Desirable difficulty

A desirable difficulty is a learning task that requires
a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby
improving long-term performance. The term was first
coined by Robert A. Bjork in 1994.[1] As the name sug-
gests, desirable difficulties should be both desirable and
difficult. Research suggests that while difficult tasks
might slow down learning initially, the long term benefits
are greater than with easy tasks.[2] However, to be desir-
able, the tasks must also be accomplishable.
Many tasks give the illusion of learning because they are
too easy. For example, re-reading notes or a textbook is
a common learning tactic that has been proven to be less
beneficial than using flashcards.[2] A student will feel like
he or she is learning when re-reading, but this is partly
due to the fact that the words are more familiar rather than
that the material is being processed and learned. Flash-
cards, on the other hand, require the student to actively
recall the information. This is a desirable difficulty be-
cause it requires more effort and forces the student to
do more complex processing. At first, learning with de-
sirable difficulties may take longer and the student may
not feel as confident, but over time knowledge will be re-
tained better.[2]
show better temporary performance effects, and these
are confused for more permanent effects.[4] While this is
somewhat counterintuitive, studies show that difficulties
are better for increased performance in the long run. The
following are examples of training tasks that are desirably
difficult.
2.1 Retrieval practice
Also known as the testing effect, retrieval practice uses
testing as a training tactic. Performance can be improved
by devoting some of the learning period to testing by try-
ing to recall the to-be-learned information. An example
of this is flashcards, where a student will try to answer
what is on the back of a card based on what is written on
the front of a card (i.e. a word on the front and its defi-
nition on the back). For best results, feedback is key; the
learner should receive feedback on their performance and
learn the correct answers.
2.2 Delayed feedback

To improve, students need to receive feedback on their

work; feedback could consist of the correct answers, a
1 Requirements grade, comments, etc. While feedback is essential, a sur-
prising result found is that delaying feedback is better
To determine whether a difficulty is desirable, use the fol- than receiving immediate feedback. It should be noted
lowing three guidelines:[2] that this is contingent on the delayed feedback being guar-
anteed. Feedback in any form is better than no feedback
1. The processing at encoding should be the same as at all.
the processing at retrieval.

2. The processing at encoding should be the same as 2.3 Spacing and interleaving
the processing during practice.
The spacing effect consists of repetitive studying while
3. The task must be able to be accomplished. Too dif-
ensuring that there is a delay between repetitions. If this
ficult a task may dissuade the learner and prevent full
delay is created through studying another task or subject,
processing.
the method is known as interleaving. An example of this
reviewing notes from previous weeks every week up until
the final. This will space out the review sessions instead
2 Research and examples of cramming and increase amount of information that is
committed to long term memory.
Researchers have experimented with various methods of
learning. A common theme between the methods that
have proven to be most beneficial is that they all present 2.4 Combined techniques
difficulties and challenges to the learner.[3] Compared
with traditional easier learning methods, they appear to Combining desirably difficult techniques in the right ways
make learning slower. The traditional easy tasks often can be beneficial. For example, the 3R technique involves

1
2 4 REFERENCES

reading a piece of text, reciting the text without look-
ing, and then reviewing the text again (3R = read-recite-
review). In one experiment, students who used this task
performed better than those who simply reread the text.[2]
This method takes advantage of two desirable difficulties.
The first is that recalling what is written in the text takes
considerably more effort than rereading. The second is
that during the review stage, students are actively looking
for feedback rather than passively receiving feedback in
other ways.
3 Implications
hancing human performance.
[2] Marsh, E. J.; Butler, A. C. (2014). Memory in educational
settings. Chapter in D. Reisberg (Ed.) Oxford Handbook of
Cognitive Psychology. pp. 299–317.
[3] Bjork, R. A. (1994). Memory and metamemory consid-
erations in the training of human beings. In J. Metcalfe
and A. Shimamura (Eds.), Metacognition: Knowing about
knowing. pp. 185–205.
[4] Bjork, Robert A.; Schmidt, Richard A. (1992). “New
Conceptualizations of Practice: Common Principles in
Three Paradigms Suggest New Concepts for Training”.
American Psychological Society.

3.1 For students

Students can easily incorporate these techniques into their
everyday studying habits to increase their memory ca-
pacity. For example, instead of reading material, test-
ing yourself with flashcards will harness the testing effect.
The spacing effect and interleaving can be accomplished
by studying multiple subjects, spending time on one then
taking a break studying another subject before returning
to the original subject. This enforces interleaving by mix-
ing several subjects while also spacing out the studying
over different intervals.

3.2 For teachers

Teachers and professors can utilize spacing by including

problems on past topics throughout different homework
assignments. They can also utilize the test-a-day method
to enforce the testing effect, by requiring students to con-
sistently recall information. Delaying feedback on tests
and quizzes is also beneficial, but as long as it is not de-
layed so long that the students do not read the feedback.
One issue with a majority of current research is that it
occurs over a short time span such as a few hours to
a couple of days; however, teachers and professors are
more interested in ensuring the material they teach re-
mains long term. Through the study people’s recollec-
tion of high school Spanish words, Harry Bahrick was
able to show that a considerable portion of information
learned in a particular class is remember throughout a
person’s life and is known as permastore.[1][2] Bahrick
found that spaced post-study sessions promoted perma-
store for Spanish vocabulary, and likewise, Landauer and
Ainslie found that the testing effect increased scores on
the information over a year later.[2] The long term effect
over decades is still unknown and being researched.

4 References
[1] Bjork, R.A. (1994). “Institutional Impediments to Ef-
fective Training”. Learning, remembering, believing: En-
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5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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