Effects of Flashcards on Learning Authentic Materials: The Role of Detailed Versus Conceptual Flashcards and Individual Differences in Structure-Building Ability

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Abstract
Little research has examined the fruitfulness of flashcards for improving learning outcomes of authentic classroom material. In Experiment 1, across different content areas flashcards did not significantly increase performance on a final test relative to the free-study condition. Experiment 2 investigated whether providing conceptual flashcards would aid participants’ learning relative to detailed flashcards (the kind generated most frequently by participants). Conceptual flashcards produced superior short-answer test performance than detailed flashcards for less able learners (low structure builders) but not for more able learners (high structure builders). The limited benefits of flashcards appear to reflect several factors: the current sample of students generally recruited effective study strategies (in the free-study condition) and the preponderance of detailed flashcards in both textbook provided materials and student-generated flashcards. Consistent with the material-appropriate processing framework, detailed but not conceptual flashcards would be redundant with encoding normally invited by didactic materials.
Funding Information
  • Undergraduate Research of Washington University in St. Louis

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