When you read a page a second time, it feels easy. The words look familiar, and that smooth feeling tells you, "I know this." But recognizing a page is not the same as being able to produce what is on it with the book closed.
In 2008, Karpicke and Roediger had students learn 40 word pairs in Swahili and English. Once a student got a pair right, some students kept studying it, and some kept being tested on it. A week later, students who kept being tested remembered about 80 percent. Those who stopped being tested, even if they kept studying, remembered only about 35 percent.
The students did not see it coming. Asked to predict their scores, every group guessed about the same, around half.
Key idea
Worked example: Worked example
- Zoe's sureness comes from familiarity.
- Kai tested himself and found real gaps.
Answer: Kai, and he also strengthened what he recalled.
Common mistake