Hot-Topic Sessions

Instructors: Ralf Rummer, University of Kassel & Judith Schweppe, University of Passau, Germany

The testing effect (i.e., the finding that practicing retrieval after initial study is more effective than other restudy techniques) is one of the best-researched findings on long-term learning. However, retrieval practice has been suggested to be not beneficial for learning with more complex materials and, indeed, several studies using complex materials have failed to find a testing effect. In the hot-topic session, we will discuss why this question is relevant both for theoretical explanations of the testing effect and for its application in the classroom, and how to investigate this question more systematically than has been done so far.

Instructor: Andreas Lachner, University of Tübingen, Germany

Generative learning activities are regarded to be crucial instructional strategies to boost students’ (meta-)cognitive learning processes. In this hot-topic session, we will first discuss the theoretical basis of generative learning activities, as well as potential realizations of generative learning activities. In the second part, we will focus on how characteristics of these generative activities can be (semi-automatically) analyzed to obtain proxies for the underlying (meta-)cognitive processes. 

Instructor: Anique de Bruin, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands

Desirable difficulties are learning conditions that are often experienced as effortful, but that lead to ‘lasting learning’: They have a positive effect on learning outcomes and the transfer of knowledge and skills (Bjork & Bjork, 2011; Bjork, 1994). Learners often do not appreciate desirable difficulties, and the negative experiences of high effort and perceived low learning make them resistant to engaging in desirable difficulties (Biwer et al., 2020). This ultimately limits learning outcomes and academic achievement. In this session, I will present, discuss, and apply a novel framework that describes how to support self-regulation of effort when engaging in desirable difficulties; the ‘Start and Stick to Desirable Difficulties (S2D2)’ framework (de Bruin et al., 2023). The aim of this framework is (1) to describe evidence for the central role of perceived effort and perceived learning in (dis)engagement in desirable difficulties, and (2) to review evidence on, and provide an agenda for research to improve learners’ self-regulated use of desirable difficulties. We will jointly explore how the framework provides directions for future research and how it translates to attendants’ research interests.

References

Biwer, F., de Bruin, A. B. H., Schreurs, S., & Oude Egbrink, M. G. A. (2020a). Future steps in teaching desirably difficult learning strategies: Reflections from the Study Smart Program. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9(4), 439–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.07.006

Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher, R. W. Pew, L. M. Hough, & J. R. Pomerantz (Eds.), Psychology and the real world: Essays illustrating fundamental contributions to society (pp. 56–64). Worth Publishers.

Bjork, R. A. (1994). Memory and metamemory considerations in the training of human beings. In J. Metcalfe & A. P. Shimamura (Eds.), Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (pp. 185–205). The MIT Press.

de Bruin, A. B. H., Biwer, F., Hui, L. et al. (2023). Worth the effort: The start and stick to desirable difficulties (S2D2) framework. Educational Psycholology Review, 35, 41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09766-w

Instructors: Rita Borromeo Ferri, University of Kassel, Lea Nemeth, University of Kassel & Roman Abel, University of Bochum, Germany

A central goal of mathematics instructions is to enable students to switch flexibly between different solution methods, strategies, or formulas, and thus to choose an appropriate solution approach that leads to faster and more accurate problem-solving. Choosing appropriate methods for solving mathematical tasks is often very challenging for students, especially when the tasks are superficially similar. Interleaving different but superficially similar mathematical problems can help students to discriminate the different task features indicating that a particular strategy is appropriate. In this hot-topic session, we will discuss theoretical accounts for when and why interleaving can promote mathematics learning and review existing research on interleaving in mathematics.

Instructor: Stefanie Golke, University of Freiburg, Germany

When we learn from written materials such as texts and strive for deep understanding, we need to monitor and evaluate the cognitive processes at the metacognitive level. However, learners often struggle to monitor their understanding (accurately), that is, their metacomprehension accuracy is poor. Since poor metacomprehension prevents deep understanding, techniques to improve metacomprehension are indispensable. In this workshop, we will discuss the role of metacomprehension in models of meaningful and sustainable learning, contrast these theoretical considerations with the typical research approaches, address key findings on metacomprehension accuracy, and identify gaps in previous research on metacomprehension and its role in meaningful and sustainable learning.

Instructor: Oliver Kliegl, University of Regensburg, Germany

Research over the past 20 years has shown that tests can be used not only to assess a person's current level of knowledge, but also to improve their learning and memory. For example, tests on previously learned information can reduce forgetting over time or promote learning of material learned afterwards. Even pretests administered prior to studying information can have a positive effect on later recall of the information. In this session, I will provide an overview of key findings on test-enhanced learning, and we will discuss opportunities for future research and how current knowledge can best be applied in real-world educational contexts

Instructor: Anja Prinz, University of Education Karlsruhe, Germany

When learning from text, it is not only important that students comprehend the information but also that they metacognitively monitor and accurately judge their own comprehension, which is known as metacomprehension accuracy. Accurate metacomprehension allows students to efficiently regulate their learning, for example, by restudying the text that they have poorly understood. In this session, participants will gain an overview of the influences on and the effects of metacomprehension accuracy. In addition, we will discuss current challenges in metacomprehension research such as measurement issues.

Instructor: Mirjam Ebersbach, University of Kassel, Germany

Spacing (or distributed practice) refers to spreading a learning or practice activity over multiple sessions, as opposed to massing it all in only one session. The benefits of spacing on short- and long-term retention have been demonstrated in many studies, often conducted in the laboratory with low-complexity material (e.g., vocabulary). After a brief overview of the classic findings on the spacing effect, we will review a few studies that have used more complex and coherent learning content, such as mathematical procedures, and have yielded inconsistent results regarding the spacing effect. Finally, we will discuss options for future research in order to identify conditions under which spacing may promote lasting learning of complex content in educational settings. 

Instructor: Catharina Tibken, University of Würzburg, Germany

From secondary school through adulthood, people are expected to use texts to acquire knowledge in a variety of contexts, such as at university or at work, in political discussions, or health issues. The comprehension of expository texts and the ability to extract specific information from texts with regard to the respective learning goal are, thus, an important basis for learning success and mastery of everyday life. Metacognition helps to plan, monitor, and, when necessary, regulate cognitive processes in order to understand and learn from texts. In this session, we will discuss theoretical assumptions and empirical studies on the relevance of metacognitive skills for learning in various age groups.

Instructor: Prof. Matthias Nückles, University of Freiburg, Germany

Writing, just as reading, is basic to academic learning both in school and at the university. By drawing on classic ideas from writing-research, models of self-regulated learning and cognitive load theory, I will propose the self-regulation view in writing-to-learn as a promising theoretical perspective. Based on this theoretical introduction, I will present main tenets of our research program on journal writing – “the Freiburg Self-Regulated-Journal-Writing Approach” – which I conducted with colleagues from the University of Freiburg. I will present instructional support methods to help students achieve deep comprehension and long-term retention of subject matter by journal writing. My presentation will be based on empirical evidence from more than 20 experimental and correlative studies. Participants will also be offered insights into the coding of learning journals in order to diagnose students’ thinking and learning processes via journal writing.