View in EDS

The Advantages of Deliberate Errors in Promoting College Students' Memory Retention and Transfer

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The Advantages of Deliberate Errors in Promoting College Students' Memory Retention and Transfer
Language: English
Authors: Xiuyun Qiang (ORCID 0009-0003-3706-6222), Xiaofeng Ma
Source: British Journal of Educational Psychology. 2026 96(2):922-944.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: College Students, Memory, Retention (Psychology), Learning Processes, Error Patterns, Learning Strategies, Transfer of Training, Metacognition, Active Learning
DOI: 10.1111/bjep.70058
ISSN: 0007-0998
2044-8279
Abstract: Background: Errors, traditionally seen as negative, can serve as productive learning tools in low-stakes contexts. However, it remains unclear whether deliberate erring outperforms retrieval practice--another highly effective strategy--across materials and time intervals. Aims: This study compared deliberate erring, retrieval practice, and copying in terms of immediate/delayed retention and transfer while examining learners' metacognitive evaluations. A copy condition served as a baseline to compare two active learning techniques. Samples & Methods: Two experiments with college students used conceptual terms (Exp1, N = 96) and text passages (Exp2, N = 103). Both measured immediate/delayed retention, transfer, and metacognitive judgements across three learning conditions. Results: In Experiment 1, immediate retention showed only anecdotal evidence for no significant difference between deliberate erring and retrieval practice--both outperformed copying--whereas delayed retention favoured deliberate erring. Transfer performance consistently favoured deliberate erring. In Experiment 2, memory retention did not differ significantly between deliberate erring and retrieval practice (both superior to copying), yet deliberate erring again led to better transfer. Metacognitive evaluations systematically underestimated deliberate erring, favouring copying and retrieval practice instead. Conclusions: Under equal-time learning, deliberate erring shows consistent advantages over copying in both knowledge transfer and long-term retention, and it demonstrates potential benefits over retrieval practice in knowledge transfer, although the latter finding requires further replication. The study also reveals a metacognitive bias against deliberate erring, providing insights into theories of memory encoding and classroom error intervention strategies.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://osf.io/pr69h/files/osfstorage
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1505367
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1505367
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Advantages of Deliberate Errors in Promoting College Students' Memory Retention and Transfer
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xiuyun+Qiang%22">Xiuyun Qiang</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3706-6222">0009-0003-3706-6222</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xiaofeng+Ma%22">Xiaofeng Ma</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22British+Journal+of+Educational+Psychology%22"><i>British Journal of Educational Psychology</i></searchLink>. 2026 96(2):922-944.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 23
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Memory%22">Memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Retention+%28Psychology%29%22">Retention (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Processes%22">Learning Processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Error+Patterns%22">Error Patterns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Strategies%22">Learning Strategies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transfer+of+Training%22">Transfer of Training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metacognition%22">Metacognition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Active+Learning%22">Active Learning</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1111/bjep.70058
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0007-0998<br />2044-8279
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background: Errors, traditionally seen as negative, can serve as productive learning tools in low-stakes contexts. However, it remains unclear whether deliberate erring outperforms retrieval practice--another highly effective strategy--across materials and time intervals. Aims: This study compared deliberate erring, retrieval practice, and copying in terms of immediate/delayed retention and transfer while examining learners' metacognitive evaluations. A copy condition served as a baseline to compare two active learning techniques. Samples & Methods: Two experiments with college students used conceptual terms (Exp1, N = 96) and text passages (Exp2, N = 103). Both measured immediate/delayed retention, transfer, and metacognitive judgements across three learning conditions. Results: In Experiment 1, immediate retention showed only anecdotal evidence for no significant difference between deliberate erring and retrieval practice--both outperformed copying--whereas delayed retention favoured deliberate erring. Transfer performance consistently favoured deliberate erring. In Experiment 2, memory retention did not differ significantly between deliberate erring and retrieval practice (both superior to copying), yet deliberate erring again led to better transfer. Metacognitive evaluations systematically underestimated deliberate erring, favouring copying and retrieval practice instead. Conclusions: Under equal-time learning, deliberate erring shows consistent advantages over copying in both knowledge transfer and long-term retention, and it demonstrates potential benefits over retrieval practice in knowledge transfer, although the latter finding requires further replication. The study also reveals a metacognitive bias against deliberate erring, providing insights into theories of memory encoding and classroom error intervention strategies.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: Note
  Label: Notes
  Group: Note
  Data: https://osf.io/pr69h/files/osfstorage
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1505367
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1505367
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/bjep.70058
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 23
        StartPage: 922
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Memory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Retention (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Learning Processes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Error Patterns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Learning Strategies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Transfer of Training
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Metacognition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Active Learning
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Advantages of Deliberate Errors in Promoting College Students' Memory Retention and Transfer
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Xiuyun Qiang
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Xiaofeng Ma
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0007-0998
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 2044-8279
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 96
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: British Journal of Educational Psychology
              Type: main
ResultId 1