The Science Of Learning

An Infrature^® White Paper

Perhaps the single most important finding science has uncovered with regards to learning is the impact that the introduction of speed to the learning process has on the acquisition and successful application of higher level skills. Speed combined with accuracy is known as fluency, the ability to rapidly respond to questions accurately. Skills trained to fluency have a far greater retention and application rate than skills trained to accuracy alone. What follows is a summary of these important scientific findings.

A comparison of the effects of fluency training and accuracy training on application and retention

In a study done by Bucklin, B. R., Dickinson, A.M., and Brethower, D.M. (2000) at Western Michigan University, A comparison of the effects of fluency training and accuracy training on application and retention¹, the effects of fluency training on the acquisition and retention of a composite skill were compared with those of training to accuracy only.

This study is important primarily because it demonstrated that for skilled adult learners, fluency training on component skills assist in the acquisition of a composite skill and improves the retention of information as applied to both component (low level skills) and composite (high level application) skills. The results are consistent with those of earlier studies (Berquam, 1981, Ivarie, 1986, Shirley & Pennypacker, 1994) Berquam (1981), Ivarie (1986), and Shirley and Pennypacker (1994), who have all found that fluency training led to higher response rates and better accuracy on retention tests.

To understand the important results of the study, it is necessary to understand the difference between “fluency” and “accuracy only”. Fluency is the ability to respond to questions about the study material accurately without hesitation. To ensure that the response is without hesitation, a timing component is added, so that learners must respond within a predetermined amount of time. “Accuracy only” means that “without hesitation” is not a requirement, and so the speed component is removed. Learners need only to respond accurately and they may take as much time as they need.

The partici­pants completing the study were 29 college students. The task was a stimulus equivalence task Participants learned associations between symbols and nonsense syllables, as well as between nonsense syllables and Arabic numerals. Immediately after training and every 2 or 4 weeks for 16 weeks, the learners were tested on a composite task for which the requirement was that both associations had to be made in order to be successful at the task. Note that learners were never directly trained in the composite task. Retention of the original component associations was also assessed after 16 weeks.

With respect to the composite skill, fluency training resulted in:

a) higher response rates immediately after training and across the 16 weeks
b) better accuracy 4 and 16 weeks after training
c) less dete­rioration of accuracy after 16 weeks

Effects on the component skills were similar to those for the composite skills. The results demonstrate that for skilled adult learners, fluency training can aid the acquisition and successful application of a higher level skill and increase the retention of accuracy for both the component and composite skills.

The Impact that Fluency in Components Skills has on Fluency in Composite Skills

Immediately after training on only the component skills, performance was measured on the composite skills. On the composite skills, fluency trainees averaged 17 (SD = 4) correct responses per minute, while accuracy trainees averaged 9 (SD = 4).. With respect to the percent correct, fluency trainees averaged 93% (SD = 8), and accuracy trainees averaged 86% (SD = 12). Although the difference in accuracy was not statistically significant, fluency trainees completed many more items cor­rectly per minute than accuracy trainees. These data support the claim that fluent component skills lead to more fluent composite skills, in other words, fluent component skills facilitate the acquisition of higher level skills.

Composite Skill Retention

After four weeks, the fluency trainees averaged a drop in accuracy of 16%, (SD = 24) while the accuracy trainees had a drop in accuracy of 72% (SD = 21). After 16 weeks, the mean decreases in percent correct for flu­ency trainees was 24% (SD = 27) whereas for accuracy trainees the loss of information was approximately three times greater, at 74% (SD = 15). The differences in the loss of accuracy between the fluency and accu­racy groups are striking in spite of the fact that both groups were trained to 100% accuracy. The fluency trainees retained a high level of accuracy across the 16-week reten­tion test period, while the accuracy trainees lost considerable accuracy after only four weeks.

Component Skill Retention

On the See Symbol-Write Nonsense Syllable post test, the average decrease in percent correct for fluency trainees was 17% (SD = 18). For accuracy trainees, it was 86 (SD = 10). This difference was large and statistically signifi­cant. Similarly, for the See Nonsense Syllable-Write Arabic Numeral post test, the av­erage loss scores for the fluency and accuracy groups were 7% (SD = 12) and 70% (SD = 18), re­spectively. Again, this difference was large and statistically significant. As with the compos­ite task, for both component tasks, fluency training resulted in significantly less loss of accuracy 16 weeks after training than did accuracy training.

This study, as well as the others mentioned, provides proof of the effectiveness of fluency training. Fluency training clearly has “a large and statistically significant” impact on learners’ ability to acquire and successfully apply higher level skills and to increase the retention of the information learned. For more information on Infrature, a fluency based training delivery system please see Learning the Infrature Way – An Infrature White Paper at www.infrature.com.