@article{a548444807c241858e8ceae259ba3869,
title = "Memory enhancements from active control of learning emerge across development",
abstract = "This paper investigates whether active control of study leads to enhanced learning in 5- to 11-year-old children. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants played a simple memory game with the instruction to try to remember and later recognize a set of 64 objects. In Experiment 3, the goal was to learn the French names for the same objects. For half of the materials presented, participants could decide the order and pacing of study (Active condition). For the other half, they passively observed the study decisions of a previous participant (Yoked condition). Recognition memory was more accurate for objects studied in the active as compared to the yoked condition. However, the active learning advantage was relatively small among 5-year-olds and increased with age, becoming comparable to adults{\textquoteright} by age 8. Our results show that the ability to actively control study develops during early childhood and results in memory benefits that last over a week-long delay. We discuss possible interpretations for the observed developmental change, as well as the implications of these results for educational implementations.",
keywords = "Active learning, Cognitive development, Exploration, Recognition memory",
author = "Azzurra Ruggeri and Markant, {Douglas B.} and Gureckis, {Todd M.} and Maria Bretzke and Fei Xu",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Celina Vicuna, Sana Alimohamed, Lesley Blair Winchester, Mandana Mostofi, Sarah De La Vega, Minh-Thy Nguyen, Gregor Caregnato, and Chiara Cunzolo for assistance in data collection and coding, as well as Susana Herrera and Kritika Shrestha for drawing and coloring the stimuli. This research was supported by Grant No. 1640816 from the National Science Foundation to FX, by Grant No. BCS- 1255538 from the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation “Varieties of Understanding” project, and a James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award to TMG. We thank the Naturkunde Museum, Labyrinth Museum and Alice FEZ in Berlin, Germany, as well as the Koala Ludo center in Livorno, Italy, for offering testing space. Funding Information: We thank Celina Vicuna, Sana Alimohamed, Lesley Blair Winchester, Mandana Mostofi, Sarah De La Vega, Minh-Thy Nguyen, Gregor Caregnato, and Chiara Cunzolo for assistance in data collection and coding, as well as Susana Herrera and Kritika Shrestha for drawing and coloring the stimuli. This research was supported by Grant No. 1640816 from the National Science Foundation to FX, by Grant No. BCS- 1255538 from the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation “Varieties of Understanding” project, and a James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award to TMG. We thank the Naturkunde Museum, Labyrinth Museum and Alice FEZ in Berlin, Germany, as well as the Koala Ludo center in Livorno, Italy, for offering testing space. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier B.V.",
year = "2019",
month = may,
doi = "10.1016/j.cognition.2019.01.010",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "186",
pages = "82--94",
journal = "Cognition",
issn = "0010-0277",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}