Massed/Distributed practice - Lab Report Example

However the manner in which they conducted the practice was different, with one group utilizing blocked practice and performing all the 18 trials of one task before proceeding to the next task, while others practiced in a more random and unsystematic order. The results demonstrated that the participants of the blocked practice trials were able to function at a much faster rate of improvement but their retention span was lower, while in the random trial practice group, the acquisition performance was slower but retention was much higher.

Therefore it appeared that the random trial method or the distributed practice was much better to promote learning and retention as opposed to massed learning signified through the blocked trials. Ambridge et al (2006) have also examined massed vs distributed learning. The study offers a comprehensive literature review to support its basis thesis of comparison of massed versus distributed learning styles. The study offers an explanation of key terms such as lexically specific schemas, such as I want[X} or I’m {X}ing it.

This is how children learn initially, which is then generalized to more abstract lexical constructions such as subject-verb-object. Another definition offered is for analogy, which means relational similarity, such as object commonality or similarity between an element of one structure and a corresponding element of the other structure. The work of several other authors is examined as a part of the literature review in this study. Some of these authors are Tomasello (2003) on how children form abstractions through schematization and analogy, Markman and Gentner (1993) on the structure mapping theory with the basis of analogy being relational similarity, among other authors.

This study also examines the work of other authors who have carried out experimental research into the formation of abstract constructions through analogy and schematization. Some of the findings discussed are Rowland and Pine