Research that informs our approach
Your effort deserves feedback you can learn from.
Answering questions, returning to a topic over time and getting useful feedback are supported by learning research. These principles shape Coglen’s approach: try, understand and practise again.
Recall before you reread
Trying to recall something gives you a chance to practise remembering it. In two experiments using prose passages, Roediger and Karpicke found that taking recall tests produced better retention after two days or a week than repeated study. Repeated study performed better on a test after five minutes. Read the retrieval practice study.
This helps explain why answering a question belongs inside learning. Coglen’s approach starts with your attempt, then uses your answer to guide feedback and the next question.
Return to what you have learned
Dunlosky and colleagues reviewed ten learning techniques and rated practice testing and distributed practice as having high utility across a range of learners, materials and learning conditions. Distributed practice means spreading practice over time. Read the review of learning techniques.
For your own study, that means making room to return to a topic across sessions. Revisiting earlier topics is part of Coglen’s intended approach.
Feedback you can use
Shute’s review of formative feedback describes the value of feedback that is specific, supportive and focused on the task. Its effectiveness depends on the learner, the task and how the feedback is given. Read the review of formative feedback.
This is central to why Coglen exists: understanding why an answer went wrong should help you decide what to try next. Our approach pairs explanations of mistakes with another question, giving you an opportunity to use the feedback.
Putting the research into practice
Coglen brings these principles together around your answers: a question, feedback you can learn from and a useful next step. These findings inform Coglen’s design. Coglen-specific learning outcomes have not yet been established.
References
- Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
- Shute, V. J. (2008). Focus on formative feedback. Review of Educational Research, 78(1), 153–189.