Rate My Professor Sean Kang

Sean Kang is an Associate Professor in the Science of Learning at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, a position he has held since 2019. He is a cognitive psychologist with a PhD in cognitive psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, completed in 2009, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the National University of Singapore in 2002. Prior to his current role, Kang was an Assistant Professor of Education at Dartmouth College, where he directed the Cognition & Education Lab, and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. His research centers on applying principles from the cognitive science of human learning and memory to enhance instructional practices. Key areas of focus include the benefits of retrieval practice (or testing), spaced or distributed repetition of study sessions, and interleaving different topics or problem types during practice to promote durable learning across various domains such as science category learning, visuospatial skills, and financial education.

Kang has an extensive publication record, with over 5,500 citations on Google Scholar. Notable works include 'Test format and corrective feedback modify the effect of testing on long-term retention' (2007, cited 893 times), 'Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning: Policy Implications for Instruction' (2016, cited 778 times), 'Using spacing to enhance diverse forms of learning: Review of recent research and implications for instruction' (2012, cited 732 times), and 'Examining the testing effect with open- and closed-book tests' (2008, cited 586 times). More recent contributions encompass 'The Distributed Practice Effect on Classroom Learning: A Meta-Analytic Review of Applied Research' (2025), 'Applying Cognitive Psychology to Improve Learning: Current Developments and Future Directions' (2024), and 'The promotion of self-regulated learning in the classroom: a theoretical framework and an observation study' (2024). He serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition and as an editorial board member for Educational Psychology and Contemporary Educational Psychology. Kang is a member of the Learning Intervention academic group at the University of Melbourne and contributes to teaching in areas such as educational neuroscience and brain, mind, and education.