Spaced Practice
Spaced practice means that you must plan a schedule for your learning and review
of material. You must not wait until the night before a test. Massed practice, also known
as “cramming,” is not an effective way to learn for the long term. When you cram, you are
relying too much on your working memory. Overloading your working memory may result
in freezing up or going blank during a test. At the very least, cramming does not promote
long-term learning.
The best schedule for studying allows for new learning to consolidate over time. The
first study session on new material is the hardest and requires the most effort. After you
feel that you have retrieved the new information correctly, sleep on it! You will need all
five stages of sleep to consolidate that new learning. Researchers believe that each stage
of sleep impacts different types of skills and learning.
You may wish to review your initial learning you did the next day. Then skip a
couple days before you review it again. It will be challenging to retrieve the information
but do the best you can. Check your notes or textbook to make sure your memory is
accurate. The harder your memory has to work, the better the learning that will take
place.
Procrastination is your enemy! The best learning takes place over time. For
example, if you plan to study for a total of two hours on a topic, it is better to break up
that 120 minutes over several days instead of practicing one time for two hours straight.
Your calendar might look like this:
Study Session 1
Study Session 2 Study Session 3 Study Session 4
Study and Learn
Restudy
Restudy
Restudy
50 minutes
30 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes
Monday
Tuesday
Friday
Sunday
TEST
The best timing intervals depend on when the test will be given. Researchers say
that if the test is in a week, the best interval is a day or two (20 to 40 percent). If the test
is one month, the best interval is one week. The further the test is away, the larger the
optimal interval between sessions one and two.
Adapted from the following book:
Carey, Benedict (2014). How we learn: The surprising truth about where, when and why it happens. New
York: Random House.