The benefits of testing for learning on later performance

Advances in Health Sciences Education

Volumn 20, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 305-320

  McConnell, Meghan M ^a   St Onge, Christina ^b   Young, Meredith E ^c  

^a MCMASTER UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITÉ DE SHERBROOKE   (Canada)

^c MCGILL UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

Assessment; Learning; Medical education; Question format; Test enhanced learning; Testing effect

Indexed keywords

CLINICAL COMPETENCE; EDUCATION; HUMAN; KNOWLEDGE; LEARNING; MEDICAL EDUCATION; MEDICAL STUDENT; PROCEDURES; QUEBEC;

CLINICAL COMPETENCE; EDUCATION, MEDICAL; EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT; HUMANS; KNOWLEDGE; LEARNING; QUEBEC; STUDENTS, MEDICAL;

EID: 84939887258     PISSN: 13824996     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10459-014-9529-1     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. Barnett, S. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2002). When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer. Psychological Bulletin,128, 612–637.
2. Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (1992). A new theory of disuse and an old theory of stimulus fluctuation. In A. Healy, S. Kosslyn, & R. Shiffrin (Eds.), From leaning processes to cognitive processes: Essays in honor of William K. Estes (pp. 35–67). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
3. Boulet, J. (2008). Teaching to test or testing to teach? Medical Education,42, 952–953.
4. Butler, A. C. (2010). Repeated testing produces superior transfer of learning relative to repeated studying. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition,36, 1118–1133.
5. Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Testing improves long-term retention in a simulated classroom setting. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,19, 514–527.
6. Carpenter, S. K. (2012). Testing enhances the transfer of learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science,21, 279–283.
7. Carpenter, S. K., & DeLosh, E. L. (2006). Impoverished cue sup-port enhances subsequent retention: Support for the elaborative retrieval explanation of the testing effect. Memory & Cognition,34, 268–276.
8. Carrier, M., & Pashler, H. (1992). The influence of retrieval on retention. Memory & Cognition,20, 633–642.
9. Chamberland, M., & St-Onge, C. (2013). Back to basics: Keeping students cognitively active between the classroom and the examination. Medical Education,47, 641–643.
10. Chan, J. C. K. (2010). Long-term effects of testing on the recall of nontested materials. Memory,18, 49–57.
11. Chan, J. C. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (2006). Retrieval-induced facilitation: Initially nontested material can benefit from prior testing of related material. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,135, 553–571.
12. Colliver, J. A. (2002). Educational theory and medical education practice: A cautionary note for medical school faculty. Academic Medicine,77, 1217–1220.
13. Cook, D. A., Thompson, W. G., & Thomas, K. G. (2014). Test-enhanced web-based learning: Optimizing the number of questions (a randomized crossover trial). Academic Medicine,89, 169–175.
14. Hinze, S. R., & Wiley, J. (2011). Testing the limits of testing effects using completion tests. Memory,19, 290–304.
15. Janssen, S. A. K., VanderMeulen, S. P., Shostrom, V. K., & Lomneth, C. S. (2014). Enhancement of anatomical learning and developing clinical competence of first-year medical and allied health profession students. Anatomical Sciences Education, 7, 181–190.
16. Johnson, C. I., & Mayer, R. E. (2009). A testing effect with multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology,101, 621–629.
17. Kang, S. H. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Test format and corrective feedback modulate the effect of testing on long-term retention. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,19, 528–558.
18. Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Repeated retrieval during learning is the key to long-term retention. Journal of Memory and Language,57, 151–162.
19. Kromann, C. B., Bohnstedt, C., Jensen, M. L., & Ringsted, C. (2010). The testing effect on skills learning might last 6 months. Advances in Health Sciences Education,15, 395–401.
20. Kromann, C. B., Jensen, M. L., & Ringsted, C. (2009). The effect of testing on skills learning. Medical Education,43, 21–27.
21. Kromann, C. B., Jensen, M. L., & Ringsted, C. (2011). Test-enhanced learning may be a gender-related phenomenon explained by changes in cortisol level. Medical Education,45, 192–199.
22. Larsen, D. P., & Butler, A. C. (2013). Test-enhanced learning. In K. Walsh (Ed.), Oxford textbook of medical education (pp. 443–452). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
23. Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). Test-enhanced learning in medical education. Medical Education,42, 959–966.
24. Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2009). Repeated testing improves long-term retention relative to repeated study: A randomized controlled trial. Medical Education,43, 1174–1181.
25. Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., Lawson, A. L., & Roediger, H. L. (2013a). The importance of seeing the patient: Test-enhanced learning with standardized patients and written tests improve clinical application of knowledge. Advances in Health Science Education,18, 409–425.
26. Larsen, D. P., Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2013b). Comparative effects of test-enhanced learning and self-explanation on long-term retention. Medical Education,47, 674–682.
27. Marsh, E. J., Agarwal, P. K., & Roediger, H. L., I. I. I. (2009). Memorial consequences of answering SAT II questions. Journal of Experi-mental Psychology: Applied,15, 1–11.
28. McDaniel, M. A., Anderson, J. L., Derbish, M. H., & Morrisette, N. (2007a). Testing the testing effect in the classroom. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,19, 494–513.
29. McDaniel, M. A., Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (2007b). Generalizing test-enhanced learning from the laboratory to the classroom. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,14, 200–206.
30. Medical Council of Canada. (2010). Guidelines for the development of multiple-choice questions. Ottawa: Medical Council of Canada.
31. Morris, C. D., Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior,16, 519–533.
32. National Board of Medical Examiners. (2002). Constructing written test questions for the basic and clinical sciences. Philadelphia, PA: National Board of Medical Examiners.
33. Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science,1, 181–210.
34. Rohrer, D., Taylor, K., & Sholar, B. (2010). Tests enhance the transfer of learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition,36, 233–239.
35. Schmidmaier, R., Ebersbach, R., Schiller, M., Hege, I., Holzer, M., & Fischer, M. P. (2011). Using electronic flashcards to promote learning in medical students: Retesting vs. restudying. Medical Education,45, 1101–1110.
36. Schuwirth, L. W. T., Verheggen, M. M., van der Vleuten, C. P. M., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Dinant, G. J. (2001). Do short cases elicit different thinking processes than factual knowledge questions do? Medical Education,35, 348–356.
37. Wheeler, M. A., Ewers, M., & Buonanno, J. (2003). Different rates of forgetting following study versus test trials. Memory,11, 571–580.
38. Wood, T. (2009). Assessment not only drives learning, it may also help learning. Medical Education,43, 5–6.