Hausman Memory and Metacognition Lab at a Successful Psychonomics

Several members of the Hausman Memory and Metacognition Lab recently attended, and presented at, the 64th Annual Psychonomics Society Conference. Our own Dr. Hannah Hausman gave a talk at the International Association of Metacognition pre-meeting on community college math teachers’ beliefs about learning. Several lab members also presented posters of their individual research, including our … Read more

Article: Are you sure? Examining the potential benefits of truth-checking as a learning activity

Students don’t always know what they’re hearing is true. The memory effects of this uncertainty of whether information is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ when encountering material is not entirely known, however. Uncertainty could encourage learners to engage in deep processing, producing better learning of correct information. Alternatively, uncertainty could erode trust and undermine learning of correct … Read more

Dr. Hannah Hausman named a UCSC TLC Faculty Fellow

Our Primary Investigator, Dr. Hannah Hausman, has recently been selected to be on UCSC’s Teaching and Learning Center’s (TLC) Faculty Fellows. For this upcoming 2023-24 year, the theme for the Faculty Fellows group will be “Evidence for Equity” in which fellows will “examine how different types of assessment, from the classroom scale to programmatic level, … Read more

Article: Testing effects for self-generated versus experimenter-provided questions

Retrieval practice–or answering practice questions–can dramatically enhance learning compared to more passive study methods like rereading. But what if study guide questions or practice exams aren’t available? Teachers and professors often suggest students should write their own questions and quiz themselves to prepare for exams. But does this method actually improve learning? To test this … Read more

Article: Delayed Metacomprehension Judgments Do Not Directly Improve Learning from Texts

Does thinking about how well you’ve understood what you’re reading help you learn? Previous research has found that making judgments of learning (JOLs) can directly improve learning of simple materials in the lab like lists words. Drs. Hannah Hausman and Veit Kubik tested whether this effect extends to more realistic materials, such as the instructional … Read more

Poster: Optimal Timing of Feedback Depends on Retrieval Success

Does the optimal timing of feedback after an error change with retrieval success? In research conducted by our second-year Ph.D. student, Jexy An Nepangue, the answer was found to be yes. In her work which she presented earlier this year at the 2023 Western Psychological Association Conference, Nepangue showed that immediate feedback after errors was more … Read more

Poster: Worked examples, self-explanation, and metacognition across levels of expertise in math learning

How do worked examples, or step-by-step answer guides, affect math learning and metacognition? Our own graduate student, Melanie Prieto, hypothesizes that worked examples can be made more effective by requiring students to explain steps of the problems as they learn, especially for novices. Presenting her work at this year’s 2023 Western Psychological Association Conference, Prieto hypothesizes … Read more

Poster: Does producing errors enhance learning of episodic information?

Does producing errors enhance learning of episodic information? Our ongoing research suggests the answer is no, even if semantic supports are provided. Recently graduated research assistant, Siobhan Moher, presented a poster of this work on to the UCSC Psi Chi chapter. You can access the UCSC Psi Chi chapter here and be sure to check … Read more