Research has consistently shown that Spacing can lead to better learning and academic performance among students. However, a recent paper suggests that the magnitude of this benefit might depend on how much students understand initially about the concept that is taught.
So let’s dive into what Spacing is, why it works, and how it can be a game-changer for your students depending on their levels of initial understanding.
What is Spacing?
Spacing, also known as “Distributed Practice” or “Spaced Learning,” is a study technique that involves spreading study sessions out over time instead of cramming everything at once. This method has been widely researched and is known to improve long-term retention by 10% to 30% compared to cramming.
The “Spacing Effect” was first documented in 1885 by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who explored the “forgetting curve.” His research showed that without reinforcement, newly learnt information fades quickly from memory. However, when learning is spaced out, each review session helps reset the forgetting curve, making it less steep and slowing down the rate of forgetting. This cycle of forgetting and relearning is essential for strengthening memory traces and embedding knowledge into long-term memory.
By studying in shorter, frequent sessions rather than one prolonged session, students allow time for partial forgetting, forcing them to retrieve and relearn the material. This active recall process strengthens memory retention, making Spacing one of the most effective and enduring learning strategies in cognitive psychology.
Spacing in complex problem-solving tasks
So, Spacing is more effective than cramming for learning facts. But what about complex problem-solving, like tough Maths problems? For these, the benefits are less certain, with some research suggesting that Spacing may not work as well for learning complex skills.
The reason proposed is that difficult tasks take more time to understand and remember in the first place. If students don’t fully grasp a concept or problem-solving method during their initial learning, they may struggle to use it later, whether practice is spaced or not. When understanding is too weak at the start, the benefits of Spacing can shrink or even disappear.
What does the research say?
A recent study in Applied Cognitive Psychology explored how Spacing affects learning in Maths problem-solving. The study involved 61 primary school students who first watched a video teaching them how to solve specific maths equations. After the lesson, students were divided into two groups. One group (the cramming group) completed 12 practice problems all in one day, while the other group (the Spacing group) split the same 12 problems into three sessions across five days. A week after their final practice session, all students took a test to see how well they remembered what they learned.
So, what did the researchers find? Let’s take a look at the main findings from the study:
1. Spacing maintained students’ Maths problem-solving abilities
Students who used Spacing performed much better on the final test than those who crammed. In fact, they got 47.4% more correct answers and completed 55% more of the required solution steps.
Interestingly, Spacing did not make a big difference in how students performed from practice to final test. However, it helped them maintain their skills over time. In contrast, students who crammed saw their scores drop significantly—getting 43.1% fewer correct answers and 36.1% fewer correct steps on the final test compared to practice. Unlike Spacing, the cramming did not help the students remember or apply learned skills in the long run.
2. Students who did well in practice saw little benefit from Spacing
Students who performed well during practice didn’t gain much from Spacing; they did just as well whether they spaced out their study sessions or crammed. This led researchers to believe that having high initial understanding (hence allowing higher initial practice scores) leads to lesser Spacing effects.
So why does this happen? Taking insights from Cognitive Load Theory, cramming can overload the brain, making it harder to absorb and remember new information. Conversely, Spacing helps by giving the brain time to rest and process what was learned, making it easier to absorb new information.
However, for students who already understand the material well, cramming may not be as overwhelming. Since their brains don’t get as overloaded, they don’t benefit as much from the breaks that Spacing provides. In short, Spacing may be most helpful for students who are still building their knowledge.
Final thoughts on Spacing and initial understanding
Spacing is an effective study technique for long-term retention, but its benefits depend on a student’s starting knowledge. Specifically, students with very low or high levels of initial understanding may not experience the full advantages of Spacing. By customising study approaches and recommendations to match each student’s needs, we can enhance learning and make it more long-lasting.
