Testing students on information that they do not know might seem like a fruitless endeavor. After all, why give anyone a test that they are guaranteed to fail because they have not yet learned the material? Remarkably, a growing body of research indicates that such testing--formally known as "prequestioning" or…

Compared with other learning strategies, retrieval practice seems to promote superior long-term retention. This has been found mostly in conditions where learners take tests after being exposed to learning content. However, a pre-testing effect has also been demonstrated, with promising results. This raises the question, for a given amount of time…

Stuart A. Karabenick was a prolific scholar and a co-editor of the "Advances in Motivation and Achievement" book series. At the time of his passing on August 1st, 2020, he was a Professor Emeritus at Easter Michigan University and a Research-Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. Throughout his long career in Educational…

Learning objectives (LOs) are statements that typically precede a study session and describe the knowledge students should obtain by the end of the session. Despite their widespread use, limited research has investigated the effect of LOs on learning. In three laboratory experiments, we examined the extent to which LOs improve retention of…

To optimize the benefits of game-based practice within Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), researchers examine how game features influence students' motivation and performance. The current study examined the influence of game features and individual differences (reading ability and learning intentions) on motivation and performance. Participants…

Researchers have asked college students how they study, and the results show that most use four inefficient strategies that do not often work: (1) reading assigned chapter, trying to understand individual sentences as he goes but not necessarily ensuring he's got the overall gist; (2) marking what he takes to be important points with a…

Few studies have investigated the effects of the instructions provided in educational computer games on cognitive processing and learning outcomes. In our experiment, we sought to compare the effects on learning outcomes of two different types of goal-oriented instructions: "mastery-goal" instructions, which prompt learners to develop…

Colleges and universities are increasingly being held accountable for assessing and reporting student learning. Recently there has been increased focus on using assessment to improve learning over time. In this paper we present a simple, step-by-step assessment process that will deliver meaningful results to achieve these ends. We emphasize the…

This report concerns the effects of prequestion and postquestion formats in prose learning in computer-assisted instruction. Five experimental groups studied a set of eight passages under different prequestion-postquestion combinations. Twenty-five subjects, volunteers with high school degrees, were randomly assigned to each group. A final…

An analysis of various studies which have examined the effect of questions in the textual content of instructional materials. (JB)

THE PROCESS OF EDUCATIONAL DESIGN, WHICH IS THE APPLICATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND METHODOLOGY OF BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY TO THE DESIGN OF THE TEACHING PROCESS AND EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, IS PRESENTED, AND THE PROFESSIONAL SPECIALTY OF THE EDUCATIONAL DESIGNER IS DESCRIBED. THE PRESENTATION OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL DESIGN PROCESS…

THE PROBLEM OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO STUDY THE EXTENT TO WHICH STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO GENERALIZE WHAT THEY LEARN IN ONE LESSON SO THAT THEY ACTUALLY GAIN COMMAND OF ABILITIES NOT SPECIFICALLY TAUGHT UNTIL SOME LATER LESSON. THE AUTHOR EXAMINED CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A MASTERY SCORE ON A PRETEST IN ARITHMETIC COULD BE CONSIDERED A TRANSFER INSTANCE.…

This document provides summary descriptions of a dozen ESEA Title III programs using behavior control techniques on various populations of school-age youth, for different objectives. Each program summary gives the title, population served, approximate annual cost, procedures, a brief evaluation, and whom to contact for further information. (EM)

The present study was undertaken to assess whether training that was known to produce transfer within the Cognition of Figural Relations (CFR) domain of Guilford's Structure-of-Intellect model would also produce transfer to other operations in Guilford's model. Fifty subjects, matched for pretest score on a double classification task, were…