Selected Current Research Projects

Effects of Making Errors

The learning theorist Edwin Guthrie argued that people "learn what they do", and suggested that it makes sense to minimize the occurrence of errors during learning. This issue is of practical importance because much research (some of it done in our lab) shows that active retrieval of information enhances learning and slows forgetting relative to other activities. When learning with retrieval and feedback, should the learner avoid guessing in cases where he or she cannot produce an answer that is likely to be correct--to avoid harmful learning of errors? In a series of experiments, we are uncovering the answers to this question.

Forgetting of Skills versus Information

It has been shown that people often seem to forget facts and other pieces of information more quickly than they forget skills. We are asking why this is the case, and developing new methods of comparing how forgetting affects different kinds of performance measures.

Retrieval Practice and Visual-Spatial Information

Active retrieval of information enhances learning and slows forgetting. It is easy to use retrieval practice for learning of verbal materials (e.g.,vocabulary flashcards), but not so easy to use it for learning visual and spatial information. We are developing and refining new techniques to provide the advantages of retrieval practice for these kinds of learning (e.g., here).

Retrieval Practice and Function Learning

People often learn complex and sometimes nonlinear functions relating one variable to another. In collaboration with Mark McDaniel, we are studying whether this kind of learning can be enhanced by using retrieval practice.

Retrieval Practice and Learning from Texts

Flashcards are effective ways to learn simple connections between concepts, but much information that people need to learn cannot be reduced to simple pairwise associations. We are developing new ways of teaching people hierarchical networks of concepts, providing the retrieval-practice benefits of flashcards without "dumbing down" the contents into simple associations.