page_title: Forward testing effect
section_title: Word recall
hierarchical_section_title: Forward testing effect / Empirical evidence / Word recall
caption_attribution_description: English: Experimental design for the three experiments in Chan, Manley, Davis and Szpunar's experiment.
context_page_description: The forward testing effect, also known as test potentiated new learning, is a psychological learning theory which suggests that testing old information can improve learning of new information. Unlike traditional learning theories in educational psychology which have established the positive effect testing has when later attempting to retrieve the same information, the forward testing effect instead suggests that the testing experience itself possesses unique benefits which enhance the learning of new information. This memory effect is also distinct from the 'practice effect' which typically refers to an observed improvement which results from repetition and restudy, as the testing itself is considered as the catalyst for improved recall. Instead, this theory suggests that testing serves not only as a tool for assessment but as a learning tool which can aid in memory recall. The forward testing effect indicates that educators should encourage students to study using testing techniques rather than restudying information repeatedly.
context_section_description: The earliest documented study to observe the forward testing effect was conducted in 1974 by Tulving and Watkins. They observed that testing of one list of words enhanced recall of another, different list. At this point in time, the forward testing effect had not yet been theorised, hence they were quite puzzled with their discovery which sparked further research by other psychologists. Further studies involving word pairs conducted by Szpunar, McDermott and Roediger in 2008 reported similar findings that participants who were tested on one word list performed significantly better in a recall task for a completely different list, relative to those who only restudied the first list or performed a filler task. These findings were also replicated by Wahlheim who used a similar methodology in 2015, observing a strong forward testing effect.
  The most recent word-based experiment which confirmed these findings was conducted by Chan, Manley, Davis and Szpunar in 2018. They specifically investigated whether the forward testing effect persisted across different time delays. In their experiment, three word lists were studied by participants. There were three groups; the participants either restudied these words, completed math problems or were tested on the words. Participants were then given a fourth word list and completed a free recall test. They found that those who had been tested on Lists 1-3 had better recall for List 4 across varying time delays. Overall these studies provided strong evidence to suggest that integrated testing of word-lists not only aided recall of the same word list but boosted later learning, hence providing evidence for the forward testing effect.
caption: Experimental design for Chan, Manley, Davis and Szpunar's (2018) experiment.[7]
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