Editing Testing effect (section)

{{Short description|Memory effect in educational psychology}}
[[File:Anki flashcard question and answer math.gif|thumb|[[Flashcard]]s are an application of the testing effect. Here, [[list of flashcard software|flashcard software]] [[Anki (software)|Anki]] is used to review a mathematical formula through [[active recall]]. First, only the question is displayed. Then the answer is displayed too, for verification.]]The '''testing effect''' (also known as '''retrieval practice''', '''active recall''', '''practice testing''', or '''test-enhanced learning''')<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Roediger|first1=H. L.|last2=Butler|first2=A. C.|date=2011|title=The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention|url=http://psych.wustl.edu/memory/Roddy%20article%20PDF%27s/Roediger%20%26%20Butler%20%282011%29_TCS.pdf|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|volume=15|issue=1|pages=20–27|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2010.09.003|pmid=20951630|hdl-access=free|hdl=10818/24277|s2cid=11014168|access-date=2015-08-19|archive-date=2017-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215055319/http://psych.wustl.edu/memory/Roddy%20article%20PDF%27s/Roediger%20%26%20Butler%20%282011%29_TCS.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{cite journal|last1=Dunlosky|first1=J.|last2=Rawson|first2=K. A.|last3=Marsh|first3=E. J.|last4=Nathan|first4=M. J.|last5=Willingham|first5=D. T.|date=2013|title=Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/fafd4fb0b8d1c3a11a5a5d0ce70e7e47e7460fe8|journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest|volume=14|issue=1|pages=4–58|doi=10.1177/1529100612453266|pmid=26173288|s2cid=220053697}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Remember!|url=http://www.retrievalpractice.org|access-date=2016-03-12|website=Retrieval Practice: A Powerful Strategy to Improve Learning}}</ref> suggests [[long-term memory]] is increased when part of the [[learning]] period is devoted to retrieving information from [[memory]].<ref>{{cite book|author=E. Bruce Goldstein|title=Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and Everyday Experience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9TUIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA231|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-133-00912-2|page=231|date=2010-06-21}}</ref> It is different from the more general ''[[practice effect]]'', defined in the APA Dictionary of Psychology as "any change or improvement that results from practice or repetition of task items or activities."<ref>{{cite APA Dictionary |title=Practice effect |shortlink=practice-effect |access-date=2021-12-04 }}</ref>

Cognitive psychologists are working with educators to look at how to take advantage of tests—not as an assessment tool, but as a [[Education|teaching]] tool <ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bae|first1=Christine L.|last2=Therriault|first2=David J.|last3=Redifer|first3=Jenni L.|date=2018|title=Investigating the testing effect: Retrieval as a characteristic of effective study strategies|journal=Learning and Instruction|volume=60|pages=206–214|doi=10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.12.008|s2cid=149067724|issn=0959-4752}}</ref> since testing prior knowledge is more beneficial for learning when compared to only reading or passively studying material (even more so when the test is more challenging for memory).<ref>{{cite web|date=9 December 2014|title=The Testing Effect|url=http://www.revunote.com/resources/the-testing-effect/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807181828/http://www.revunote.com/resources/the-testing-effect/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 7, 2012|work=Revunote}}</ref>