Scheduling and Learning

Publisher Summary

This chapter summarizes of some of the ways in which scheduling affects learning. Practice and experience are impacted not only by the amount or frequency of presentation but also by how these presentations are arranged—the learning schedule. Closely related to the total time hypothesis is the commonly held belief that repetition is the key to success in learning. However, most people have also been frustrated by the fact that simple repetition, in and of itself, does not always lead to success in remembering. It is important to recognize the distinction between factors that impact immediate performance and those that impact learning as demonstrated by a lasting change in performance capability. It has long been recognized that changes in the capability of a learner to display that learning may not be reflected in immediate performance, but may show up in a different context or at a different time. Clearly, good knowledge about the impact of various kinds of scheduling on the learning processes is crucial to the appropriate design and implementation of learning interventions of all kinds. The chapter describes “transfer appropriate” processing, a useful principle of the effects. The core idea behind this principle is that performance will benefit to the degree that the cognitive processes induced by the conditions of study match those under which that learning will be later tested. Another variation of scheduling that has been shown to differentially impact on learning concerns contextual variety during study or practice.