The Effect of Retrieval Practice on Retention and Comprehension of Expository Text

Abstract

Practicing retrieval during learning has a profound effect on long-term retention compared to restudying target information. In the proposed study we will investigate the effect of retrieval practice on long-term retention and comprehension of complex text materials. Presented here are the materials created for the experiment (a text about black holes, a cued recall test and a transfer test). Also we present the research design for the proposed experiment and data from a pilot study we conducted to test the materials. The results from the pilot study showed that participants had little foreknowledge about the phenomenon of black holes and we showed that studying the text for 30 minutes significantly improved performance on a subsequent test. Data collection for the proposed experiment is ongoing