Young asian female student using a smart phone.

Using Cognitive Science and Technology to Enhance Financial Education: The Effect of Space Retrieval Practice

Written by: Sean H. K. Kang, Luke G. Eglington, Brendan A. Schuetze, Xinyi Lu, Tanja M. Hinterstoisser, and Jimena Huaco

Abtract:

Financial literacy is an important life skill, yet the impact of financial education has often been found to be modest. We conducted a field experiment to assess the effectiveness of a post-instruction intervention using a smartphone app that incorporated cognitive science principles aimed at improving learning. College students who completed a required credit review workshop during their sophomore year used the smartphone app in one of three practice conditions: control (no practice), massed, or spaced retrieval practice with elaborative feedback. On a final assessment about 5 months later, students who engaged in spaced retrieval practice were superior to those in the control and massed practice conditions in terms of knowledge. Given the ubiquity of smartphones today, the results highlight the potential of harnessing easily accessible technology as learning tools to augment retention and transfer of knowledge.

Key Findings:

  1. Spaced retrieval practice produced significantly higher scores on a financial knowledge assessment five months after instruction d = 0.66 vs. massed d = 0.39 vs. control — while massed practice and no practice did not differ significantly from each other.
  2. The intervention required just two practice sessions of under 10 minutes each, delivered via smartphone one week and one month after a workshop — making it a low-burden, scalable addition to existing financial education programs.
  3. Because no questions were ever repeated between practice quizzes and the final assessment, performance gains reflect genuine transfer of learning rather than memorization — meaning students could apply concepts to new situations, not just recall previously seen answers.

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