雙語·練習測試：增進記憶最有力的辦法

Practice tests: The most powerful technique for boosting memory
練習測試：增進記憶最有力的辦法

Scientists have found that regardless of type of test/exam you are going to take, you stand the best chance of succeeding if you revise with practice tests. As a demonstration, consider the following experiment:
科學家已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)，不論所要參加的考試屬于什么類型，如果用模擬題來復習，都最有可能取得好成績。要說明這一點，讓我們考慮下面的試驗：

Students attended a 20-minute Statistics lecture, which was divided into 4 equally long sessions. After each session, the first group took a practice test (without feedback), the second group had to re-study the lecture material and the third group performed mental arithmetic. All students were assessed with a final test after the lecture.
學生被要求參加一堂20分鐘的統(tǒng)計學講座，整個講座被分成等時長的四節(jié)。在每一節(jié)結(jié)束后，第一組學生做一份練習測試（但沒有反饋），第二組學生復習講座材料，第三組學生進行心算。在全部講座結(jié)束后，通過最終的測試對所有學生進行評估。

Although the re-reading group had more exposure to the material, their final test performance was substantially worse than that of the testing group (by 30%). Moreover, students who re-studied the lecture material did not perform any better than students who did a completely unrelated arithmetic task.
盡管復習講座的第二組學生面對學習材料的時間更長，但他們在最終測試中的表現(xiàn)卻明顯比做練習測試的第一組差（低了30%），甚至也沒有好過進行完全無關(guān)的心算練習的第三組學生。

A wealth of research has shown that testing is more effective at improving retention and test performance than re-studying, even if no feedback is provided. This is called the ‘testing effect’. However, not all tests are created equal. You will greatly benefit from practice testing only if you revise with tests using a particular retrieval mode – recall.
大量研究已經(jīng)表明，即使在沒有反饋的情況下，測試也能夠比復習更有效地提高記憶持久性和考試成績，這被稱為“測驗效應(yīng)”。然而，并不是所有測驗都能達到同等的效果。只有利用一種特定的信息檢索模式——回想，通過測驗進行復習時，才能從中獲益。

Recall is a way of retrieving a memory trace when you do not see the correct answer and do not have any options to choose from. Example recall questions could be: “What is the population of Canada?”, or “What is the German word for Monday?”
回想是在沒有看到正確答案，而且沒有任何選項可供選擇的情況下檢索記憶痕跡的方法。例如，回想的問題可以是：“加拿大的人口多少？”或者“星期一在德語中怎么說？”

The opposite of recall is recognition, which is a way of retrieving a memory trace when you see the correct answer or a set of options that includes the correct answer. Example recognition questions could be: “Is the capital of Canada Ottawa or Montréal?”, or “Is the German word for Monday Dienstag or Montag?”.
回想的反面是再認，是在見到正確答案或一些包含正確答案的選項時檢索記憶痕跡的方法。例如，再認的問題可以是：“加拿大的首都是渥太華還是蒙特利爾？”或者“星期一在德語中是Dienstag還是Montag？”

Regardless of how your knowledge is tested in the end, recall testing is vastly superior to all other learning methods based on recognition. One of the reasons for this is that it automatically encourages deeper processing of the study material. In the study above, the testing group took increasingly elaborate notes as the sessions progressed compared to the other groups (without being consciously aware of it).
不論最終如何考查你掌握的知識，回想測驗比其他所有基于再認的學習方法都要好得多。原因之一在于，回想自動鼓勵你對學習材料進行深層加工。在上面的研究中，隨著每一節(jié)講座的進行，相比于另外兩組，做練習測試的第一組學生記下的筆記越來越詳細（而他們并沒有明確意識到這一點）。

The most important reason is that recognition is easy for the brain because it knows exactly which concept it must retrieve from memory. If you re-read your notes, you are in fact asking your brain: do I know this? Does it sound familiar? If you have already studied the notes at least once before, you are in effect telling your brain: “I've seen this before, there is no need to make any further effort”.
最重要的原因在于，再認對于大腦來說很容易，因為它確切地知道要從記憶中檢索哪個概念。如果你再讀一遍自己的筆記，事實上是在問你的大腦：我知道這個嗎？這聽起來熟悉嗎？如果此前你已經(jīng)至少復習過一遍這些筆記，那么其實就是在告訴你的大腦：“我之前已經(jīng)見過這個了，沒必要再做進一步的努力?！?/p>

