Marc Turner wrote:
"I'm wondering if there have been any studies that have looked at (or simply
asked) whether students study with short-term or long-term retention in
mind.
What appears to be happening here is that students study enough to get the
material into memory long enough for the test, then they forget it. The
only difference between a test during the semester and a comprehensive
final is the amount of material they have to study for the next day. (Also,
they pick up the material for the final faster than for the regular tests
because of prior exposure.)"
I wonder if the Zeigarnik Effect has a role here. That is, the students
think the task is completed when the test is taken (order delivered). At
that point they don't need the memories any more so they lose them. One way
to overcome this limitation would be to convince the students that they will
need the material at some later time. This hypothesis could serve as a focus
for some research on this question.
Just a thought.
Dennis
Dennis M. Goff
Dept. of Psychology
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
Lynchburg, VA 24503
