(Q123662854)

TWO CLASSIC STUDIES / Gates (1917) and Spitzer (1939) published two classic studies showing strong positive effects of testing on retention. / [...] / Gates tested groups of children across a range of grades (Grades 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8), and, admirably, he used two different types of materials (nonsense syllables, the classic stimulus of Ebbinghaus, 1885/1964, and brief biographies taken from Who’s Who in America). / [...] / Gates’s (1917) [...] / With prose passages, the optimal amount of recitation seemed to be about 60% of the total learning period. (English)

reference URL

https://archive.org/details/recitationasfact00gate/page/45

quotation

IV. Quantitative results / p.35 / RESULTS FOR SENSE MATERIAL / p.40 / Summary of Results f or Sense Material / p.45 / 1. / In general, best results are obtained by introducing recitation after devoting about forty per cent. of the time to reading. Introducing recitation too early or too late leads to poorer results. (English)