Use of very short answer questions compared to multiple choice questions in undergraduate medical students: An external validation study.

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) offer high reliability and easy machine-marking, but allow for cueing and stimulate recognition-based learning. Very short answer questions (VSAQs), which are open-ended questions requiring a very short answer, may circumvent these limitations. Although VSAQ use in medical assessment increases, almost all research on reliability and validity of VSAQs in medical education has been performed by a single research group with extensive experience in the development of VSAQs.

Putting action into testing: Enacted retrieval benefits long-term retention more than covert retrieval.

Retrieval practice improves long-term retention. However, it is currently debated if this testing effect can be further enhanced by overtly producing recalled responses. We addressed this issue using a standard cued-recall testing-effect paradigm with verb-noun action phrases (e.

The effect of presentation rate on foreign-language vocabulary learning.

The present study examined the effect of presentation rate on foreign-language vocabulary learning. Experiment 1 varied presentation rates from 1 s to 16 s per pair while keeping the total study time per pair constant. Speakers of English studied Dutch-English translation pairs (e.

The efficacy of self-paced study in multitrial learning.

In 2 experiments we investigated the efficacy of self-paced study in multitrial learning. In Experiment 1, native speakers of English studied lists of Dutch-English word pairs under 1 of 4 imposed fixed presentation rate conditions (24 × 1 s, 12 × 2 s, 6 × 4 s, or 3 × 8 s) and a self-paced study condition. Total study time per list was equated for all conditions.

Repeated testing, item selection, and relearning: the benefits of testing outweigh the costs.

In the present study we investigated the effect of repeated testing on item selection, retention, and delayed relearning of paired associates. Participants learned both related (easy) and unrelated (difficult) word pairs under conditions of repeated study and repeated testing. A retention test was given after both a 5-min and a 1-week interval.

The effect of study time distribution on learning and retention: a Goldilocks principle for presentation rate.

In 2 experiments, we investigated the effect of presentation rate on both immediate (5 min) and delayed (2 days) cued recall of paired associates. Word pairs were presented for a total of 16 s per pair, with presentation duration of individual presentations varying from 1 to 16 s. In Experiment 1, participants studied word pairs with presentation rates of 16 × 1 s, 8 × 2 s, 4 × 4 s, 2 × 8 s, or 1 × 16 s.