Adaptive Learning and the Allocation of Time

Time is a perishable resource that cannot be reallocated once it has elapsed. As a result, time allocation decisions must often be adjusted on the basis of information that becomes available during the process of allocation itself. We show that adaptive rules of this kind will not generally result in optimal allocations when the relationship between the optimal allocation and the time budget exhibits discontinuities, as is the case with logistic learning curves. Under such circumstances, self-guided study is likely to perform poorly relative to appropriately guided learning.