Many people think tests are the source of all evil in education, but it turns out they’re one of the best ways to study. Let's unpack the science behind retrieval practice.
Delayed and reduced feedback is a topic that deserves a treatment of its own. It’s one of the most common cited “desirable difficulties”. There’s no universal rule as to when that should happen but the reference is: late enough for the learner not to rely on it constantly (and have to navigate the rest of the tasks with a certain uncertainty about the previous ones which is what happens in real-life scenarios) but soon enough for it to be relevant (ideally within the same learning session, as a bulk). I’m planning on writing an article on that topic, but in the mean time let me refer to Paul Kirchner’s article on it, it’s really great:
Late to the party, but if we shouldn't check answers immediately, when would you recommend checking them or revealing answers to students?
Delayed and reduced feedback is a topic that deserves a treatment of its own. It’s one of the most common cited “desirable difficulties”. There’s no universal rule as to when that should happen but the reference is: late enough for the learner not to rely on it constantly (and have to navigate the rest of the tasks with a certain uncertainty about the previous ones which is what happens in real-life scenarios) but soon enough for it to be relevant (ideally within the same learning session, as a bulk). I’m planning on writing an article on that topic, but in the mean time let me refer to Paul Kirchner’s article on it, it’s really great:
https://paulkirschner173727.substack.com/p/the-forgotten-desirable-difficulty
I didnt know brain dump improves retention… I’ve been doing it since dear diary- 😭✨