Test, test, test

Posted by Geoff Davis at 12PM on 01/24/11 | Categories: None | 1 comment

Another article in the Times' excellent coverage of useful research on how we learn: To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test. Taking tests turns out to be a very effective mechanism for learning. Definitely something to consider when structuring one's courses.

The specific test mechanism looks pretty simple, and seems easy to turn into something one's students can do on their own:

The final group took a “retrieval practice” test. Without the passage in front of them, they wrote what they remembered in a free-form essay for 10 minutes. Then they reread the passage and took another retrieval practice test.