Effects of Self-Assessment on Retention of Training
Abstract
This study examined the effects of self-assessment (SA) responding on the acquisition and retention of rule-based learning. SA responding required the learner to indicate the degree of sureness felt in the correctness of each answer by selecting an SA level of 1-5 ('not sure at all' to 'extremely sure') before receiving feedback on the correctness of this response. The current study found that males scored significantly higher than females on the initial retention trial, lending support to the contention that males perform better on multiple-choice tests. Analysis of learning and retention trials revealed that learners who self-assessed required significantly fewer trials to meet both the 80% correct learning criterion and the 100% correct relearning criterion than learners that did not self-assess. Learners who did not self-assess, but had knowledge-of-results of the correctness of the response delayed required significantly fewer trials to reach the 100% correct relearning criterion than learners that did not self-assess. These findings indicate that self-assessment facilitates the acquisition of knowledge and skills, which is beneficially reflected in the correctness of their subsequent performance. The use of self- assessment during learning may result in a higher associative strength between the stimulus and response at the end of the learning phase (reaching the 80% correct criterion). This stronger association may facilitate retrieval and in conjunction with the use of self-assessment during relearning trials, result in fewer trials to reach the relearning criterion (100% correct).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA264483
Entities
People
- Heather J. Cabigon
Organizations
- New Mexico State University