Why Desirable Difficulties ‘Work’: A Review of the Evidence From Cognitive and Educational Psychology and Some Caveats for the Health Professions Education Field

While there is ample evidence supporting the efficacy of desirable difficulties, it is crucial to approach their implementation with caution. Greater perceived difficulty or disfluency should not be conflated uncritically with greater educational benefit. Lack of clarity as to what is, and what is not, a desirably difficult practice has been evident in published health professions education literature. Educators and researchers alike should have a clear understanding of the definitions and theoretical bases of desirable difficulties to advance practice and theory.