Pre Reading Quizzes¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 3 studies (2 causal, 1 quant-synthesis), q3 · 1 of 3 report an effect size

Description¶

A pre-reading quiz presents learners with a small set of questions about material they are about to read, before any instruction or exposure to the text. Learners attempt answers even when they do not know them; the quiz is typically ungraded or low-stakes. The subsequent reading then resolves the questions, and the failed retrieval attempts themselves enhance learning of the correct answers.

Design Implications¶

Pre-reading quizzes exploit the pretesting effect: attempting to retrieve an answer before learning it improves later retention of that answer relative to studying it without a prior attempt Pretesting enhances subsequent learning of the tested material. [+S]. Errors made on the quiz are not harmful — learners reliably correct them when the answer appears in the text, and the error creates a curiosity gap that the reading then fills Pretesting errors do not impair, and often improve, subsequent learning. [+M]. The quiz also functions as an advance organizer, orienting attention toward the most important concepts in the text.

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Questions that target the core concepts of the upcoming text, not trivia
• A low-stakes or ungraded framing so learners guess freely rather than avoiding errors
• The reading must actually contain answers to the quiz questions, so errors get resolved
• Brief feedback or confirmation after reading that the questions have been answered

Constraints¶

• Questions about content absent from the text leave errors unresolved and can entrench misconceptions Unresolved pretest errors can persist when corrective information is never encountered. [-M]
• Overly difficult or demoralizing pretests can reduce motivation and reading engagement for low-confidence learners [~W]
• Gains are largest for the specific facts pretested; broad comprehension benefits are smaller and less consistent [~M]
• If learners can look up answers instead of guessing, the retrieval attempt — the active ingredient — is lost [-M]

Implementation Variability¶

• Multiple-choice pretests work as well as or better than open-response for novices, since plausible alternatives seed attention to distinctions [~M]
• Pretests can be delivered as clicker questions, LMS quizzes (e.g., Canvas ungraded quizzes), or paper warm-ups
• A "pre-question" variant embeds one or two questions at the top of a reading or video rather than as a separate quiz

Target Learners¶

• Novices with limited prior knowledge of the topic, who benefit most from the orientation and curiosity-gap effects Pretesting benefits are strongest for learners with low prior knowledge. [+M]
• Learners who tend to read passively; the quiz gives them a purpose for reading
• Less useful for expert readers of the domain, for whom the questions add little activation value

Target Learning Goals¶

• Retention of key facts and concepts from assigned reading
• Activation of prior knowledge and identification of knowledge gaps before instruction Activation improves learning. [+M]
• Selective attention: directing reading effort toward the most important content

Instructions¶

1. Select 3–5 questions targeting the central concepts of the assigned reading; include plausible distractors if using multiple choice.
2. Frame the quiz as ungraded and expect guessing, so errors carry no penalty.
3. Administer the quiz before any lecture or discussion of the topic, ideally immediately before the reading (Activation).
4. Have learners read the text with the questions in mind; the questions serve as an Advance Organizer.
5. After reading, briefly revisit the questions so learners confirm or correct their initial answers and resolve any errors.

Related Strategies¶

• Retrieval practice — pre-reading quizzes are retrieval practice applied before learning rather than after
• Advance organizers — the orientation function of a pretest overlaps with expository advance organizers
• Activating prior knowledge — pretests surface what learners already know and expose gaps

Examples¶

• Intro psychology course: instructor posts a 5-question ungraded Canvas quiz on memory concepts before students read the textbook chapter; the same concepts appear on the unit exam with higher accuracy than un-pretested concepts.
• Kornell et al. (2009): students took pretests before reading expository texts; tested facts were learned better than non-tested facts, even though students answered most pretest questions wrong.
• Flipped classroom pre-watching quizzes: short pre-video questions in a Flipped Classroom prepare students to extract key ideas from the instructional video.

Key Sources¶

• Kornell, N., Hays, M. J., & Bjork, R. A. (2009). Unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance subsequent learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35(4), 989–998. doi:10.1037/a0015729
• Richland, L. E., Kornell, N., & Kao, L. S. (2009). The pretesting effect: Do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15(3), 243–257. doi:10.1037/a0016496
• Pan, S. C., & Rickard, T. C. (2018). Transfer of test-enhanced learning: Meta-analytic review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 144(7), 710–756. doi:10.1037/bul0000151
• Carpenter, S. K., & Toftness, A. R. (2017). The effect of prequestions on learning from video presentations. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 6(1), 104–109. doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.07.014