The Forward Effects of Testing Transfer to Different Domains of Learning

Interim testing of studied information, compared with restudying or no treatment, facilitates subsequent learning and retention of new information-the forward testing effect. Previous research exploring this effect has shown that interim testing of studied information from a given domain enhances subsequent learning and retention of new information within the same domain. In the current research, we ask whether interim testing can enhance subsequent encoding and retention of new information from a different domain. Experiment 1 showed that the forward testing effect is transferable; Experiment 2 further demonstrated this transferability even when material types and test formats are frequently switched; Experiment 3 documented transferability from low- to high-level learning. The results support a combined test-expectancy and retrieval-effort theory to account for the transfer of the forward testing effect. Educational Impact and Implications Statement Given that people's study effort (e.g., attention, motivation) tends to decline across a study phase and attenuated study effort leads to a decline in learning efficiency and impairs learning outcomes, it is important to explore effective strategies to sustain study effort and maintain learning efficiency across a study phase. In the current research, we conceptually replicated the finding from previous experiments that interim testing of studied information (e.g., face-name pairs) facilitates the learning of new information in the same domain. Going beyond previous experiments, we show that testing of studied information from one domain (e.g., facts) also enhances the learning of new information from a different domain (e.g., visual concepts). These findings imply that administering interim low-stakes tests during a study phase can be profitably used to enhance the learning of new information, regardless of whether it is from the same or a different domain.