Not a burden any more: Completion tasks as an alternative format of test practice in complex learning

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the effects of test formats after worked examples on learning outcomes and cognitive load in complex learning. 74 middle school students were randomly assigned to three groups: restudy, completion task, and conventional problem-solving. The conventional problem-solving group performed significantly the highest transfer test and cognitive load among three groups. These findings revealed testing effect in complex learning and showed that the completion task as a test format can be an alternative testing format when considering both learning outcomes and cognitive load; thus, serving as a good stepping stone between the learning and evaluation phases.