Henry L.  Roediger, Washington University

Making It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning and Memory

Abstract

Cognitive psychologists have a long tradition of research about human learning and memory, yet their findings have rarely penetrated educational practice. This situation is starting to change. I will report on a program of research about the benefits of retrieval practice through quizzing as an aid to learning. Testing or quizzing is a practice usually considered only to measure what a student knows, but experimental research shows that retrieving information helps to stabilize the knowledge and make it easier to recall on future attempts. My presentation will provide evidence advancing from laboratory experiments to field experiments in classrooms showing how frequent quizzing can improve educational outcomes. If adopted, retrieval-enhanced learning may have far-reaching implications for education at all levels. Many experimental or quasi-experimental studies in university classrooms have shown meaningful benefits for students.