Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 1 (2012) 242–248 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jarmac Target Article Inexpensive techniques to improve education: Applying cognitive psychology to enhance educational practice Henry L. Roediger III * , Mary A. Pyc Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States article info Article history: Received 6 July 2012 Received in revised form 12 September 2012 Accepted 14 September 2012 Keyword: Inexpensive techniques to improve education abstract The need to improve the educational system has never been greater. People in congress and business argue for expensive technological applications to improve education despite a lack of empirical evi- dence for their efficacy. We argue that one inexpensive avenue for improving education has been largely ignored. Cognitive and educational psychologists have identified strategies that greatly improve learn- ing and retention of information, and yet these techniques are not generally applied in education nor taught in education schools. In fact, teachers often use instructional practices known to be wrong (i.e., massing rather than interleaving examples to explain a topic). We identify three general principles that are inexpensive to implement and have been shown in both laboratory and field experiments to improve learning: (1) distribution (spacing and interleaving) of practice in learning facts and skills; (2) retrieval practice (via self testing) for durable learning; and (3) explanatory questioning (elaborative interrogation and self-explanation) as a study strategy. We describe each technique, provide supporting evidence, and discuss classroom applications. Each principle can be applied to most subject matters from kindergarten to higher education. Applying findings from cognitive psychology to classroom instruction is no panacea for educational problems, but it represents one helpful and inexpensive strategy. © 2012 Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. A front-page article in the Sunday New York Times (Gabriel & Richtel, October 11, 2011) examined the role of technology in the classroom. Many products have been offered to improve education with an estimated annual cost of $2.2 billion. Yet a survey from the Department of Education in 2010 showed either no or only mod- est gains from expensive educational products compared to similar classes that used standard textbooks. Of course, new educational products are often not sold on the basis of solid research results showing their effectiveness, but on marketing, personal testimoni- als, small case studies and the like. The one guaranteed outcome is large profits for the companies that make the products; educational gains for students are more doubtful. Nonetheless, some companies (Intel) and some in the U.S. Congress argue that one goal should be to put a computer in every child’s hands in the U.S. That step would be enormously costly. Would children be able to successfully use the computers to improve educational achievement? What studies show this to be the case? We suggest large-scale trial experiments should be undertaken before taking such expensive steps to show their effectiveness. Much more research is needed to show how * Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, CB 1125, Washington Uni- versity, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, United States. Tel.: +1 314 935 4307; fax: +1 314 935 7588. E-mail address: Roediger@wustl.edu (H.L. Roediger III). and when computer-based education is effective so as not to waste funds. As it is, teachers are being laid off, schools are being closed, and so cost-effectiveness is at a premium. The gold standard of educational innovation for any kind of new educational technique should be a strong research base show- ing that the new method produces positive results relative to standard practice (Whitehurst, 2010). We do not doubt that some- day computer-based education will meet this criterion, but we do not seem to be there yet. Perhaps we should save our money until controlled field experiments produce strong results. We argue that there is much low-hanging fruit to collect before dreaming of sky- high bonanzas that may turn out to be false. The turn to expensive educational interventions is in some ways not surprising: the problems confronting school officials are enor- mous, so educators seek help any place they can. Because the problem is huge, the assumption seems to be that all solutions will be correspondingly expensive. Referring to school administrators and teachers, Peter Cohen, a chief executive of Pearson School, com- mented in the New York Times article that “They want the shiny new. They always want the latest, when other things have been proven the longest and demonstrated to get results” (p. 22). Below we discuss methods arising from the laboratories of cognitive and educational psychologists that have been shown to produce positive effects on learning. The three basic princi- ples we recommend in this article are ones for which there is 2211-3681/$ – see front matter © 2012 Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2012.09.002