Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, Vol 10(1), Mar 2024, 30-43; doi:10.1037/stl0000258
Research has demonstrated that retrieval practice (i.e., self-testing) promotes student learning, but the bulk of the research has been conducted in laboratory settings using contrived materials. We investigated the effects of retrieval practice on exam performance among college students. Across six university-level psychology courses, we created self-testing websites for our students. Students could access these websites throughout the semester in preparation for their exams. Overall, using the self-testing websites was associated with improved exam performance. Across both studies, repeated self-testing (measured via the total number of test trials) was associated with improved exam performance even when controlling for GPA. In Study 2, we found that approximately 91% of students utilized these websites at least once during the semester. These results suggest that self-testing websites offer a low-cost method to improve student learning for both low-performing and high-performing students. Teachers can substantially improve their students learning by creating self-testing resources accessible outside the classroom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)