Spaced Practice

Success doesn’t come overnight.

What is it?

This simple method of spacing out your studying makes a big difference in helping to form lasting memories. It’s a pretty simple concept: space out the times that you study. Instead of spending 5 hours the night before a test studying you would spread out that five hours over the course of a few weeks before the test.

Why is it Effective?

Refresh: You Naturally forget information over time. But if you refresh your memory periodically, before you’ve forgotten.
Well-Travelled Path: To use our jungle path analogy, spacing increases the number of times you walk down the path. It also spaces out when you do the trips. Doing a number of trips over a period of time helps you to really remember the path.
Let the information set: if we compare learning to building a wall, spacing allows time for the mortar for a layer of bricks to set before we add the next layer of bricks.

How to Use Spaced Practice

One way is to use your calendar to write down times to study. Whether you use paper or digital calendar give yourself set times to practice for a test in the weeks before the test.
If you need help setting or remembering a schedule.

When to Use Spaced Practice

As you might guess, this technique works best when you have time to study before you need to remember. You’ll need days at least, weeks at best.
Other than that, you can use this to help you learn pretty much everything.

Tips & Tricks

Use this in combination with other study techniques. Spacing just spreads out when you study. Make sure to use the other skills on this site when you do study and don’t just reread your notes.
Block out realistic amounts of time to study. Don’t schedule 2 hours if you won’t be able to actually do that. Even scheduling 15–30 minute blocks that are spaced out will give benefits.

Video Overview

[video 2:59] Study Strategies: Spaced Practice https://youtu.be/3WJYp98eys8

[length: 1:41] This video is a visual overview of spaced practice. It was created by the Learning Scientists. View this video on YouTube.

Resources

Downloads

[pdf 1 page quick guide] Learn to Study Using Spaced Practice
[pdf] Weekly Action Plan
- For more information on the plan visit This website.

Podcasts and web sites

[website] The Learning Scientists: Retrieval Practice
[website] How to Remember More of What You Learn with Spaced Repetition Study
- This page also has a video that is linked above The Most Powerful Way to Remember What You Study.
[web app] SRS Scheduler
[web app] Anki
- This is a spaced repetition study app. The online and desktop versions are free as is the Android app. The iOS app costs $25 and that cost is used to pay for development of the platform.
[podcast 21:09] