Using Spacing to Enhance Diverse Forms of Learning: Review of Recent Research and Implications for Instruction

Every day, students and instructors are faced with the decision of when to study information. The timing of study, and how it affects memory retention, has been explored for many years in research on human learning. This research has shown that performance on final tests of learning is improved if multiple study sessions are separated—i.e., “spaced” apart—in time rather than massed in immediate succession. In this article, we review research findings of the types of learning that benefit from spaced study, demonstrations of these benefits in educational settings, and recent research on the time intervals during which spaced study should occur in order to maximize memory retention. We conclude with a list of recommendations on how spacing might be incorporated into everyday instruction.     

EXAMINING THE USE OF SPACING EFFECT TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF INCREMENTAL REHEARSAL

Incremental rehearsal (IR) is a highly effective intervention that uses high repetition and a high ratio of known to unknown items with linearly spaced known items between the new items. It has been hypothesized that narrowly spaced practice would result in quick learning, whereas items that are widely spaced would result in longer‐term retention. The current study examined the effect of spacing by teaching vocabulary words to 36 fourth‐grade students. Each student was randomly assigned to a widely spaced IR condition (i.e., one unknown item, one known item, one unknown item, two known items, one unknown item, three known items, and an increase in the number of known items presented each time by one) or an IR condition in which spacing increased exponentially (IR‐Exp; i.e., one unknown item, one known item, one unknown item, two known items, one unknown item, four known items, and one unknown item, eight known items). The results indicated that the students in the study retained twice as much information with the widely spaced IR than with the IR‐Exp condition, but the latter required half as much time. IR and IR‐Exp were equally efficient, but IR continues to be superior to all other flashcard approaches in improving retention.     

Wakefulness (Not Sleep) Promotes Generalization of Word Learning in 2.5‐Year‐Old Children

Sleep enhances generalization in adults, but this has not been examined in toddlers. This study examined the impact of napping versus wakefulness on the generalization of word learning in toddlers when the contextual background changes during learning. Thirty 2.5‐year‐old children (M = 32.94, SE = 0.46) learned labels for novel categories of objects, presented on different contextual backgrounds, and were tested on their ability to generalize the labels to new exemplars after a 4‐hr delay with or without a nap. The results demonstrated that only children who did not nap were able to generalize learning. These findings have critical implications for the functions of sleep versus wakefulness in generalization, implicating a role for forgetting during wakefulness in generalization.     

Spacing and induction: Application to exemplars presented as auditory and visual text

It is an established finding that spacing repetitions generally facilitates memory for the repeated events. However, the effect of spacing of exemplars on inductive learning is not really known. Two experiments using textual material were conducted to investigate the effect of spacing on induction. Experiment 1 and 2 extended the generality of recently observed spacing benefits to texts, regardless of whether they were visually or aurally presented. Interestingly, participants in both experiments judged massing to be more effective than spacing though their performance showed the opposite. Possible explanations for the superiority of the spaced condition over the massed condition in inductive learning, practical implications of the present study and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Extending Cognitive Load Theory to Incorporate Working Memory Resource Depletion: Evidence from the Spacing Effect

Depletion of limited working memory resources may occur following extensive mental effort resulting in decreased performance compared to conditions requiring less extensive mental effort. This “depletion effect” can be incorporated into cognitive load theory that is concerned with using the properties of human cognitive architecture, especially working memory, when designing instruction. Two experiments were carried out on the spacing effect that occurs when learning that is spaced by temporal gaps between learning episodes is superior to identical, massed learning with no gaps between learning episodes. Using primary school students learning mathematics, it was found that students obtained lower scores on a working memory capacity test (Experiments 1 and 2) and higher ratings of cognitive load (Experiment 2) after massed than after spaced practice. The reduction in working memory capacity may be attributed to working memory resource depletion following the relatively prolonged mental effort associated with massed compared to spaced practice. An expansion of cognitive load theory to incorporate working memory resource depletion along with instructional design implications, including the spacing effect, is discussed.     

Metacognition and the spacing effect: the role of repetition, feedback, and instruction on judgments of learning for massed and spaced rehearsal

Although memory performance benefits from the spacing of information at encoding, judgments of learning (JOLs) are often not sensitive to the benefits of spacing. The present research examines how practice, feedback, and instruction influence JOLs for spaced and massed items. In Experiment 1, in which JOLs were made after the presentation of each item and participants were given multiple study-test cycles, JOLs were strongly influenced by the repetition of the items, but there was little difference in JOLs for massed versus spaced items. A similar effect was shown in Experiments 2 and 3, in which participants scored their own recall performance and were given feedback, although participants did learn to assign higher JOLs to spaced items with task experience. In Experiment 4, after participants were given direct instruction about the benefits of spacing, they showed a greater difference for JOLs of spaced vs massed items, but their JOLs still underestimated their recall for spaced items. Although spacing effects are very robust and have important implications for memory and education, people often underestimate the benefits of spaced repetition when learning, possibly due to the reliance on processing fluency during study and attending to repetition, and not taking into account the beneficial aspects of study schedule.     

Educational drama in the teaching of education for sustainability

In this paper, I describe part of my research project that examines the use of Educational Drama in Education for Sustainability in the upper stages of the primary school (10‐ and 11‐year‐olds). Central to the research is a small‐scale qualitative research study. Here, I describe the educational focus of the study and outline the methodology. Central to the study was a series of drama lessons (taught by me) based on environmental themes. The lessons link with some of the key aims in Education for Sustainability—to help young people to develop awareness, knowledge and concepts, to encourage positive attitudes and personal lifestyle decisions and to help them to acquire action skills in and for the environment. The locus is within the Scottish education system. A number of key data were generated during the teaching and evaluation of the lessons. These take the form of field notes, children's evaluations of their work and learning, observation schedules, taped interviews with participants and observers and videotapes of the lessons. The analysis of the data is ongoing, but already there is substantial evidence to suggest that the drama was instrumental in helping the children to achieve the learning outcomes set for the lessons. Some of that evidence is presented here. I suggest that the active, participative learning central to drama is particularly useful for allowing children to develop skills in communication, collaboration and expressing ideas and opinions. Also, the immersion in the imagined context and narrative, integral to the ‘stories’ in the drama, allows the children to feel sympathy for and empathy with people who are affected by environmental issues and problems. In giving the children a context for research and in helping them to plan solutions and to suggest alternatives, the drama allows the participants opportunities to rehearse active citizenship and facilitates learning in Education for Sustainability.     

Simultaneous decisions at study: time allocation, ordering, and spacing

Learners of all ages face complex decisions about how to study effectively. Here we investigated three such decisions made in concert—time allocation, ordering, and spacing. First, college students were presented with, and made judgments of learning about, 16 word-synonym pairs. Then, when presented with all 16 pairs, they created their own study schedule by choosing when and how long to study each item. The results indicated that (a) the most study time was allocated to difficult items, (b) relatively easy items tended to be studied first, and (c) participants spaced their study at a rate significantly greater than chance. The spacing data, which are of particular interest, differ from previous findings that have suggested that people, including adults, believe massing is more effective than spacing.     

The myths about e‐learning in higher education

Proponents have marketed e‐learning by focusing on its adoption as the right thing to do while disregarding, among other things, the concerns of the potential users, the adverse effects on users and the existing research on the use of e‐learning or related innovations. In this paper, the e‐learning‐adoption proponents are referred to as the technopositivists. It is argued that most of the technopositivists in the higher education context are driven by a personal agenda, with the aim of propagating a technopositivist ideology to stakeholders. The technopositivist ideology is defined as a ‘compulsive enthusiasm’ about e‐learning in higher education that is being created, propagated and channelled repeatedly by the people who are set to gain without giving the educators the time and opportunity to explore the dangers and rewards of e‐learning on teaching and learning. Ten myths on e‐learning that the technopositivists have used are presented with the aim of initiating effective and constructive dialogue, rather than merely criticising the efforts being made.     

