Table 4
| Study | Content | Comparison Groups | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Amabile et al., 2021) | Anatomy (course) |
A: Lectures, 45 h and Labs, 90 h (Distributed over 2 × 15-week semesters) B: Lectures, 45 h and Labs, 90 h (Massed over a 10-week semester) |
REC (month 18) (NGR) |
| (Anders et al., 2022) | Physiology (portion of course) |
A: Lectures, audience response questions (optional participation) and practice examinations (optional homework) α B: Lectures, historical control (No TOT recorded) (no feedback recorded) |
Retrieval type not reported (End of course, no retrieval interval reported) (FA or SA − 10%) |
| (Biwer et al., 2022) | Pathophysiology (pre-course) |
A: Education about and practice of retrieval practice and distributed practice (class, weeks 2–4, reminders weeks 5–18) α B: Normal class (No TOT recorded) |
REC (exams week 8, 13 and 18) (SA) |
| (Blasiman, 2017) | Introductory psychology (portion of course) |
A: CR in group previous lectures content (CR) α (class, weeks 1–5, 5–10 min) (feedback) B: Normal Class |
REC (exam 2: week 6) (SA) (not identical) |
| (Breckwoldt et al., 2016) | Emergency medicine (intensive course) |
A: Lectures, 26 h total (Distributed over 4.5 days) α B: Lectures, 26 h total (Massed over 3 days) |
A: CR (day 5) B: CR (day 5 or 8 or 13) (FA, immediately prior to SA) |
| (Brown-Kramer, 2021) Hypothesis 2 | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: Assignment (practice testing) α B: Assignment (distributed practice) C: Assignment (rereading) D: Assignment (forming mental images) (Essay assigned week 5, draft week 10, feedback by week 12) (No TOT recorded) |
REC (exam 3 week 13 and Exam 4 week 16) (NGR) |
| Hypothesis 3 | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: Assignment options as above α B: Historical control (assignment of one article, no application section) (No TOT recorded) |
REC (exam 3 week 13 and Exam 4 week 16) (NGR) |
| (Burdo & O’Dwyer, 2015) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC and CR generation and retrieval in group (class, weeks 1–12, 45-minutes) (feedback) α B: Concept maps in groups (class, weeks 1–12, 45-minutes) (feedback) C: No additional study |
Primarily REC and CR (four module and one final exam) (SA: 4 highest counted, 20% each) (not identical) |
| (Cadaret & Yates, 2018) | Veterinary anatomy and physiology (course) |
REC and CR (homework weekly, day 5 after class) (feedback) α REC and CR (homework weekly, day 1 after class) (feedback) (No TOT recorded) |
REC and CR (week 13) (SA) (not identical) |
| (Carpenter et al., 2016) | Introductory biology (20 min in class) |
Recall definitions and draw diagram α Recall definitions and label diagram α Copy definitions and draw diagram Copy definitions and label diagram (Class) (no TOT recorded) (feedback) |
REC (day 5) (FA) (not identical) |
| (Carpenter et al., 2018) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: CR one pre-question (no feedback) and two CR end of class (one identical, one new) (classes weekly) (feedback) α B: Two CR end of class (classes weekly, less TOT) (feedback) α C: Control questions not practiced |
CR (day 7) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Cecilio-Fernandes et al., 2018) | Oncology (course/content) |
A: Content distributed over 3 years B: Content massed in first semester of third year α (Classes) (no TOT recorded) |
REC (four in third year) (SA – must pass three) |
|
(Dobson & Linderholm, 2015a, b) Phase 1 |
Anatomy and physiology (class) |
A: Read, free recall, read α B: Read, read take notes C: Read, read, read (Class, TOT 4 × 5-7 min, day 0 and 5) |
REC (day 7) (NGR) (not identical) |
| Phase 2 | Anatomy and physiology (portion of course) |
A: Education on results and benefits of retrieval practice α B: Historical classes (Classes) (no TOT recorded) |
Retrieval type not reported (third, fourth and fifth exams) (NGR) |
| (Dobson et al., 2018) | Physiology (class) |
A: Text read, read, read, read (day 1, TOT 4 × 4 min) B: Text read, free recall, read, free recall (day 1, TOT 4 × 4 min) α C: Article read, read, read, read (day 5, TOT 4 × 6.25 min) D: Article read, free recall, read, free recall (day 5, TOT 4 × 6.25 min) α (Classes) |
Text A&B:CR (day 7) Article C&D: FR (day 7) (NGR) (partially identical) |
| (Dobson, 2011) | Physiology (class) |
