What is "variable retrieval" and how it makes studying more effective

The traditional recommendations (don't memorise all the material in one evening and don't just reread notes, but try to reproduce what you have learned) do help. However, scientists from the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan have found that adding "variable retrieval" gives even more impressive results.

Source: Butowska-Buczyńska E. et al. "The role of variable retrieval in effective learning," PNAS (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2413511121

Human memory is complex and depends on many factors, so the results of individual studies are not always easily applicable in practice. However, it is already known that better results are achieved when we retrieve information from memory rather than simply rereading it, and when study sessions are spread over time rather than centred on one night before an exam.

Is it possible to make learning even more effective? Yes, and it's called variable learning. This means that we learn the same topic from different angles, in different contexts and using different methods. It's also important to vary the way we reproduce information, which means responding to different cues that lead to the correct answer.

In a study called "The Role of Variable Reproduction in Effective Learning," scientists conducted a series of experiments where participants were asked to learn Finnish words embedded in sentences in their native language. For example, "Daddy sweeps lattia" (the Finnish word lattia means "floor").

Each word was shown several times either in the same sentence or in different sentences. The results showed that participants were better at remembering translations of words when they saw them in different contexts. This method was effective both immediately after training and 24 hours later.

Interestingly, participants thought it was easier to memorise words through the same sentence, although it was actually less effective. This is called metacognitive illusion - a false belief that certain learning methods are effective, which can lead to choosing less effective methods.

The idea of learning information from different angles is not new and is considered important for long-term memory. It's similar to creating multiple pathways for memorisation, which increases the chances of successfully reproducing information in different situations, such as an exam.

"Variety in learning makes our memory work harder, but this effort helps us learn better. Therefore, some difficulty in the learning process is desirable," explains Ewa Butowska-Buczynska, co-author of the study.

The scientists hope that their findings will help develop recommendations for more effective learning. However, they note that the research is still limited to specific contexts and further work is needed to extend this approach into practice.