Strategic encoding and episodic discrimination (SEED) model of error correction
Date
2020
Authors
Hausman, Hannah, author
Rhodes, Matthew G., advisor
Cleary, Anne, committee member
Graham, Dan, committee member
Folkstead, James, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Despite what many students and teachers believe, making errors while learning can improve long-term learning of correct information. This paper proposes the Strategic Encoding and Episodic Discrimination (SEED) model of error correction, which proposes that in comparison to errorless learning, making errors while learning enables individuals to effectively adapt how they encode the correct answer and then, on a later memory test, use episodic memory to discriminate between the correct answer and other information that may be retrieved. Experiment 1 tested the strategic encoding component of SEED and found that errorful learning enhanced memory relative to errorless learning, but the benefits of errorful learning could not be explained by strategic adaptations in study times. Experiment 2 tested both the strategic encoding and episodic discrimination components of SEED and contrasted SEED with other accounts of error correction. The results of Experiment 2 were largely consistent with SEED and revealed that errorful learning enhanced memory by both increasing the likelihood that the correct answer was retrieved on the final test and improving participants' ability to distinguish between correct and incorrect answers.