A: REC and CR (days 1, 2 and 3 equal distribution) B: REC and CR (days 0, 1 and 3 expanding distribution) α (Homework) (no feedback) (no TOT recorded) |
REC and CR (day 10) (FA) (identical) |
| (Dobson, 2012) | Physiology (class) |
A: REC and CR (days 1, 10 and 20 equal distribution) B: REC and CR (days 8, 15 and 22 equal distribution) C: REC and CR (days 1, 6 and 16 expanding distribution) α D: REC and CR (days 2, 7 and 17 expanding distribution) α (Homework) (no feedback) (no TOT recorded) |
REC and CR (day 30) (FA) (identical) |
|
(Dobson, 2013) Retrieval practice subset |
Anatomy and physiology (course) |
A: REC (homework, no TOT recorded, most weeks 5–15) (no feedback) α B: No retrieval practice |
REC (week 16) (FA) (not identical, similar) |
| Distributed practice subset | Anatomy and physiology (course) |
A: REC (expanding distribution) B: REC (equal distribution) (Homework weeks 5–15, no TOT recorded) |
REC (week 16) (FA) (not identical, similar) |
| (J. L. Dobson and Linderholm, 2015a, b) | Anatomy (class) |
A: Read, SAQ, read, SAQ α B: Read, FIB, read, FIB C: Read, read, read, read (Class) (TOT 4 × 3 min) |
SAQ (day 7) (FA) (identical) |
| (Dobson et al., 2019) | Physiology (class) |
A: Read, FR, read, FR α B: Read, JOL, read, JOL C: Read, read, read, read (Class) (TOT 4 × 4.5 min) |
CR (day 7) (FA) (not identical) |
| (Dobson et al., 2015) | Anatomy (class) |
A: Read, CR, read, CR α B: Read, read, read, read (Class) (TOT 4 × 2 min) |
CR (day 7 and 21) (FA) (identical) |
| (Dobson et al., 2017) | Anatomy (class) |
A: Read, CR, read, CR (day 0, 5 and 7) α B: Read, read, read, read (day 0, 5 and 7) C: Read, CR, read, CR, read CR (day 5 and 7) D: Read, read, read, read, read, read (day 5 and 7) E: Read, CR, read, CR, read, CR, read, CR, read, CR, read, CR (day 7) (Class) (TOT 4 × 4 min) |
CR (day 7, 28) (FA) (identical) |
| (Ernst et al., 2014) | Paediatric intubation (intensive course) |
A: self-practice (once weekly 2–5) (distributed) B: self-practice (four consecutive days in week 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6) (massed) (Classes) (TOT 10 min sessions) (no feedback) |
Practical assessment (week 6) (NGR) (not identical) |
|
(Fendos, 2020) Phase 4 |
Anatomy (course) |
A: REC and CR (weekly class) (feedback) α B: normal class (No TOT recorded) |
REC and CR (midterm and final exam) (SA, grade total A: 60% B: 80%) (identical) |
| (Francis et al., 2020) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: FR concept map (4 topics in class) (feedback) α B: REC (4 topics in class) (feedback) C: no intervention (2 topics in class) (Approximate TOT similar A & B) |
REC (week 4, 8, 12 and 16) (SA) (not identical, similar) |
| (Glass et al., 2013) | Psychology (course) |
A: Included REC 21 questions identical to unit exams α B: Did not include REC 21 questions identical to unit exams (Final Exam) (no feedback reported) |
REC (42 questions) (month 4 post final exam) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Gopalan et al., 2020) | Biology of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (course) |
A: Closed-book individual quiz and team-based recall (weekly class) B: Open-book individual quiz and team-based learning (weekly class) (Retrieval type not reported) (feedback) (no TOT recorded) (question type not reported) |
REC and CR (approximately week 4, 8 and 12) (SA) (not reported if identical) |
| (Gurung & Burns, 2019) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (more distributed, required once α B: REC (more distributed, required multiple times C: REC (less distributed, required once α D: REC (less distributed, required multiple times (Varying TOT) (mostly feedback) (SA – 10–34%) |
REC (varying retrieval interval) (SA – 30–73%) (mostly non-identical) |
| (Hernick, 2015) | Pharmacology (2-month course) |
A: REC (access online, unlimited attempts, 6 modules, no TOT recorded) (feedback) α B: Historical control no modules |
REC (no retrieval interval reported) (SA) (partially identical) |
| (Higham et al., 2022) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: CR (feedback) (successive relearning) α B: Reread (Weeks 2–11, each week’s topic repeated 3x that week) (Online homework, participation 0.5% per learning session) (ToT A < B) |
CR (week 12 and 15) (FA – participation 2.5% per exam) (1/3 identical, 1/3 transfer, 1/3 new) |
| (Iwamoto et al., 2017) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (feedback) α B: Discussion and summary (Classes, 10 min each class) |
