A desirable difficulty is a learning task that requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby improving long-term performance.
Examples include:
- Retrieval practice (eg: flashcards, see Anki)
- Spacing and interleaving (eg: Spaced Repetition)
To determine whether a difficulty is desirable, use the following three guidelines:
- The processing at encoding should be the same as the processing at retrieval.
- The processing at encoding should be the same as the processing during practice.
- The task must be able to be accomplished. Too difficult a task may dissuade the learner and prevent full processing.
Bibliography
“Desirable Difficulty.” 2022. Wikipedia, January. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Desirable_difficulty&oldid=1065561009.