Examining the Effect of Free and Cued Recall on Retention in Knowlegde Clips

Abstract

Introduction: Video-recorded lectures are increasingly used as a digital learning tool in higher education, but distractions have been shown to hinder retention, subsequently impacting learning outcomes. Retrieval practice (RP) has proven to be an effective learning strategy in video-recorded lectures, demonstrating a significant impact on retention. Two common types of RP are free recall (FR), where learners are asked to remember without cues, and cued recall (CR), where learners are provided with cues or hints from the learning material during testing. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the impact of FR and CR tasks on retention of undergraduate students in a specialized form of video-recorded lecture known as a knowledge clip. Method: Teachers-in-training at a medium-sized Dutch University of Applied Sciences received tasks in a segmented 9-minute, 53-second interactive knowledge clip. In each segment respondents performed either FR, CR, or a reading task (CC). Retention was measured after one and three weeks, using multiple-choice questions. Results: 64 respondents were included (49 female, 15 male). Data was examined through a 3x2 repeated-measures ANOVA with time as the within factor and condition as the between factor. RP resulted in better retention than the reading condition p = .034, indicating a medium effect η² = 0.070. Respondents in the CR condition outperformed those in the FR condition (M = 5.58, SE = 1.91595, p = 0.015, 95% CI [0.86, 10.30]). CR had a medium effect (η² = 0.127) on retention. Conclusion: As anticipated RP surpassed CC. CR unexpectedly outperformed FR which could indicate a discrepancy in the notation of key component during FR tasks. Notably, only factual-type questions showed significant results for CR.

Date of Award	30 Apr 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Faculty of Educational Sciences
Supervisor	Kevin Ackermans (Supervisor)