Graded-difficulty probe tests interspersed in a fixed work period to locate the difficulty level a fatigued performer can still manage¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The article adopts Thorndike's proposal to measure degree of difficulty by interspersing, within and at the close of a rigidly fixed long work-period, tests of decreasing digit size — four-place by three-place, four-place by four-place, five-place by five-place, and smaller — to find the level at which performance fails. The present experiment used this cue to ask whether efficiency ends abruptly or tails off by degrees. It requires pre-built problems and recorded times and errors.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Problems made up beforehand so work proceeds with no more interruption than recording the answer and elapsed time
• A practice period to stabilize performance before the fatigue test

Constraints¶

• From this single experiment the author deems it absurd to generalize concerning the course of mental work under extreme fatigue

Target Learners¶

• adult practicers of mental arithmetic

Target Learning Goals¶

• mental multiplication efficiency under fatigue

Claims¶

• Under extreme fatigue, mental multiplication efficiency ends at a definite, relatively abruptly appearing point rather than tailing off by degrees [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Pomodoro Technique
• Spaced Learning Through Activity Breaks

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• W. S. Painter. (1914). Efficiency in Mental Multiplication Under Extreme Fatigue. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/