Retrieval Practice and its effect on Immediate Memory: A Comparative Study
Piyali Roy Assistant Professor Department of Education
Bodoland University
Abstract: Memory is nothing but a psychological process which is particularly responsible for
reproducing the events or facts of past. It plays a very important role in our life because learning of anything is just impossible without the power of memory. It is common to all human beings though there is a difference regarding the ability or range of remembering something. Immediate Memory is a type of memory which plays a significant role in student’s life when they want to test their memory by themselves just after studying any topic. Modern education is examination oriented. So, there is no doubt that the students must have a very strong memory for getting higher marks. In the present study, the investigator tried to establish a comparison between two groups of students- 1) Students who are engaged in retrieval practice or self-testing (Group A), 2) Students who are not engaged in retrieval practice or self-testing (Group B), and also tried to find whether retrieval practice has any effect on immediate memory. By reviewing different related literature it was found that the level of achievement of the students who maintains retrieval practice is very high in comparison to those who do not practice self-testing after making a thorough study and their power of recalling something is also very good. Therefore, the investigator collected data from the college level students regarding their study habits and categorized each student in two different groups as mentioned above. Then she used an apparatus called Memory Drum to test the different levels (Very Good, Good, Average and Poor) of Immediate Memory among the students categorized in two groups. The basic purpose of the test was to study the impact of retrieval practice on immediate memory, which means whether self-testing has any effect on immediate memory or not. If yes, then what is the level of immediate memory? The study was conducted on the college level students in Kokrajhar District, Assam (India). The findings of the present study also revealed a very strong and positive connection or effect of retrieval practice on immediate memory.
Keywords: Immediate memory, retrieval practice, students, effect of self-testing.
INTRODUCTION
Modern education system is basically student-centred and examination-centred. Every student must go through some examination in order to receive higher education where they have to show some skill, ability or knowledge learnt previously. That means, there is no doubt that memory occupies a significant place in our education system. Memory is the revival process which helps to re-establish the past experiences in its originality as far as possible (Stout). It is nothing but remembering what has been learnt previously.
a student goes through self-testing or memorizing what has been learnt that bring an everlasting effect in his/her memory.
Retrieval practice or self-testing is very much important to develop the power of memory as well as to achieve higher scores in the examinations. It is very important for the students to realize the mnemonic advantages of retrieval practice or the self-testing method. Students repeatedly study their notes or books but hardly go for the revival practice which is very helpful in learning (Karpicke, Butler and Roediger). A quick retrieval practice is a very useful tool to store different information permanently by giving focus on perceiving, remembering and reasoning (Lutz and Huitt). The power of memorization varies from individual to individual. The load or pressure of information and the excessive number of objects may also cause short-term memory to some individuals (Alvarez and Cavanagh). So, to remember things properly retrieval system is an impeccable tool. A robust detailed learning helps in the immediate reproduction task (KARPICKE and PISONI). Therefore, a close relationship can be established between immediate memory and retrieval practice. It has also been observed that no such study regarding the effect of retrieval practice on immediate memory is conducted in Kokrajhar District before. So, the investigator has conducted the present study to develop some more clear ideas.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
To study the effect of retrieval practice on immediate memory.
To find out the different levels among the students with and without the practice of self-testing.
DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The present study is confined to a sample of 120 college students only, 60 students in each group (A and B).
The study is limited to the college students of Kokrajhar District, Assam irrespective of their course of study, gender (male/female), locality (urban/rural) and management type of college (private/government).
METHODOLOGY Sample:
In the present study the investigator selected the sample of 120 college students (60 in Group A an 60 in Group B) from the colleges of Kokrajhar District, Assam (India) irrespective of their course of study, gender (male/female), locality (urban/rural) and management type of college (private/government).
Tools and Techniques:
For conducting the present study the investigator had used the following tools and techniques- Questionnaire
Memory Drum A stop-watch
Three separate lists of nonsense syllables, numbers and meaningful word (30 items in each list). Pen, paper, pencil etc.
The apparatus used in this study is called ‘Memory Drum’. It is a very demanding and standard American apparatus used in the field of memory research. Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) published “Memory: A contribution to Experimental Psychology” which inspired two famous psychologists Georg Elias Mueller and Friedrich Schumann to a great extent and as a result we found the Memory Drum in the year 1887. At present Memory Drum is found in different shapes and with different applications in market. For the present study the investigator has used a box-shaped apparatus, having sufficient space inside. The box is closed with a small door. Inside the box there is a knobstick placed horizontally, which can be moved by pressing the knob from the outside. Three separate lists of 30 nonsense syllables (4 syllables), 30 numbers (each number having 3 digits) and 30 meaningful words are also prepared. The investigator placed those lists on the knobstick one after another by opening the door of the Memory Drum. The subject (student) can see the lists through some small windows which are again closed with five small metal screens.
At first, the investigator pasted the list having 30 nonsense syllables on the knobstick. Three seconds were given against each non-sense syllable and the knobstick was moved according to that. In this way the entire list was shown to the subject and the whole procedure took 90 seconds (3x30). The second list contained 30 numbers and in the third list 30 meaningful words were written. To show these lists 30 seconds were limited for the subject. After showing each list, the subject was given a plain paper and pencil to write the nonsense syllables, numbers and meaningful words by recalling them appropriately. There was no time limitation to give responses. After writing the responses the subject returned the response sheets to the investigator for further analysis.
Collection of Data:
The investigator has collected data from the college students through different phases, like-
At first, the investigator had distributed a questionnaire (self-developed) to 150 college students by applying convenient sampling. It was simply designed to collect different information, opinions and views of the students regarding retrieval practice and also to identify the students who apply retrieval practice or self-testing after reading and those who do not. Then among them only 120 students were selected for conducting the present study by dividing them into two equal groups- Group A (60 students), who are engaged in retrieval practice and Group B (60 students), who do not apply retrieval practice. These groups were selected for further data collection.
In the second phase, the investigator used memory drum and showed all the three lists separately to each student in a psychological laboratory setting. The students gave responses after observing the lists properly.
Analysis and Interpretation of Data:
Different levels or categories of immediate memory and the percentage of individuals in Group A (retrieval practice) and Group B (absence of retrieval practice) can be compared through the following graphical representation also-
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Here the investigator has used the following statistical techniques- Simple percentage
Graphical Representation
CONCLUSION
The result of the study clearly shows that the score of Group A is much higher than Group B in fist two categories i.e. Very Good and Good. But, Group B scores higher again in the categories Average and Poor. That means those who were engaged in retrieval practice, scored much higher in recalling
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
62%
22%
12%
5% 13%
18%
27%
42%
Ind
iv
idu
a
ls
(
%)
Levels of Immediate Memory
Effect of retrieviable practice on immediate memory
Group A
Group B
Very Good Good Average Poor
GROUPS
Categories of immediate memory
Very good Good average poor
A (60 individuals)
37(62%) 13(22%) 7(12%) 3(5%)
B (60 individuals)
immediately. On the other hand, those who do not practice self-testing, their condition is literally poor in recalling the facts and numbers. Therefore, it is very important for the students to realize the importance of retrieval practice in order to gain maximum benefit from this.
REFERENCES
Karpicke, Butler and Roediger (2009), Page No. 471-479, Memory, Psychology Press Taylor and Francis Group.
Lutz and Huitt (2003), Page no. 1-17, Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.
