Is Sustained Attention Important for the Testing Effect?

The Testing Effect is known to enhance learning and long-term retention through repeated-testing (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). One variable that has yet to be considered is the role of sustained attention on the efficacy of the testing effect. The goal of this study is to combine a measure of sustained attention (i.e., Sustained Attention Response Test-SART; Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddeley, & Yiend, 1997) with repeated quizzing of video lecture content to determine if sustained attention is important for the testing effect. Participants will be given the SART assessment and based on their score, as determined to be either high or low sustained attention, will be assigned to one of the following conditions: repeated testing, restudy, or control. We are interested in how participants with high sustained attention compare to those with low sustained attention on the video lecture tests. Specifically, we wonder whether or not high SART scores will influence the testing effect; that is, could participants with high attention do as well on the cumulative test as low sustainers who are in the repeated testing condition. Implications for teaching and learning will be discussed as well as inferring how results might be applied to populations diagnosed with attentional disorders