Myth: Fluency is more important than retention

Myth

Drilling fluency is more important than drilling for retention. Some students and educators believe that they need to train for quick retrieval which often determines the performance (e.g. as in IQ tests). They believe that clocking the repetition improves the retention.

Fact

The myth originates from the research by B.F. Skinner's student Ogden Lindsley in the 1960s, which shows how fluency training can demonstrably enhance learning (e.g. in classroom conditions). Lindsley's fluency research does not translate directly to spaced repetition though due to the problem of the spacing effect (see also: Memory myth: Fluency reflects memory strength). The procedure that may enhance recall after a single session is not necessarily optimum in spaced repetition. A clocked drill is more likely to evoke the spacing effect as retrieval difficulty enhances memory stabilization. Consequently, a timed drill will actually increase the frequency of repetitions and overall repetition workload per item. In SuperMemo terms, the effect is similar to an attempt to reduce the forgetting index below 3%. Assuming maximum attention, a deliberately contemplative repetition is likely to leave more durable memory traces than a clocked fluency drill. Fluency training makes sense for knowledge whose retrieval is time-critical. This may refer to procedural learning, training before tests based on fluency, foreign language training, reading fluency, etc. However, for fields where creativity is more important than speed, or where solving the problem is more important than solving it fast, "slow" (i.e. meticulous and considerate) learning is recommended. Independently, in SuperMemo, it is the user who determines the grading criteria in learning. Fluency may, but does not have to be included in self-assessment. In other words, although speedy drills are not recommended, SuperMemo does not prevent the user from employing them

Myth busting is an important mission at SuperMemo Guru. We tackle myths about memory, learning, creativity, SuperMemo, and incremental reading. Please write if you want a myth busted or if you disagree