Stepwise MCQs, which delay answer options by 4 s, enhance vocabulary retention significantly compared to standard MCQs in three of four experiments, measured days after practice.¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In Experiments 1, 3a, and 3b, stepwise MCQs enhanced retention significantly compared to standard MCQs on a posttest several days after practice; the effect did not hold in one of the four experiments. → van den Broek 2023

Evidence¶

van den Broek 2023¶

van den Broek, G., Gerritsen, S. L., Oomen, I. T. J., Velthoven, E., van Boxtel, F. H. J., Kester, L., & van Gog, T. (2023). Optimizing multiple-choice questions for retrieval practice: Delayed display of answer alternatives enhances vocabulary learning. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000810

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Multi-experiment study (classroom N=75; online N=45, N=77, N=79) comparing standard MCQs with stepwise MCQs in which the word was "shown for 4 s before the translations appeared". Three of four experiments showed a significant retention advantage for stepwise MCQs; no effect size is printed in the available text.

"In three of the four experiments (Experiments 1, 3a, and 3b), stepwise MCQs enhanced retention significantly compared to standard MCQs, measured by a posttest several days after practice."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Answering MCQs benefits learning when learners retrieve knowledge from memory to evaluate plausible alternatives, but such retrieval may not occur with easy-to-guess answers. — related
• The stepwise-MCQ benefit is most robust for questions with noncompetitive answer options and for learners who report trying to retrieve the answer during the delay. — related
• Stepwise-MCQ benefits generalize across translation directions and across both easy-to-guess (noncompetitive) and hard-to-guess (competitive) answer options. — related
• A review reports that pretesting helps paired-associate learning only when correct-answer feedback is immediate, but helps trivia-fact learning even when feedback is delayed up to 24 hours — related
• Competitive, hard-to-guess answer options generally enhance vocabulary retention (Experiments 3a and 3b). — related