Structured Retrieval Practice to Enhance Conceptual Learning

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Psychology (73) The objective of the research and development project, Structured Retrieval Practice to Enhance Conceptual Learning, is to develop a computer-based Structured Retrieval Practice program that guides students to practice retrieval while studying and enhances long-term retention of foundational conceptual knowledge. The research addresses fundamental questions about human learning and retrieval processes by testing the hypothesis that elaborative retrieval cues increase the effectiveness of retrieval practice. The first aim is to develop and enhance several aspects of the learning program in controlled experiments. The working hypothesis is that guiding students to practice active reconstruction of their knowledge will produce potent and robust learning and long-term retention. The goal is to identify the best ways to structure and scaffold students' retrieval practice to help them develop enriched mental models about science concepts. The second aim of this project is to establish the efficacy and effectiveness of Structured Retrieval Practice in two large undergraduate introductory psychology courses. The project addresses two gaps in cognitive science. First, the project is designed to contribute to the current research on retrieval and memory. Secondly, the project is designed to translate findings from the basic research conducted in a laboratory setting into application in the real world setting of the classroom. The set of studies is designed to inform the undergraduate STEM education community on how students learn and to apply the findings to the development of instructional strategies designed to enhance students' learning of foundational conceptual knowledge in STEM disciplines.