Large effects on long-term retention after standard list learning vs. adjusted learning

Prior research using the method of adjusted learning has focused on the method’s potential relative to the standard list learning method for minimizing retention differences among items. Concomitantly, there is less overlearning of individual items with the adjusted learning method. Although prior research has reported a retention difference favoring the standard list learning method, our research demonstrates that the magnitude of this difference can be surprisingly large. The results presented here from 11 experiments show retention to be more than 100% greater after standard list learning than after adjusted learning.