REC (no retrieval interval reported) (SA, high stakes) (not identical, similar) |
|
(Janes et al., 2020) Experiment 1 |
Neuroanatomy and neurophysiology (portion of course) |
A: CR successive relearning (assigned homework, topic 1 days 3, 6 and 10, topic 2 days 12, 15 and 18) (feedback) α B: CR (optional homework) (feedback) C: Content no CR provided D: Historical control no CR (No TOT recorded) |
REC (day 19) (SA, high stakes) (not identical) |
| Experiment 2 | Neuroanatomy and neurophysiology (portion of course) |
A: CR successive relearning (assigned homework, topic 1 days 3, 7, 10, topic 2 days 12, 15, 18) (feedback) α B: CR (optional homework) (feedback) C: Content no CR provided D: Historical control no CR (No TOT recorded) |
REC (day 21) (SA, high stakes) (not identical) |
| (Kerdijk et al., 2015) | Internal medicine (course) |
A: REC (cumulative exams weeks 4, 8, 10) B: REC (cumulative exam week 10) (Self-study TOT self-reported, highest in A) |
A&B: REC in week 10 (SA, high stakes) (48 identical) |
| (Keus et al., 2019) | Cell biology and biochemistry (course) |
A: Two midterm exams α B: One midterm exam (No TOT recorded) (feedback not reported) (question type not reported) |
Cumulative final exam (SA – A: 35% B: 30%) (question type not reported, or if identical) |
| (LaDisa & Biesboer, 2017) | Pharmacotherapy (portion of course) |
A: REC and CR (weekly homework, student generated and shared, no TOT recorded) α B: Historical control (no generation) |
REC and CR (unit exam week 5) and REC (final exam week 16) (NGR) (not identical) |
| (Lawson, 2022) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: CR α B: REC α C: No Quiz (No TOT recorded) (open book) (feedback) (1% for participation in each of 8 quizzes) |
REC (4 unit exams, no retrieval interval reported) (NGR) (20–30% identical) |
| (Linderholm et al., 2016) | Exercise physiology (class) |
A: Read, FR, read α B: Read, read, read (Class) (TOT 3 × 2 min) |
CR (day 7) (FA) (not identical) |
| (Logan et al., 1975) | Psycho-motor dentistry skills (course) |
A: Practice sessions (TOT 6 × 1 h) B: Practice sessions (TOT 3 × 2 h) C: Practice sessions (TOT 2 × 3 h) (Classes) (no feedback reported) |
Practical exam (no retrieval interval reported) (NGR) (not identical) |
| (Messineo et al., 2015) | General psychology (course) |
A: REC (homework weekly) (feedback, limited TOT) α B: Reread (homework weekly) (no TOT recorded) |
REC (week 10) (NGR) (not identical, similar) |
| (Miller & Srimaneerungroj, 2022) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (frequently incorrect questions post 4x unit exams, SA – 0–10%) (feedback) α B: No restudy |
REC (days post each unit exam − 99, 71, 40, 12) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Moore & Chalk, 2012) | Muscle stretch reflex (portion of degree) |
A: Practical class and test (first and second year) α B: Theory class (first year), practical class and test (second year) (No TOT recorded) (no feedback reported) |
Practical exam (second year) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Nevid et al., 2016) | Introductory psychology (class) |
A: FR open book B: FR closed book (no feedback) C: CR open book D: CR closed book (no feedback) (TOT 15 min) (lab/class) |
REC (day 7) (NGR) (not identical) |
| (Oermann et al., 2022a, b) | Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (classes) |
A: Practice (4 sessions, 4 consecutive days) B: Practice (4 sessions, 4 consecutive weeks) C: Practice (4 sessions, 4 consecutive months) D: Practice (4 sessions, 4 consecutive yearly quarters) (No TOT reported) (feedback) |
Practical exam (3 or 6 months) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Oermann et al., 2022a, b) | Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (classes) |
A: Practice (3 months) α B: Practice (6 months) C: Practice (personalised interval) α (Distributed over 1 year, no TOT reported) (feedback) |
Practical exam (1 year) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Opre et al., 2022) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (student generated) (feedback) B: Normal study (No TOT reported) |
REC (no retrieval interval reported) (NGR) (not identical) |
|
(Osterhage et al., 2019) Study 2 |
Introductory biology (course) |
A: Demonstrating overestimation in JOL and education on retrieval practice (classes, no TOT recorded) α B: No demonstration and education |
