Study Behavior and Performance: Effect of Practice and Test Question Similarity.
Abstract
The study was conducted to test the effect of practice or adjunct questions on learning in a real-world training environment. Subjects were students enrolled in a self-study course at the Navy's Interior Communications 'A' School. They were assigned to one of three experimental groups or to a control group. Students in the experimental groups received workbooks; those in the control group did not. The workbooks varied as to the amount of questions included that were identical to those in lesson tests or in the final test. In the first experimental group, all the workbook questions were identical; in the second group, half of the questions were identical; and in the third group, none of the questions were identical. These groups were subsequently referred to as the ALL, HALF, and NONE Groups. At the end of the course, groups were compared on test and subtest scores, time required, and number of tries on lesson tests. In all cases; the performance of Group ALL subjects was superior. Groups HALF and NONE, either in the workbook or on the lesson tests (NONE), performed no better on the final test than the control group, who had not. Comparisons on subtests showed that practice questions that are not related to test questions can adversely affect both performance and study time.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA072468
Entities
People
- John A. Ellis
- Wallace H. Wulfeck Ii
- William A. King
- William E. Montague