The present study investigated whether the sequencing of exemplars affects learning of rule-based science categories. We taught undergraduate students chemical categories by showing them diagrams of organic chemical compounds accompanied by their category label in either an interleaved or blocked fashion. On a categorization test of novel exemplars administered 2 days later, interleaved presentation produced superior performance than blocked presentation for categories that were visually simple (Experiment 1) and relatively more complex (Experiment 2). The advantage of interleaved presentation was still observed when the diagnostic features of each category were highlighted during study (Experiments 3 and 4), suggesting that the benefit of interleaving may not be due solely to increasing the salience of contrastive features that differentiate the categories. These findings demonstrate that interleaved presentation can improve learning of educationally relevant categories, even when coupled with pedagogical techniques that emphasize the diagnostic features of each category.

Retrieval practice tends to produce better long-term learning than rereading, but laboratory studies have typically used arbitrary material that subjects may not care to learn. The observed advantage of retrieval practice may be exaggerated because low motivation may result in deficient processing during (usually passive) rereading. Thus, when subjects are motivated to learn the material, the type of study strategy (whether retrieval practice or rereading) might be less important. To test this hypothesis, we conducted 3 experiments in which we manipulated the incentives (using monetary bonuses or time savings) for learning Swahili–English word pairs. Items that had undergone retrieval practice were better recalled than reread items on a final test 2 days later, but this effect did not interact with incentive level. These results provide some reassurance that lab findings from the testing effects literature likely generalize to real-world situations in which motivation to learn may be greater.

There is extensive evidence that distributed practice produces superior learning to massed practice, predominantly from laboratory studies often featuring decontextualized learning. A systematic review of applied research was undertaken to assess the impact of distributed practice on classroom learning. Inclusion criteria were classroom studies with learning materials and timescales relevant to curriculum-based learning. The screening of over 3000 articles resulted in 22 reports containing 31 effect sizes (N > 3000). A meta-analysis found a moderate effect in favor of distributed over massed practice (d = 0.54, 95% CI [0.31, 0.77]). Although a comprehensive quantitative moderator analysis was not possible due to the number of studies, generally larger effect sizes were associated with studies that featured longer retention intervals, had learners at higher education levels, and had fewer re-exposures to the materials.

Financial literacy is an important life skill, yet the impact of financial education has often been found to be modest. We conducted a field experiment to assess the effectiveness of a postinstruction intervention using a smartphone app that incorporated cognitive science principles aimed at improving learning. College students who completed a required credit review workshop during their sophomore year used the smartphone app in one of three practice conditions: control (no practice), massed, or spaced retrieval practice with elaborative feedback. On a final assessment about 5 months later, students who engaged in spaced retrieval practice were superior to those in the control and massed practice conditions in terms of knowledge. Given the ubiquity of smartphones today, the results highlight the potential of harnessing easily accessible technology as learning tools to augment the retention and transfer of knowledge.

Although previous research on retrieval practice (RP) has predominantly featured stimuli with discrete right-or-wrong answers, continuous measures offer potentially greater sensitivity in assessing the effects of RP on memory precision. The present study used a colour gradient (125 points ranging from magenta to yellow) as a continuous response variable. The colours of different images were learned through either RP or restudy and either one or three cycles of practice after initial study. On a delayed final test, participants’ memory was assessed for each item’s colour. Participants also created per-item intervals representing the region where they believed the correct colour most likely to have been. We found that repeated rounds of RP enhanced the correspondence between responses and the correct colour. In addition, RP led to participants creating more accurate (correct answers were more likely to be within the participant-specified intervals) and more precise (narrower) intervals relative to restudy, suggesting that RP enhances the precision of memories.