REC (no retrieval interval reported) (SA) |
| (Palmen et al., 2015) | Anatomy (intensive course) |
A: REC (optional online daily, weeks 1–3) (feedback) B: REC (optional online weekly, weeks 1–3) (feedback) C: No REC provided (No TOT recorded, unlimited attempts) |
Question type not reported, or if identical (week 4) (SA) |
| (Palmer et al., 2019) | Pharmacy (class) |
A: CR (1 week after lecture) (no feedback reported) (TOT mean 35 min) B: Rewatch lecture (1 week after lecture) (TOT mean 12 min) |
REC and CR (day 7) (NGR) (not reported if identical) |
| (Poorthuis & van Dijk, 2021) | Psychology assessment in youth (course) |
A: REC and CR (weekly homework) (feedback) (Graded 0.1% if > 70% correct, no TOT recorded) α B: Lecture (class weekly, 2 h, low attendance) |
REC (week 4, 10) (SA – total 50%) (not reported if identical) |
| (Schmidmaier et al., 2011) | Clinical nephrology (class) |
A: CR (No feedback) B: Restudy (Class successive relearning x4) (similar TOT) |
CR (month 6) (NGR) (identical) |
| (Schneider et al., 2019) | Biochemistry (portion of course) |
A: Video and REC (no feedback) α B: Video and restudy C: Video only (Class) (self-reported TOT higher for B) |
REC (week 1.5) (NGR) (not identical, similar) |
| (Sennhenn-Kirchner et al., 2018) | Dental surgical suturing (course) |
A: Practical assessment (month 5 and 6) (feedback) α B: Practice (month 5 and 6) (feedback) (Class) (TOT 10 min) |
Practical assessment (month 7) (SA) (identical) |
| (Shobe, 2022) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (group response in class 2/week, approximately 2 weeks per unit) (feedback) (TOT: 8–15 min) α B: Normal class |
REC (6x unit quizzes post unit content) (SA) (50% identical) |
| (Terenyi et al., 2018) | Pharmaceuticals (course) |
A: Study (week 1 or 3) CR (week 2 and 10 or 4 and 11), contracting distribution α B: Study (week 3 or 5) CR (week 4 and 8 or 6 and 9), equal distribution C: Study (week 1 or 4) CR (week 2 and 5 or 5 and 8), expanding distribution D: Study (week 2 or 5) CR (week 3 or 6), massed E: Study only (week 2 or 4) (Homework) (no feedback reported) (TOT 15 min limit on quiz, no TOT study) |
CR (week 12 exam, week 18 long-term retention) (NGR) (not identical, similar) |
|
(Terenyi et al., 2019) Experiment 1 |
Pharmaceuticals (course) |
A: CR (weeks 6–10), equal distribution B: CR (weeks 5–10), expanding distribution α C: CR (weeks 5–10), contracting distribution (Homework) (no feedback reported) (TOT 15-25 min limit depending on quiz size, no TOT study) |
CR (week 12 exam, week 18 long-term retention) (NGR) (not identical, similar) |
| Experiment 2 | Pharmaceuticals (course) |
A: CR assisted (fill in letters) B: CR unassisted (fill in whole word) α (Homework) (no feedback reported) (TOT 15-25 min limit depending on quiz size, no TOT study) |
CR (week 12 exam, week 16 long-term retention) (NGR) (not identical, similar) |
| (Timmer et al., 2020) | Vaccination (class) |
A: Lecture (15 min content and 5 min distractor x3, spaced) B: Lecture (7.5 min distractor 45 min content 7.5 min distractor, massed) |
CR (day 8) (FA) |
| (Trumbo et al., 2016) | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (required weekly, 45% final grade) (TOT mean 7min26sec) α B: REC (optional weekly, no grade) (TOT mean 1min22sec) (Unlimited attempts) (feedback) |
REC (3 unit exams one final exam) (SA total A: 50% B: 94%) (identical, similar) |
| Experiment 2 | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (weekly homework) (TOT measured) α B: Control (no provided REC) (SA total 33%, unlimited attempts) (feedback) |
REC (11 weekly unit exams (SA total 50%) (not identical, similar) |
| Experiment 3 | Introductory psychology (course) |
A: REC (weekly homework) α B: Reread (weekly homework) (SA total 33%, unlimited attempts) (no TOT recorded) (feedback) |
REC (11 weekly unit exams (SA total 50%) (not identical, similar) |
| (Wong, 2022) | Pathology (course) |
A: CR (class ‘think-pair-share’) (no TOT) (feedback) B: Normal class |
Retrieval type not reported (retrieval interval not reported) (SA) |
Note. Positive effect of an intervention is denoted with α. Recognition (REC); Cued recall (CR); Short answer question (SAQ); Fill-in-the-blank (FIB); Free recall (FR); Summative assessment (SA); Formative assessment (FA); No grade reported (NGR); Time on task (TOT); Judgement of learning (JOL).