Test-enhanced learning: the potential for testing to promote greater learning in undergraduate science courses

Cynthia J Brame, Rachel Biel, Cynthia J Brame, Rachel Biel

Abstract

Testing within the science classroom is commonly used for both formative and summative assessment purposes to let the student and the instructor gauge progress toward learning goals. Research within cognitive science suggests, however, that testing can also be a learning event. We present summaries of studies that suggest that repeated retrieval can enhance long-term learning in a laboratory setting; various testing formats can promote learning; feedback enhances the benefits of testing; testing can potentiate further study; and benefits of testing are not limited to rote memory. Most of these studies were performed in a laboratory environment, so we also present summaries of experiments suggesting that the benefits of testing can extend to the classroom. Finally, we suggest opportunities that these observations raise for the classroom and for further research.

© 2015 C. J. Brame and R. Biel. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Design of Roediger and Karpicke (2006a) experiment examining testing effect.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Design of Smith and Karpicke (2014) experiment examining effect of question format on testing effect.

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Source: PubMed

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