Memory
Here are several apps that can help support retrieval practice:
Repeatable reading quizzes are described on pages 17-18 of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology. You can also find descriptions of course redesigns that use this kind of assessment at the web site of the National Center for Academic Transformation.
A similar frequent quizzing strategy was used by James Pennebaker and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin, described in this article:
Pennebaker, J. W., Gosling, S. D., Ferrell, J. D., Apfel, N., & Brzustiski, P. (2013). Daily Online Testing in Large Classes: Boosting College Performance while Reducing Achievement Gaps. PLoS ONE, 8(11), e79774. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079774
Here are a set of short narrated animations produced by NAU's E-Learning Center and me that illustrate basic concepts in memory.
Here are some short articles and resources on retrieval practice:
A powerful way to improve learning and memory
Bite-Sized Research on Retrieval Practice
Bite-Size Research on Retrieval Practice Formats
Using Retrieval Practice to Improve Learning (Video, 3:29)
Using Retrieval Practice for Transfer in an Online Class
James Lang's connection notebook technique
Here are just a few of many research articles documenting the importance of retrieval practice:
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger Iii, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319, 966–968. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
McDaniel, M. A., Roediger, H., & McDermott, K. B. (2007). Generalizing test-enhanced learning from the laboratory to the classroom. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14, 200-206.
Pastötter, B., & Bäuml, K. H. T. (2014). Retrieval practice enhances new learning: The forward effect of testing. Frontiers in Psychology, 5(APR), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00286
This short article takes another approach to promoting memory:
Miller, M.D. (2014, November). Helping students memorize: Tips from cognitive science. The Teaching Professor, 28, 3.
This article gives an overview of important concepts, trends, and applications for college teachers:
Miller, M.D. (2011). What college teachers should know about memory: A perspective from cognitive psychology. College Teaching, 59, 117-122.
This short article discusses the ways in which technology lets us take advantage of spacing, retrieval practice, and other important memory principles:
Miller, M.D. (2009) What the science of cognition tells us about instructional technology. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 41, 71-74.
These interactive VoiceThread slideshows are part of the course materials for a course I teach called Building Memory Power and are also part of faculty development workshops I co-facilitate for the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). They illustrate and demonstrate the impacts of self-relevance and visualization on memory.