Commentary: School reform,teaching and learning

This commentary on the papers starts with the view that reform policies are additive, layered and unpredictable. Given this nature of reforms, the author suggests certain lessons for policymakers and policy researchers to learn. First, that a theory of learning should underlie policymakers’ implementation decisions. Second, that the multiplicity of reforms may block genuine learning. Third, that understanding the relationship between policy and practice requires an ‘inside‐out’ perspective which takes the changing of educational practice as the central concern rather than the policy environment.     

Spacing effects and their implications for theory and practice

There is considerable evidence, gathered in a variety of settings and across many different types of materials and procedures, that spaced repetitions—regardless of whether they are in the form of additional study opportunities or successful tests—are a highly effective means of promoting learning. Research on spacing effects is reviewed and its theoretical and educational implications are examined. It is concluded that spacing effects can best be understood in terms of the accessibility hypothesis, and that spaced repetitions have considerable potential for improving classroom learning.     

Enhancing Mathematical Problem Solving for Secondary Students with or at Risk of Learning Disabilities: A Literature Review

Requirements for reasoning, explaining, and generalizing mathematical concepts increase as students advance through the educational system; hence, improving overall mathematical proficiency is critical. Mathematical proficiency requires students to interpret quantities and their corresponding relationships during problem‐solving tasks as well as generalizing to different contexts; both requirements are particularly challenging for many students with learning disabilities. An in‐depth review of research was completed to (1) demonstrate how interventions targeting mathematical problem solving are categorized into heuristic, semantic, or authentic approaches; (2) explore the degree to which generalization is presented in each approach; and (3) determine the efficacy of each intervention approach. Experimental studies (n = 17) demonstrating the effects of interventions designed to enhance mathematical problem solving for secondary students with or at risk of learning disabilities were analyzed. Findings indicate that the efficacy of the three intervention approaches varies, and that the real‐world connections differ. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Toward a Typology of Business Education in the Internet Age*

Many diverse forces are motivating institutions of higher education, particularly business schools, to develop and deliver education via the Internet. As higher education institutions explore this opportunity, the question of how courses and degree programs should be designed for effective online delivery via the Internet is a nontrivial concern and challenge. To address this concern and challenge, this paper articulates, defines, and justifies a typology consisting of four types of online distance education that can be pursued by institutions of higher education. The four online distance education types—Overview Model, Overview Model with Feedback, Technical‐Skills Model, and Managerial Learning Model—can be differentiated along a number of content‐related, delivery‐related, and learning‐related issues and have applicability at various educational levels. In addition, the paper highlights and discusses five key lessons for institutions to consider in their desire to launch online distance education initiatives. These lessons provide insights not only for launch success but also for the ongoing sustainability of online distance education.     

Attaining meaningful learning of concepts in genetics and ecology: An examination of the potency of the concept-mapping technique

Studies have shown that in their study of biology, students perceive genetics and ecology to be difficult areas to learn. This has translated into rote learning of genetics and ecological concepts and reflected in poor performance in tests involving these concepts. Considering the importance of genetics and ecology to man's understanding of himself and his environment, there is a need to inquire into ways of ensuring that students attain meaningful learning of genetics and ecology rather than learning by rote. The efficacy of the concept-mapping strategy was tried out in this study with 138 predegree biology students. The results showed that the 63 students in the experimental group who employed the concept-mapping technique performed significantly better on the test of meaningful learning in genetics, t(136) = 16.01. p < 0.001, and ecology, t(136) = 12.27, p < 0.001, than their control group counterparts (N = 75). The implications of these results for teacher education in biology are addressed in the article.     

The effects of a short-term professional development program on physical education teachers’ behaviour and students’ engagement in learning

This study examined the effect of a short-term training programme οn in-service physical education teachers’ behaviour and students’ engagement in learning. Teachers (n = 32) were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. Each teacher’s behaviour was observed in six lessons; two for each measurement (pre, post and retention) and analysed with qualitative dimensions of lesson introduction, task presentations and lesson closure. Student engagement was analysed with the time analysis form. The total and successful attempts of selected students were also recorded. The experimental group attended a two-hour lecture followed by a two-hour practicum, and showed significant improvement and learning of all the examined behaviours as well as significantly higher performance than the control group. Also, students of the experimental teacher group presented significantly greater activity time, more practice attempts and more successful ones than their peers in the control group. The results establish the effect of the training programme on teacher behaviour and student engagement in learning.     

