Encouraging College Students to Space and Self-Test During Exam Study: An Experiment

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Division J Poster Session: Student Learning and Development

Abstract

Past research suggests that students could benefit from spacing and self-testing when studying independently. However, experimental studies to investigate whether it is possible to encourage students to use these strategies in their own studying have been lacking. The current study attempts to improve student learning by encouraging college students in an upper-division biology course to use self-testing and spacing during study time. Students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, which determined which version of the treatment they received. Results show students in the two intervention groups (one that gave students information about spacing and self-testing and another that simply asked students which strategies they would use) performed marginally better in course exams than students in the control group.

Authors

• Mariela Janet Rivas, University of California - Irvine

• Fernando Rodriguez, University of California - Irvine

• Brian Sato, University of California - Irvine

• Mark Warschauer, University of California - Irvine