双语·练习测试：增进记忆最有力的办法

Practice tests: The most powerful technique for boosting memory
练习测试：增进记忆最有力的办法

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:
科学家已经发现，不论所要参加的考试属于什么类型，如果用模拟题来复习，都最有可能取得好成绩。要说明这一点，让我们考虑下面的试验：

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.
学生被要求参加一堂20分钟的统计学讲座，整个讲座被分成等时长的四节。在每一节结束后，第一组学生做一份练习测试（但没有反馈），第二组学生复习讲座材料，第三组学生进行心算。在全部讲座结束后，通过最终的测试对所有学生进行评估。

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.
尽管复习讲座的第二组学生面对学习材料的时间更长，但他们在最终测试中的表现却明显比做练习测试的第一组差（低了30%），甚至也没有好过进行完全无关的心算练习的第三组学生。

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.
大量研究已经表明，即使在没有反馈的情况下，测试也能够比复习更有效地提高记忆持久性和考试成绩，这被称为“测验效应”。然而，并不是所有测验都能达到同等的效果。只有利用一种特定的信息检索模式——回想，通过测验进行复习时，才能从中获益。

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?”
回想是在没有看到正确答案，而且没有任何选项可供选择的情况下检索记忆痕迹的方法。例如，回想的问题可以是：“加拿大的人口多少？”或者“星期一在德语中怎么说？”

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?”.
回想的反面是再认，是在见到正确答案或一些包含正确答案的选项时检索记忆痕迹的方法。例如，再认的问题可以是：“加拿大的首都是渥太华还是蒙特利尔？”或者“星期一在德语中是Dienstag还是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).
不论最终如何考查你掌握的知识，回想测验比其他所有基于再认的学习方法都要好得多。原因之一在于，回想自动鼓励你对学习材料进行深层加工。在上面的研究中，随着每一节讲座的进行，相比于另外两组，做练习测试的第一组学生记下的笔记越来越详细（而他们并没有明确意识到这一点）。

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，再认对于大脑来说很容易，因为它确切地知道要从记忆中检索哪个概念。如果你再读一遍自己的笔记，事实上是在问你的大脑：我知道这个吗？这听起来熟悉吗？如果此前你已经至少复习过一遍这些笔记，那么其实就是在告诉你的大脑：“我之前已经见过这个了，没必要再做进一步的努力。”

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，因为大脑必须搞明白需要检索的目标记忆是哪个。如果你通过回想来自测（提出问题，但不给提示或答案选项），你的大脑就不得不重新建立从问题到目标概念的通路。由此，已有的通路被巩固（或新的通路得到建立），进而使日后检索概念变得更容易。

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，回想必须是成功的——不成功的回想不会强化记忆痕迹。因此复习概念的最佳时机就是在快要忘记他们的时候（参见关于间隔效应一节）。

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.
事实上，所有学习中常用的方法主要都涉及再认过程，例如复习（重新阅读）、划重点或开卷归纳概括，因此这些学习方法被证明对于成功检索记忆和提高考试成绩收效甚微，也就不足为奇了。另一些方法使用自我解释等深层加工方法，虽然比重新学习有用得多，但也不如练习测验高效。

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，这并不是说重读课本没有任何价值。当与练习测试一起进行时，重读依然是有用的。有选择性地重读那些你无法回想起来的概念无疑是个好主意。

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).
同样，在测验练习期间复习所学内容作为一种反馈也很重要。尽管没有反馈的测验练习本身对于提高记忆已经非常有效，但如果错误得不到纠正，它们日积月累，就会越来越顽固地停留在记忆中。因此，反馈是练习测验的一种重要补充，能够大大提高它的有效性。反馈是立即的（直接跟在每个问题之后）还是延迟的（在整个学习单元结束之后）则无关紧要。

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，别忘了实际运用你的知识（例如完成一个真实世界中的项目）也是一种练习测验（和间隔重复）的形式，你需要定期从记忆中检索对应的知识和技能。与其纸上谈兵，不如躬行实践。

In summary, we recommend the following:
总结起来，我们推荐以下做法：

·Avoid learning strategies based on recognition (reviewing/re-reading of textbook chapters/notes, highlighting, summarizing)
·避免基于再认的学习策略（复习/重读课本章节/笔记、划重点、总结概述）。

·Revise with practice tests / questions to achieve the best results in your tests and exams
·通过练习测验/问题来复习，从而在考试中获得最好的结果。

–Use free recall (questions/tasks with no hints or options to choose from)
§运用自由回想（不带提示或答案选项的问题/任务）

–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
§只有当你的考试也有多选题时才练习再认问题（例如多选题）（参见迁移适合性加工），而且不超过1/4的学习时间。

–Selectively re-read only the material that you cannot remember
§只有当你记不起来时，才选择性地重读相关内容。

–Get immediate or delayed feedback on your answers Revise with practice tests / questions to achieve the best results in your tests and exams
§获得对答案的立即或延迟反馈。通过练习测验/问题复习，从而在考试和测验中取得最好成绩

——节选自《记忆的科学》