IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ireced/v41y2022ics147738802200010x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of distributed homework on student outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Kuo, Sylvia

Abstract

Distributed practice improves learning by requiring the brain to expend extra effort retrieving prior learning after a time delay. I examine whether repeating the most troublesome homework question on the next assignment improves exam performance within one large upper-level undergraduate economics course. I compare exam outcomes of students enrolled in Fall 2017 as my control group (N = 136) with those of the intervention group in Spring 2018 (N = 163). Adjusting for differences in student characteristics, the intervention was associated with a statistically significant (at the 90% level) increase of 2.44% in final exam scores, with raw average scores of 84.6% versus 81.7%. No difference was found post-intervention in overall course scores, while small increases for midterms. Subgroup analysis suggests the benefits may accrue more to the strongest and weakest performers. Findings suggest that repeating troublesome problems could improve learning in economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuo, Sylvia, 2022. "The impact of distributed homework on student outcomes," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ireced:v:41:y:2022:i:c:s147738802200010x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iree.2022.100243
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147738802200010X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iree.2022.100243?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pugatch, Todd & Wilson, Nicholas, 2018. "Nudging study habits: A field experiment on peer tutoring in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 151-161.
    2. Ben O. Smith & Dustin R. White & Patricia C. Kuzyk & James E. Tierney, 2018. "Improved grade outcomes with an e-mailed “grade nudge”," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 1-7, January.
    3. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 2018. "Nudging in education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 313-342.
    4. Patrik T. Hultberg & David Santandreu Calonge, 2017. "Effective teaching of economics: A constrained optimization problem?," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 265-275, October.
    5. Austin Boyle & William L. Goffe, 2018. "Beyond the Flipped Class: The Impact of Research-Based Teaching Methods in a Macroeconomics Principles Class," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 297-301, May.
    6. Dills, Angela K. & Hernández-Julián, Rey, 2008. "Course scheduling and academic performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 646-654, December.
    7. Amanda J. Felkey & Eva Dziadula & Eric P. Chiang & Jose Vazquez, 2021. "Microcommitments: The Effect of Small Commitments on Student Success," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 92-96, May.
    8. Gordanier, John & Hauk, William & Sankaran, Chandini, 2019. "Early intervention in college classes and improved student outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 23-29.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Green, Alan, 2024. "Are we doing homework wrong? The marginal effect of homework using spaced repetition," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gordanier, John & Hauk, William & Sankaran, Chandini, 2019. "Early intervention in college classes and improved student outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 23-29.
    2. Sanchayan Banerjee & Beatriz Jambrina-Canseco & Benjamin Brundu-Gonzalez & Claire Gordon & Jenni Carr, 2023. "Nudge or not, university teachers have mixed feelings about online teaching," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Hardt, David & Nagler, Markus & Rincke, Johannes, 2023. "Tutoring in (online) higher education: Experimental evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Todd Pugatch & Nicholas Wilson, 2024. "Nudging Demand for Academic Support Services: Experimental and Structural Evidence from Higher Education," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(5), pages 1637-1682.
    5. Pugatch, Todd & Schroeder, Elizabeth & Wilson, Nicholas, 2022. "Study More Tomorrow," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1115, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Nicholas A. Wright & Puneet Arora & Jesse Wright, 2024. "I Promise to Work Hard: The Impact of a Non-Binding Commitment Pledge on Academic Performance," Working Papers 2411, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    7. Ballestar, María Teresa & Mir, Miguel Cuerdo & Pedrera, Luis Miguel Doncel & Sainz, Jorge, 2024. "Effectiveness of tutoring at school: A machine learning evaluation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    8. Shumon Zihady, 2023. "Dupchanchia Model of Students' drop-out control through engagement and appreciation after Covid-19: A Behavioral Policy intervention in the field administration of Bangladesh," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 43(1), pages 136-148, May.
    9. Joseph J. Sabia & Kurt Wang & Resul Cesur, 2017. "Sleepwalking Through School: New Evidence On Sleep And Academic Achievement," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 331-344, April.
    10. Anthony LokTing Yim, 2023. "How Early Morning Classes Change Academic Trajectories: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Purdue University Economics Working Papers 1334, Purdue University, Department of Economics.
    11. Derksen, Laura & Kerwin, Jason Theodore & Reynoso, Natalia Ordaz & Sterck, Olivier, 2021. "Appointments: A More Effective Commitment Device for Health Behaviors," SocArXiv y8gh7, Center for Open Science.
    12. Ellis, Jimmy R. & Gershenson, Seth, 2020. "Gender, peer advising, and college success," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    13. Lars Behlen & Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2023. "Defaults and effortful tasks," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 26(5), pages 1022-1059, November.
    14. Lisa van der Sande & Ilona Wildeman & Adriana G. Bus & Roel van Steensel, 2023. "Nudging to Stimulate Reading in Primary and Secondary Education," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, April.
    15. Haggag, Kareem & Patterson, Richard W. & Pope, Nolan G. & Feudo, Aaron, 2021. "Attribution bias in major decisions: Evidence from the United States Military Academy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    16. Burgess, Simon & Metcalfe, Robert & Sadoff, Sally, 2021. "Understanding the response to financial and non-financial incentives in education: Field experimental evidence using high-stakes assessments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    17. Xiaoyan Chen & Wei Geng, 2022. "Enroll now, pay later: optimal pricing and nudge efforts for massive-online-open-courses providers," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(2), pages 1003-1018, June.
    18. Amanda Bayer & Gregory Bruich & Raj Chetty & Andrew Housiaux, 2020. "Expanding and diversifying the pool of undergraduates who study economics: Insights from a new introductory course at Harvard," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 364-379, September.
    19. Mistree, Dinsha & Loyalka, Prashant & Fairlie, Robert & Bhuradia, Ashutosh & Angrish, Manyu & Lin, Jason & Karoshi, Amar & Yen, Sara J. & Mistri, Jamsheed & Bayat, Vafa, 2021. "Instructional interventions for improving COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, behaviors: Evidence from a large-scale RCT in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    20. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," IZA Discussion Papers 14698, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Distributed practice; Spaced practice; Economic education; Pedagogy; Problem-solving; finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ireced:v:41:y:2022:i:c:s147738802200010x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-review-of-economics-education .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.