The Effects Of Item Difficulty And Reward On Spaced Practice Decision

Spaced practice decision, a significant component of self-regulated learning, is an indicator of metacognitive control which immediately affects the learning outcomes of learners. Spacing practice decision involves spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation. Previous researchers only studied one of them alone rather than do an integral research of both parts. Meanwhile, there are experimental results supporting various sorts of self-regulated learning models, including discrepancy reduction model, hierarchical model, region of proximal learning model and agenda-based regulation model respectively, with no consistent explanation of the inherent mechanism for spacing practice decision. This study illustrates the inherent mechanism for spacing practice decision, through the combination of two parts of spacing practice decision and the comprehensive discussion on the effects of item difficulty and reward on spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation. Furthermore, the study on the inherent mechanism for spacing s practice decision contributes to enrich the self-regulated learning and metacognitive theories, and will further provide educational practice with some inspiration.This research, including two tests, employs the experimental paradigm of the conjunction of spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation. Test1observes learners’inherent mechanism for spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation in the single-factor condition of item difficulty, with37undergraduates as subjects; while Test2investigates learners’inherent mechanism for spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation in the double-factor condition of item difficulty and reward, with35undergraduates as subjects.By studying the effects of item difficulty and reward on spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation, this research discusses the inherent mechanism for spacing practice decision and utterly puts forward the conclusion by considering the following points.Firstly, in the single-factor condition of item difficulty, learners tend to do distributed practice on more difficult items, whereas they do massed practice on less difficult ones.Secondly, in the double-factor condition of item difficulty and reward, learners tend to do distributed practice on more difficult items with higher reward, whereas they do massed practice on less difficult ones with lower reward.Thirdly, in the single-factor condition of item difficulty, learners tend to give priority to easier items.Fourthly, in the double-factor condition of item difficulty and reward, learners also tend to give priority to easier items on the whole.This research discovers that the results of spacing strategies selection and spaced allocation disassociate, whose inherent mechanisms differ. Spacing strategies selection mainly follows ABR Model, discrepancy reduction model and hierarchical model. Nevertheless, spaced allocation keeps to region of proximal learning model.