Examining the Pre-Test and Interim-Test Effect in Inductive Learning
- Heeseon Choi, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of
- Hee Seung Lee, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of
AbstractRecent studies suggest that testing helps learning of materials studied after taking the test. However, it is not yet clear how testing helps subsequent learning. The current study investigated whether testing benefit was due to test expectancy or adjustment of study strategies by contrasting pre-test and interim-test conditions in addition to the restudy control condition. Participants learned the painting styles of various artists that were divided into two sections. Participants had either a pre-test, interim-test, or interim-restudy on the first section before proceeding to the second section. On the final transfer test, the interim-test group outperformed those from the pre-test and restudy groups, implying that only the interim-test effect existed, but not the pretesting effect. The result suggests that in inductive learning simply knowing about the test format in advance of study session does not really help learning, rather it is important for learners to test themselves after studying.