In contrast, recall is effortful because the brain has to figure out which target memory is to be retrieved. If you test yourself with recall (questions with no hints or answers to choose from), your brain has to reconstruct the pathway from the question to the target concept. In this manner, the pathway is strengthened (or new pathways are built) and as a result, the concept becomes more easily retrievable later.
相反，回想是需要付出努力的，因為大腦必須搞明白需要檢索的目標記憶是哪個。如果你通過回想來自測（提出問題，但不給提示或答案選項），你的大腦就不得不重新建立從問題到目標概念的通路。由此，已有的通路被鞏固（或新的通路得到建立），進而使日后檢索概念變得更容易。

Note that the recall has to be successful – unsuccessful recall does not strengthen the memory trace. The best time to revise concepts is therefore just before they are about to be forgotten (see our section on spacing effect).
注意，回想必須是成功的——不成功的回想不會強化記憶痕跡。因此復習概念的最佳時機就是在快要忘記他們的時候（參見關(guān)于間隔效應(yīng)一節(jié)）。

Virtually all methods commonly used in studying engage primarily recognition processes, such as reviewing (re-reading), highlighting or open-book summarizing. It comes as no surprise then that these learning methods have been shown to have little to no utility in improving retrieval success and test performance. Other methods using deeper processing such as self-explanation are far more useful than re-studying but still not as effective as practice testing.
事實上，所有學習中常用的方法主要都涉及再認過程，例如復習（重新閱讀）、劃重點或開卷歸納概括，因此這些學習方法被證明對于成功檢索記憶和提高考試成績收效甚微，也就不足為奇了。另一些方法使用自我解釋等深層加工方法，雖然比重新學習有用得多，但也不如練習測驗高效。

However, it is not the case that re-reading has no value whatsoever. Re-reading is useful inasmuch as it is used together with practice testing. It is definitely a good idea to selectively re-study the concepts which you cannot recall.
然而，這并不是說重讀課本沒有任何價值。當與練習測試一起進行時，重讀依然是有用的。有選擇性地重讀那些你無法回想起來的概念無疑是個好主意。

Also, it is important to re-study material during practice testing as a form of feedback. Although practice testing without feedback is very effective on its own at improving memory, if errors go uncorrected, they build up over time and become more and more firmly lodged in memory. For this reason, feedback is an essential complement to practice testing that substantially enhances its effectiveness. It does not matter whether feedback is immediate (straight after each question/problem) or delayed (after the study session).
同樣，在測驗練習期間復習所學內(nèi)容作為一種反饋也很重要。盡管沒有反饋的測驗練習本身對于提高記憶已經(jīng)非常有效，但如果錯誤得不到糾正，它們?nèi)辗e月累，就會越來越頑固地停留在記憶中。因此，反饋是練習測驗的一種重要補充，能夠大大提高它的有效性。反饋是立即的（直接跟在每個問題之后）還是延遲的（在整個學習單元結(jié)束之后）則無關(guān)緊要。

Finally, do not forget that practical usage your knowledge (such as doing a real-world project) also amounts to a form of practice testing (and spaced repetition) where you have to regularly retrieve your knowledge and skills from memory. A fair amount of real-world practice can be superior to extensive theoretical study.
最后，別忘了實際運用你的知識（例如完成一個真實世界中的項目）也是一種練習測驗（和間隔重復）的形式，你需要定期從記憶中檢索對應(yīng)的知識和技能。與其紙上談兵，不如躬行實踐。

In summary, we recommend the following:
總結(jié)起來，我們推薦以下做法：

·Avoid learning strategies based on recognition (reviewing/re-reading of textbook chapters/notes, highlighting, summarizing)
·避免基于再認的學習策略（復習/重讀課本章節(jié)/筆記、劃重點、總結(jié)概述）。

·Revise with practice tests / questions to achieve the best results in your tests and exams
·通過練習測驗/問題來復習，從而在考試中獲得最好的結(jié)果。

–Use free recall (questions/tasks with no hints or options to choose from)
§運用自由回想（不帶提示或答案選項的問題/任務(wù)）

–Practice with recognition questions (such as multiple-choice) only if your test will also be multiple-choice (see transfer-appropriate processing) and for 1/4 of your study time only
§只有當你的考試也有多選題時才練習再認問題（例如多選題）（參見遷移適合性加工），而且不超過1/4的學習時間。

–Selectively re-read only the material that you cannot remember
§只有當你記不起來時，才選擇性地重讀相關(guān)內(nèi)容。

–Get immediate or delayed feedback on your answers Revise with practice tests / questions to achieve the best results in your tests and exams
§獲得對答案的立即或延遲反饋。通過練習測驗/問題復習，從而在考試和測驗中取得最好成績

——節(jié)選自《記憶的科學》