Coaching

Do you think that you remember and learn better when you know that you will be tested on that material? Have you ever been required to study and memorize an abundant amount of information and wonder whether it would be helpful to take practice exams (assuming that practice exams were available)? In a recent article from the the online journal “Psychology and Aging” it described a study where researchers led by a psychologist with the Houston Veterans Affairs designed a study to answer this questions. The study included 60 college students, 60 younger adults, and 60 older adults. They were given 15 minutes to study and read materials on four different topics.
They then took a multiple choice test on two of the topics and were told which questions they incorrectly answered. Then the participants restudied the topics the test had not covered and took an exam on all four of the topics, either later that day or a couple of days later. The researchers found that adults of various ages improved their retention of new information when they were tested and graded on the material compared to when they only restudied the material.