My empirical research to date has focused on knowledge and skill acquisition, the learning of tasks relevant to applied settings, and on enhancing the compatibility between human cognitive processes and technology. I am interested in the factors that influence human attention, the processes and mechanisms underlying learning, the maximization of human performance through training, how the contents of feedback direct learning, and, of course, the application of these processes to real world situations and problems.
Healy, A. F., Tack, L. A., Schneider, V. I., & Barshi, I. (2015). Training specificity and transfer in time and distance estimation. Memory & Cognition, 43, 736-747. doi: 10.3758/s13421-015-0503-9
Abstract
Learning is often specific to the conditions of training, making it important to identify which aspects of the testing environment are crucial to be matched in the training environment. In the present study, we examined training specificity in time and distance estimation tasks that differed only in the focus of processing (FOP). External spatial cues were provided for the distance estimation task and for the time estimation task in one condition, but not in another. The presence of a concurrent alphabet secondary task was manipulated during training and testing in all estimation conditions in Experiment 1. For distance as well as for time estimation in both conditions, training of the primary estimation task was found to be specific to the presence of the secondary task. In Experiments 2 and 3, we examined transfer between one estimation task and another, with no secondary task in either case. When all conditions were equal aside from the FOP instructions, including the presence of external spatial cues, Experiment 2 showed “transfer” between tasks, suggesting that training might not be specific to the FOP. When the external spatial cues were removed from the time estimation task, Experiment 3 showed no transfer between time and distance estimations, suggesting that external task cues influenced the procedures used in the estimation tasks.
Anderson, L. S., Healy, A. F., Kole, J. A., & Bourne, L. E. (2013). The clicker technique: Cultivating efficient teaching and successful learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27, 222-234. doi: 10.1002/acp.2899
Abstract
The clicker technique is a newly developed system that uses frequent testing in the classroom to enhance students’ understanding and provide feedback to students and teachers. Using a laboratory model of the clicker technique, Experiment 1 explored the effects of the clicker technique, via its potential for compressing learning time and its partially individualized instruction, on the acquisition, retention, and generalization of knowledge at immediate and delayed tests. Results supported the clicker technique as a viable method for instructors to promote generalizable learning and to conserve teaching time. Experiment 2 examined the clicker technique in terms of its components, studying and testing, to determine which components are crucial to its effectiveness. Results indicated that the combination of studying and testing promotes superior performance only during acquisition, relative to either studying or testing alone, and neither study, test, nor the combination of study and test led to a retention advantage.
Anderson, L. S., Healy, A. F., Kole, J. A., & Bourne, L. E. (2011). Conserving time in the classroom: The clicker technique. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64, 1457-1462. do: 10.1080/17470218.2011.593264
Abstract
Any technique that conserves classroom instructional time without sacrificing the amount learned is of great educational value. This research compared a laboratory analogue of the clicker technique to analogues of other classroom pedagogical methods that all involve repeated testing during teaching. The clicker analogue mimics the classroom practice of dropping material that is understood by the majority of the class, as revealed by testing with clicker questions, from further lecture. A fact learning and retrieval paradigm was used, in which college students learned facts about unfamiliar countries. Compressing instruction time based on group-level performance produced as much learning as no compression and as compression based on individual-level performance. Results suggest that the clicker technique is an efficient and cost-effective method of conserving instructional time without loss of amount learned.