Rehearsal (Educational Psychology)

Rehearsal, in educational psychology, is the cognitive process in which information is repeated over and over as a possible way of learning and remembering it, and educational psychology recognizes two types. Maintenance rehearsal repeats material, aloud or silently, until it enters working memory, as when a phone number is looked up and dialed before it is forgotten; it is a common form of rote learning and is viewed as an ineffective route into long-term memory even though the material may eventually register given enough time and effort. Elaborative rehearsal instead connects newly learned material to memories a person already holds, without relying on repetition, and strategies that engage learners in elaboration make memories more storable and retrievable later.