PLAT 16(2) 2017 : introduction to the special issue on evidence-based teaching (EBT) : examples from learning and teaching psychology

This special issue includes a review, two articles, and three reports. Schwieren, Barenberg, and Dutke focused on the testing effect which demonstrates that taking tests during the learning phase facilitates later retrieval of the tested material from long-term memory, compared to non-tested learning material. Although hundreds of studies have explored the validity, critical conditions, and theoretical explanations of this effect (for a review see, for example, Rowland, 2014), little is known about the application and effectiveness of practice testing in the teaching of psychology. After an extensive literature search, Schwieren et al. located 19 studies investigating the testing effect in psychology classes. Their meta-analysis yielded a significant positive mean effect size comparable to those found in meta-analyses, which included studies from other learning domains. The authors concluded that practice testing supports learning also in psychology classrooms.