A group of learning scientists recently identified easy-to-use learning techniques that can help teachers and students achieve their learning goals.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory we spoke with dr. Sean kang, an assistant professor and director of the cognition & education lab at dartmouth college, about distributed practice, one technique proven to be effective in improving student learning.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory what is distributed practice, and how has it been shown to improve learning?

When we want to learn something well, studying the information or practicing the task just once is almost always inadequate.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory reviewing the information or practicing at the right time is critical for durable learning. Distributed practice refers to reviews that take place some time after the original learning event, as opposed to reviews that occur immediately following the original learning event (termed massed practice).Jean piaget cognitive learning theory

In the research literature, the learning advantage of distributed over massed practice is known as the spacing effect. In general, the research evidence is clear that spaced or distributed practice is superior to massed practice for long-term learning and retention.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory even when the total time spent on studying or practice is equated, if the review(s) is/are spaced apart rather than massed, long-term learning is enhanced.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory in other words, for each unit of time spent on review, you get more bang for your buck if the review is spaced or distributed instead of massed.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory often, this is translated into a warning against cramming before exams.

It should, however, be noted that the spacing effect, to be precise, refers to the benefit of spaced or distributed reviews of the same information.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory it does not speak to the spreading out of the study of different material over several sessions or days (e.G., studying a different chapter on each day of the week instead of studying all the chapters on one day).Jean piaget cognitive learning theory why does distributed practice work?

There are a few different theories as to why distributed practice is advantageous. According to the study-phase retrieval theory, each time you encounter an item during review, there is an attempted retrieval from memory.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory if that retrieval is successful (i.E., you are reminded of the earlier occurrence), the memory becomes more resistant to forgetting. In distributed practice, gaps between occurrences of an item make retrieval effortful, which benefits memory.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory in massed practice, you just saw the item and it is still on your mind, so there is no need to retrieve it from memory.

Another explanation has to do with contextual variability.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory when information is encoded in memory, the surrounding context (e.G., what you are thinking of, how you are feeling, how the information is presented, etc.) is also encoded and can later serve as a useful cue for retrieving the information.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory with massed practice, the context surrounding each consecutive occurrence of an item is likely highly similar. But with distributed practice, the contexts are likely more variable due to the passage of time, resulting in the encoding of different contextual information that is more effective at cueing later retrieval.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory A final, perhaps more intuitive, explanation is that when you encounter the same item back-to-back (i.E., massed practice), you become habituated to it and pay less attention.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory how do the effects of distributed practice vary with different types of information?

Although most of the prior studies on distributed practice examined memory for lists of random words or word pairs, the advantage of distributed practice has also been shown on tasks as diverse as spelling, phonics, grammar, recall of text and prose, and solving of math problems.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory it is true that the bulk of the past research has focused on memory (e.G., being able to recall the studied information), but there has been some interesting recent work showing the utility of distributed practice for higher-order learning.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory

Haley vlach and colleagues found that distributed lessons improved elementary school children’s ability to generalize their learning about food chains to new biomes.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory melody wiseheart and colleagues showed that college students that received a spaced online review after a lecture were better able to apply the studied concepts to novel situations than students that received a massed online review.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory more research is needed, but I think there is growing evidence that the benefit of distributed practice goes beyond just improved memory. What non-obvious advice about distributed practice do you have for educators, instructional designers, and digital learning tool developers?Jean piaget cognitive learning theory

Cepeda and colleagues compared the effects of different spacing lags on different retention intervals (the time between the last review and the final test).Jean piaget cognitive learning theory the findings suggest that after initially learning facts, the optimal gap before having a review session is about 10 to 30 percent of the retention interval.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory for example, if the retention interval is seven days, then you would be best served by having the review session one day after initial learning.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory if the retention interval is long (say, 70 days), then the optimal gap also grows (21 days). Yet, there is no clear-cut answer as to how far apart learning sessions should be.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory we will never be able to empirically test all the various combinations of factors (e.G., type of learning task or material, characteristics of the learner, the particular gaps or retention intervals being considered) that affect learning outcomes.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory

The stark reality is that forgetting is ubiquitous, and the only way to preserve high levels of performance and retention is to have periodic (spaced) review sessions.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory the nice thing about spaced review sessions is that there are savings in relearning—i.E., you may not be able to recall every item correctly at the start of a review session (because of forgetting), but you are quicker at relearning the information.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory for example, if you learned a foreign language in high school but can no longer speak it fluently, you would pick up the language more easily now than if you were learning it for the first time.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory how can the increased use of technology in both formal and informal settings help teachers and students leverage the benefits of distributed practice?Jean piaget cognitive learning theory

I think technology can absolutely be a boon for distributed practice. Classroom instruction has traditionally adhered to a linear or modular structure—one topic is covered at a time, followed by massed practice (homework assignments are usually related to the most recently introduced topic).Jean piaget cognitive learning theory after a unit exam, the topic is often never brought up again. Even if teachers are aware and convinced of the benefits of distributed practice, it is easy to see why it might be inconvenient or difficult for them to deviate from the usual approach.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory teachers are constrained by limited class time, and it might take a seemingly excessive amount of planning to organize the topics so they recur in a distributed fashion.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory

But this is where technology can play a very helpful role. If computers are used to deliver assignments, the software can be programmed to sequence the assignments in a way that ensures the student receives distributed practice.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory instead of the teacher planning for practice to be spread out over time, s/he could rely on a computer program to apportion the practice questions such that the student continues to get practice on a given topic long after it is covered in class.Jean piaget cognitive learning theory