Practice Testing Facilitates Forward Navigation but Undermines Backward Navigation During Map Learning

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Spatial Cognition

Background:

• Retrieval practice is a robust learning strategy, outperforming methods like restudying.
• Its effectiveness in spatial learning, specifically map navigation, remains less explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of retrieval practice on learning map routes.
• To examine how practice testing affects both forward and backward navigation.
• To identify factors influencing the testing effect in spatial memory tasks.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments were conducted comparing retrieval practice (testing) with restudying for learning map routes.
• Participants navigated routes in forward and backward directions.
• Experiment 3 manipulated retrieval practice by including cursor tracing.

Main Results:

• Retrieval practice enhanced forward navigation and memory for route details.
• A negative testing effect was observed for backward navigation, with testing impairing performance compared to restudying.
• Including cursor tracing during retrieval practice eliminated the negative effect on backward navigation.

Conclusions:

• Retrieval practice facilitates learning of forward map routes.
• It can impair backward navigation, particularly when mental reorganization and rotation are required.
• Visualizing the learning process, such as through cursor tracing, can optimize retrieval practice for complex spatial tasks.