Attempted recall during vocabulary study showed no demonstrable superiority over mere reading and re-reading in adult learners¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 1911 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Among 28 adults learning four 20-pair vocabularies, the recall method showed no demonstrable superiority over repetition; face-value results slightly favored re-reading. → Edward L. Thorndike 1911 q2 i? For the eleven individuals scoring 17 or less on the first vocabulary, re-reading required 3 percent less time and produced 14 percent more words correct. → Edward L. Thorndike 1911 (2)

Evidence¶

Edward L. Thorndike 1911¶

Edward L. Thorndike. (1911). Repetition versus recall in memorizing vocabularies; The effect of continuous exercise and of rest upon difficult mental multiplication. Journal of Educational Psychology, Communications and Discussions. https://archive.org/search?query=Journal+of+Educational+Psychology+Thorndike

q2 · i? · causal · r1

A small controlled experiment in which 28 adult students learned four vocabularies of twenty pairs, two by attentive re-reading and two by reading with attempted recall; the test came immediately after learning with pair order changed. The author reports "no demonstrable superiority in the method involving recall from within".

"There was no demonstrable superiority in the method involving recall from within so far as possible. Indeed, the results, at their face value, slightly favored the mere reading and re-reading."

Edward L. Thorndike 1911 (2)¶

Edward L. Thorndike. (1911). Repetition versus recall in memorizing vocabularies; The effect of continuous exercise and of rest upon difficult mental multiplication. Journal of Educational Psychology, Communications and Discussions. https://archive.org/search?query=Journal+of+Educational+Psychology+Thorndike

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Subgroup analysis of the vocabulary experiment: among the eleven individuals with 17 or fewer correct on the first vocabulary, "the mere read- ing and re-reading required 3 per cent. less time and produced 14 per cent. more words correct" than the recall method.

"For the eleven individuals whose records in the first vocabulary were 17 correct or less, the mere read- ing and re-reading required 3 per cent. less time and produced 14 per cent. more words correct"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Spaced retrieval practice (successive relearning) produced multi-year retention of foreign language vocabulary in adults, as reported by the review — reports the opposite
• Total retrieval spacing improved one-week vocabulary recall while relative schedules were not distinguished — related
• Expanding retrieval schedules have not shown consistent advantages over equally spaced or contracting schedules matched on total spacing — related
• Thorndike reports a conflict between his vocabulary recall results and deductions psychologists made from the law of forward conduction, urging repetition of the experiment — related