Logan, J. 1 , Marshak, D. 2 & Thompson, A. 3
1 Rice University
2 University of Texas Medical School - Houston
3 Baylor College of Medicine
Students in the health professions should remember human anatomy well enough to apply that knowledge later, in a clinical setting. Unfortunately, human anatomy is one of the most challenging courses a first year student takes. We examined how repeated testing could benefit overall retention for medical students in a human anatomy class. In the classroom, testing is typically reserved for determining mastery of material and assigning grades, but testing one’s knowledge can provide substantial benefits to learning and retention. In two studies, medical students in a human anatomy course took weekly quizzes over information learned in class, for 6 weeks. Each quiz was given three times, repeated in a slightly different form each time. Repetitions were spaced out over a short delay (1 hour) or long delay (1 week). A final test was given 1 week after all quizzes to assess retention. On each subsequent test, the students showed robust improvement. The scores were 28% higher on the third test than on the first, and there was a positive correlation between quiz grades and final exam grades at the end of the semester. These results suggest that repeated testing can be a simple yet powerful learning aid in medical education.