What Is Learned in Procedural Learning? The Case of Alphabet Arithmetic

Autor/inn/en	Chen, Yalin; Orr, Alicia; Campbell, Jamie I. D.
Titel	What Is Learned in Procedural Learning? The Case of Alphabet Arithmetic
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 46 (2020) 6, S.1165-1177 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Campbell, Jamie I. D.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0278-7393
DOI	10.1037/xlm0000775
Schlagwörter	Learning Processes; Alphabets; Arithmetic; Computation; Memory; Recall (Psychology); Reaction Time; Problem Solving; College Students + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Learning process; Lernprozess; Buchstabenschrift; Addition; Arithmetik; Arithmetikunterricht; Rechnen; Gedächtnis; Abberufung; Reaktionsvermögen; Problemlösen; Collegestudent
Abstract	This research pursued a fine-grained analysis of the acquisition of a procedural skill. In two experiments (n = 29 and n = 27), adults practiced 12 alphabet arithmetic problems (e.g., C + 3 = C D E F) in two sessions with 20 practice blocks in each. If learning reflected speed up of a counting algorithm, response time (RT) speed up should be proportional to the number of counting steps (+1, +2, or +3). Instead, we found about 50% of RT gains occurred in the first six blocks of practice during which speed up was parallel for +1, +2, and +3 problems. In both experiments, RT initially was a linear function of addend size, reflecting a letter counting strategy. Mean RT for +3 problems was eventually equal to +2 problems, which suggests that speed up reflected a gradual shift to associative fact retrieval. Trial by trial strategy self-reports in Experiment 2 revealed that the proportion of trials reported as memory retrieval as opposed to counting predicted 96% of the variance in RT as a function of addend size and practice block. As such, the results provided no evidence for speed up of a counting algorithm and indicated that skill acquisition for this task entailed speed up of task-general processes independent of addend size and rapid transition from counting to fact retrieval. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01