisette, N. (2007). Testing the testing effect in the classroom. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19, 494-513.
McDaniel, M. A., Thomas, R. C., Agarwal, P. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger III, H. L. (2013). Quizzing in middle-school science: Successful transfer performance on classroom exams. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27, 360-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440701326154
McDermott, K. B., Agarwal, P. K., D’Antonio, L., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Both multiple-choice and short-answer quizzes enhance later exam performance in middle and high school classes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20, 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000004
Miller, T. M., & Geraci, L. (2014). Improving metacognitive accuracy: How failing to retrieve practice items reduces overconfidence. Consciousness and Cognition, 29, 131-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.08.008
Pan, S. C., & Rickard, T. C. (2017). Does retrieval practice enhance learning and transfer relative to restudy for term-definition facts? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23, 278-292. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000124
Peterson, L.R., Wampler, R., Kirkpatrick, M., & Saltzman, D. (1963). Effect of spacing of presentations on retention of paired-associates over short intervals. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66, 206-209. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046694
Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2007). Examining the efficiency of schedules of distributed retrieval practice. Memory & Cognition, 35, 1917-1927. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03192925
Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2009). Testing the retrieval effort hypothesis: Does greater difficulty correctly recalling information lead to higher levels of memory? Journal of Memory and Language, 60, 437-447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2009.01.004
Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2012). Are judgments of learning made after correct responses during retrieval practice sensitive to lag and criterion level effects? Memory & Cognition, 40, 976-988. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-012-0200-x
Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. (2011). Optimizing schedules of retrieval practice for durable and efficient learning: How much is enough? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 140, 283–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023956
Roediger III, H. L., Agarwal, P. K., McDaniel, M. A., & McDermott, K. B. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: Long-term improvements from quizzing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 17, 382-395. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026252
Roediger III, H. L., & Butler, A. C. (2011). The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15, 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.09.003
Roediger III, H. L. & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17, 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Rowland, C. A. (2014). The effect of testing versus restudy on retention: a meta-analytic review of the testing effect. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 1432-1463. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037559
Wissman, K. T., Rawson, K. A. & Pyc, M. A. (2012). How and when do students use flashcards? Memory, 20, 568-579. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2012.687052