Engaging junior college students in computer‐mediated lessons using scaffolding strategies

This paper discusses the findings of a collective case study of two junior colleges in Singapore. It aims to identify and describe the scaffolding strategies used by teachers to engage students in computer‐mediated lessons. For students to engage in the learning process, they need to be equipped with the learning strategies and see the relevance of the concepts and principles presented. By employing methods such as observations, focus group discussions with students and face‐to‐face interviews with teachers, an account of how scaffolding strategies are used in computer‐mediated lessons is generated. The account identifies and describes four categories of scaffolding strategies: orienting activities, peer interactions, prompts and modelling.     

Learning to Write: Plowing and Hoeing,Labor and Essaying

In this paper Amanda Fulford addresses the issue of student writing in the university, and explores how the increasing dominance of outcome‐driven modes of learning and assessment is changing the understanding of what it is to write, what is expected of students in their writing, and how academic writing should best be supported. The starting point is the increasing use of what are termed “technologies” of writing — “handbooks” for students that address issues of academic writing — that systematize, and smooth the work of writing in, Fulford argues, an unhelpful way. This leads to a reconsideration of what it means to write in the university, and what it is to be a student who writes. Fulford explores etymologically the concept of “writing” and suggests that it might be seen metaphorically as physical labor. Writing as physical labor is explored further through the agricultural metaphors in Henry David Thoreau's Walden and through Stanley Cavell's reading of that text. In making a distinction between writing‐as‐plowing and writing‐as‐hoeing, Fulford argues that some technologies of writing deny voice rather than facilitate it, and she concludes by offering a number of suggestions for the teaching and learning of writing in the university that emphasize the value of being lost (in one's subject and one's work) and finding one's own way out. These “lessons” are illustrated with reference to Thoreau's text Walden and to American literature and film.     

The Comparative Effects of Prediction/Discussion‐Based Learning Cycle,Conceptual Change Text,and Traditional Instructions on Student Understanding of Genetics

The present study examined the comparative effects of a prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle, conceptual change text (CCT), and traditional instructions on students' understanding of genetics concepts. A quasi‐experimental research design of the pre‐test–post‐test non‐equivalent control group was adopted. The three intact classes, taught by the same science teacher, were randomly assigned as prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle class (N = 30), CCT class (N = 25), and traditional class (N = 26). Participants completed the genetics concept test as pre‐test, post‐test, and delayed post‐test to examine the effects of instructional strategies on their genetics understanding and retention. While the dependent variable of this study was students' understanding of genetics, the independent variables were time (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3) and mode of instruction. The mixed between‐within subjects analysis of variance revealed that students in both prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle and CCT groups understood the genetics concepts and retained their knowledge significantly better than students in the traditional instruction group.     

Knowledge Restructuring in the Development of Children’s Cosmologies

The development of children’s cosmologies was investigated over a 13‐year period, using multi‐modal, in‐depth interviews with 686 children (217 boys, 227 girls from New Zealand and 129 boys, 113 girls from China), aged 2–18. Children were interviewed while they observed the apparent motion of the Sun and Moon, and other features of the Earth; drew their ideas of the shape and motion of the Earth, Moon and Sun, and the causes of daytime and night‐time; then modelled them using play‐dough; which led into discussion of related ideas. These interviews revealed that children’s cosmologies were far richer than previously thought and surprisingly similar in developmental trends across the two cultures. There was persuasive evidence of three types of conceptual change: a long‐term process (over years) similar to weak restructuring; a medium‐term process (over months) akin to radical restructuring; and a dynamic form of conceptual crystallisation (often in seconds) whereby previously unconnected/conflicting concepts gel to bring new meaning to previously isolated ideas. The interview technique enabled the researchers to ascertain children’s concepts from intuitive, cultural, and scientific levels. The evidence supports the argument that children have coherent cosmologies that they actively create to make sense of the world rather than fragmented, incoherent “knowledge‐in‐pieces”.