The Benefits of Successive Relearning on Multiple Learning Outcomes

Successive relearning involves repeated retrieval practice of the same information (with feedback) over multiple, spaced sessions. We implemented successive relearning in an introductory psychology class to explore potential learning benefits. After each weekly lecture, students were sent links via e-mail to engage in three learning practice sessions, each separated by 2 days. Half the students engaged in successive relearning (relearn condition), answering 20 fill-in-the-blank questions with corrective feedback. Within each session, correctly answered questions were dropped, whereas incorrectly answered questions were presented up to two more times. The other half of students restudied the same 20 sentences without blanks twice per session (restudy condition). Unlike previous research, we controlled the exposure duration of the learning materials between the relearn and restudy conditions. Learning practice sessions continued throughout the remaining 10 weeks of the semester, with students alternating each week between the relearning and restudying tasks. Recall of course material at the end of the semester was better for relearning compared with restudying. Increased recall during relearning sessions was associated with further learning benefits including improved metacognition, increased self-reported sense of mastery, increased attentional control, and reduced anxiety. Individual differences were not associated with the benefit of relearning over restudying in the retention tests. Qualitative feedback indicated that students found successive relearning to be enjoyable and valuable. Our research indicates that successive relearning is a valuable addition to any university course and is easy to implement using digital resources. Educational Impact and Implications Statement Successive relearning is a highly effective learning technique that involves students taking several practice tests on to-be-learned material (with corrective feedback), with each test separated by a time interval of a few days. We had students engage in successive relearning in a large introductory Psychology course throughout a semester. We found that students not only remembered more course content (compared with those who restudied the material for approximately the same amount of time), but they also reported less anxious affect, felt that they had better attentional control and more mastery over the material, and had more accurate metacognitions. These benefits were not observed immediately but required several practice testing sessions before they were revealed. Overall, the results suggest that there are multiple learning outcomes that benefit from repeated testing similar sessions that are spaced apart over time and that similar sessions should be implemented regularly in real classrooms.