Stimulating the intention to change learning strategies: The role of narratives

Practice testing and distributed practice are effective in enhancing learning outcomes and long-term retention. Yet, many students use ineffective learning strategies instead and are reluctant to change them because they hold erroneous beliefs about practice testing and distributed practice. This intervention study examined whether narratives, compared to traditional didactic communication, can change learning strategy-beliefs, stimulate intentions to change ineffective strategy use, and raise awareness of desirable difficulties (i.e., difficulties produced by strategies that slow down the acquisition process but enhance long-term retention and transfer). Narratives and didactic communication did not differ in their change of erroneous beliefs and stimulate intentions to change, but narratives led to a higher awareness of the importance of desirable difficulties for learning.