Pretesting with Multiple-choice Questions Facilitates Learning

Pretesting with Multiple-choice Questions Facilitates Learning Jeri L. Little (jerilittle@ucla.edu) Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563 Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA Elizabeth Ligon Bjork (elbjork@psych.ucla.edu) Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563 Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA learned material. Thus, the observed improved recall of pretested information should reflect the consequence of processes other than successful retrieval. Pretesting may be beneficial because it encourages more active involvement in learning, perhaps by increasing general interest in the topic. Additionally, the pretest may help students to discern what information is most important or what type of information the teacher is likely to test later. Thus, a pretest may lead to better recall for the previously tested information because it directs attention to the need to encode that information when encountered again during subsequent study (Hamaker, 1986). Abstract Taking a test before study can improve subsequent learning of that pretested information. How the pretest affects subsequent learning of other information in the passage is less clear, however. In three experiments, we examined the consequences of taking a multiple-choice (MC) pretest on the later recall of both pretested and non-pretested related information, finding that pretesting improved recall of pretested information without impairing recall of non- pretested information. In addition, we compared a pretest condition to conditions in which subjects were told to memorize the questions and in which subjects studied facts prior to reading. Although taking a pretest was not significantly more effective than memorizing questions or studying facts for the pre-exposed information, it did not impair the learning of related information, whereas studying facts did. Thus, even when an MC pretest takes time away from study, that pretest appears to make subsequent study more effective than other types of activities that pre-expose students to to-be-tested information. Possible Negative Consequences of Pretesting with Multiple-choice (MC) Tests Answering a question incorrectly may strengthen the erroneous response and decrease one’s ability to learn the correct information later (e.g., Fritz et al., 2000). A negative characteristic of MC tests, in particular, is that they expose students to incorrect, but often attractive, alternatives, which can lead students to intrude those incorrect alternatives on later cued-recall tests (e.g., Roediger & Marsh, 2005). Of particular concern when using MC pretests is the finding by Butler and Roediger (2008) that intrusions increase when participants take a test without having studied the relevant information beforehand. On the other hand, Butler and Roediger also found that students were likely to change erroneous responses made on the pretest—to correct answers on a later test—when feedback was given. Therefore, the intrusion of errors on a later test might be reduced or eliminated as a consequence of being able to read the passage after taking the MC pretest. Keywords: pretesting, testing effects, multiple-choice Introduction In addition to assessing learning, tests can enhance learning. Testing information after study improves later recall more than additional study (see, e.g., Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). Likewise, testing information before study (i.e., pretesting) has been shown to improve subsequent learning of the pretested information (e.g., Kornell, Hays, & Bjork, 2009; Richland, Kornell, & Kao; 2009; Rothkopf, 1966), although some evidence suggests that pretesting can have negative consequences (e.g., persistence of errors, Fritz, Morris, Bjork, Gelman, & Wickens, 2000). How pretest- taking affects subsequent learning of information not tested—in particular, related information—is less clear, but of concern for both practical and theoretical reasons. In the present work, we examine the effects of pretesting on the later recall of both tested and nontested related information. The Effect of Pretesting on Related Information The effect of pretesting on the subsequent learning of related information not tested on the pretest has been investigated in a variety of studies (e.g., see Anderson & Biddle, 1975; and Hamaker, 1986 for meta-analyses). Evidence suggests that pretesting directs attention towards the processing of pretested information. Pretesting appears to improve subsequent learning of information that is related to pretested information, but perhaps only when the tested and nontested information are related in certain ways (e.g., the related information aids in searching for the pretested information during subsequent study). To the extent that non-pretested information does not aid in the search task, The Effect of Pretesting on Pretested Information Testing information after study may improve its later recall because the act of retrieving information from memory modifies its representation in such a way as to make it more recallable in the future than it would have been otherwise (e.g., Bjork, 1975; Bjork & Bjork, 1992). When given a pretest, however, correct retrieval of answers is unlikely given that students have not yet been exposed to the to-be-