Picture yourself in school prepping for that huge exam. You read your notes, flip the pages of books and you try to keep everything in mind. decades of research testing- studying is a conspiracy what about the fact that taking tests, in turn, leads to better retention? This phenomenon is known as the Testing Effect in psychology. The testing effect is your secret superpower that makes your brain harder every time you take a test.
What is the Testing Effect?
The testing effect is how your brain learns better if you learn by taking tests. As you keep on practising answering questions or doing quizzes, this delayed feedback will reinforce better retention of information in your brain. This means that you are working out your Uropathogens like in training muscles making it more powerful. The more you practice this the better at it you will be.
For example, if you are studying animals. If you read about them, and then have to take a quiz on those items in future it makes your brain work SO hard to recall the answers. This will make it easier later when you have to recall this information because your brain has already practised knowing the answers! important.
How the Testing Effect Works
Your brain loves to solve puzzles, and that is why the testing effect works. On a test, your brain is somewhat akin to Sherlock Holmes: looking for breadcrumbs of knowledge that will lead you in the direction of determining correct answers. This discovery process leads to better brain associations between ideas. Think of it as a spider that makes the web The web is augmented with each passage.
The areas of your brain that are exercised as you take tests, increase the strength and quantity of emotional connections between new information in long-term memory when it is assessed at a later time.
Think of it like a memory game where the goal is to find two matching cards. You might have some trouble remembering where the cards are at first, but you get better with practice. All for the sake of teaching your brain to search, as it would during an examination.
Why Is the Testing Effect Significant?
One of the most important findings in learning research is known as the testing effect, which leads to lasting knowledge. An occasional reading or listening does not stick in your mind for longer periods. But when you get tested, it’s like your brain goes hey this is important!! I need to remember this.” Tests help focus your brain on what you need to remember for safekeeping.
Remember the time you learned to spell your name? Chances are you practised writing it again and again. After a few times, you wrote (I hope) your brain would remember the letters without looking. The testing effect works the same way. The more you do this, the better your brain becomes at recalling that information.
How to study using the testing effect
The testing effect can provide you with a powerful tool to use in your study and learning efforts. You can do this by asking yourself questions, like quizzing after you have read something. If you are learning about dinosaurs, for instance: read one chapter and close the book then write down everything that you remember from memory.
These are simple questions you can even ask yourself, like What did dinosaurs eat? or “Where did they live?” This way, you are leveraging the testing effect to reinforce your memory.
A few other avenues to apply the testing effect might include playing games and using flashcards. The flashcards are mini-quizzes on demand. You can even write a question on the front of the card and simply answer it at the back. So now you can test yourself by looking at the question, and recalling what was written on the back before turning it around to check. Now this is a little more fun and less like being tested at school.
The Classroom Testing Effect
The testing effect is also great for teachers as well! This is why they might walk around and give you quizzes or ask questions straightway during the class so that people are participating even if only in fear of being put on the spot, but also so they can accurately gauge how well you understand what has been said.
The tiny little tests that force you to recall stuff serve as a reminder of what you have learned. Because a lot of the work is about getting your brain fitter, not just finding the fitting answer. Your teacher: what is the capital of your country? When you try to remember the word, this is using elaborative interrogation: When you have to recall it from memory and think hard so as not to forget, first, rehearse through retrieval practice.
The testing effect is an idea that some teachers capitalize on by administering practice tests before a large exam. The practice tests make you prepared and also beat the learning out of your brain. When you eventually take the actual test, your brain has already practised so many times that it is easier to memorize the answers.
How Does the Testing Effect Simplify Learning?
This is because the testing effect helps you feel more secure and, therefore, makes learning a no easier. Feels great when you quiz yourself and get the answers correct, right? It is that feeling of success you now keep telling your brain “I can do this! and it also helps you remember the information for longer.
It is also helpful in reducing stress due to tests at school. You will be more prepared, and less nervous when it comes time for the real test. It helps you put on your Superwoman/Superman cape and tackle those challenges head-first.
The Testing Effect and Memory
Memory helps the brain store all knowledge that you have learnt, just like a treasure chest. The testing effect is the key that unlocks this chest revealing all of these knowledge riches. The more tests you write, the better and faster it starts working.
Think of it like you are learning how to tie your shoes. It might take a bit longer to figure it out at the beginning, but until you do so give its best shot again and again. The same is true of the testing effect. This allows your brain to remember that, given this particular type of problem or question you need to take these steps and can solve it both quickly & easily.
The Testing Effect in the Wild
The testing effect is not only confined to academic work You can use it also in your daily life. For instance, after reading a recipe on how to cook something, you will try and remember each step as you prepare the food. So when you test yourself, you are leveraging the testing effect to memorize that favorite recipe.
Or maybe you are learning the rules of a different game. A good exercise is to test yourself by seeing if you can remember the rules without referring back to their instructions. Practising will help you improve and make it easier for you to remember the rules of this game.
This is why you learn best through practice testing
The testing effect teaches us that practice makes perfect. Every test or quiz you take is part of building a stronger, smarter brain. It’s like watering a plant. It is like a plant that grows the more you water it. The more you push your memory, the stronger it becomes.
If the football example rings true, practice makes perfect; and just like sports athletes (or academics), students can also benefit from practising what they’ve learned as a whole process. The testing effect is essentially a brain personal trainer.
Assisting with the Testing Effect
You can even replicate the testing effect for a friend or family member. You can quiz someone for a test they are studying diverse homes to help them remember their lesson. Not only is that a good study method, but it gives you guys an extra bit of practice in memory.
If your friend is learning about planets, you could say something like “What’s the largest planet in our solar system?” That when they could not recall, but do so now. Answer it for them and revisit this later. Each time that they attempt to recall this information, their brain becomes more adept at doing so due to the testing effect.
The Testing Effect: How to Make Learning Fun
Learning does not have to be boring. It is quite enjoyable, because of the testing effect! Test yourself or others to convert studying into a game. Another idea could be creating a quiz show at home where you all ask and answer questions! The more you play, the better at remembering it.
The testing effect is also a good reason to make use of technology; you can create tests programmatically. An app that gives you quiz games on various subjects so studying is fun, even for your kids! Some of these tools intentionally use the testing effect to help you practice remembering stuff while having a good time.
Conclusion
No fear of being tested (as long as you do the testing)? You are simply harnessing the project that Wyse has presented above in real life: The power of visual aids to help facilitate recall. Just like exercising makes your muscles stronger, taking tests and quizzing yourself can make your brain healthier. Whether you are teaching in your classroom, working at home or playing a learning game, the testing effect is guaranteed to help you learn better and feel more confident.
So the next time you do anything for an exam, remember that you’re not only displaying ways in which it’s possible to perform differently by being familiar with different approaches but at the same moment also getting your brain a lot easier to recall everything else.
