Is recitation an effective tool for adult learners?

•Retrieval practice enhances subsequent retention.•Recitation (covert self-testing with feedback) is one form of retrieval practice.•In adult learners, across 4 experiments, recitation failed to enhance subsequent retention.

The effects of recitation on subsequent recall were examined in 4 experiments modeled after those of Gates (1917). Participants underwent a study phase, a recitation phase, and a test phase. During the recitation phase participants were to attempt to recall the previously studied material and then to restudy it when they could not recall any new information. They were encouraged to switch between recalling and restudying. The proportion of the total acquisition time that was spent in recitation was varied. Unlike the classic findings reported by Gates (1917) in schoolchildren, there was no consistent evidence that recitation enhanced learning in these adult learners.