Four-set student lexical memory model with staged progression from introduction to long-term retention¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 against) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The adaptive tutoring algorithm formalizes each student's lexical memory as four non-intersecting sets: "N – units assigned to the student and pending introduction; P – units in the process of active acquisition; S – units in the student's short-term memory; L – learned units (in the long-term memory)." Units move forward from N to P to S to L, with the only backward movement from S to P on recall failure. A unit enters short-term memory after at least four successful recalls in activities of increasing difficulty, and is deemed fully learned after remaining in short-term memory for at least seven days and still being recalled. The model is rooted in the Linguistic Automaton framework and the cybernetic approach to instruction as regulation.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Each lexical unit carries a numerical parameter vector describing anticipated complexity and degree of learning; session quotas allocate time across the three active sets.

Constraints¶

• The stage thresholds (four recalls; seven days) were selected arbitrarily with the intention to refine them through further experimentation; the relationship between these operational terms and psycholinguistic reality, including tacit versus explicit knowledge, is not investigated in the study.

Target Learners¶

• EFL students using the tutoring system

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Long-term retention of target vocabulary items

Claims¶

• Tutoring Stage Thresholds Validated By Posttest [+M]
• Lexical units brought to the 'fully learned' stage by the tutor scored significantly lower on the posttest than units students already knew before introduction [-W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

• Automated generation of seven vocabulary activity types with distractor collision prevention

Key Sources¶

• Evgeny Chukharev-Hudilainen and Tatiana A. Klepikova. (2016). The effectiveness of computer-based spaced repetition in foreign language vocabulary instruction: a double-blind study. calico journal vol 33.3. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v33i3.26055