Construct · 1 fields · 1 citations

desirable difficulty: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a single construct in learning science Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
desirabledifficulty1 CONSTRUCTDesirable difficultyBJORK · 1994

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Learning science

Conditions that slow learning now but strengthen it later

A desirable difficulty is a condition of practice that makes learning feel harder and slower in the moment yet produces better long-term retention and transfer, such as spacing, interleaving, varying conditions, or testing instead of rereading. Bjork's 1994 chapter in Metacognition: Knowing about knowing introduced the term and used it to explain why the practice that feels most effective is often the least effective for durable learning. The referent is the class of training manipulations that trade short-term performance for long-term learning, and it is identified by the dissociation between performance during practice and retention on a delayed test.[1]

Unit
The trade of worse immediate performance for better long-term retention
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Identified by a dissociation between performance during practice and performance on delayed retention and transfer tests

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Nearby constructs

spacing effect2 names · 2 citationsjangle · one construct, many namesretrieval practice2 names · 2 citationsjangle · one construct, many namesclass3 fields · 3 citationsjingle · one word, three constructs

References

  1. Bjork, R. A. (1994). Memory and metamemory considerations in the training of human beings. In J. Metcalfe & A. P. Shimamura (Eds.), Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (pp. 185–205). MIT Press. ISBN 9780262132985

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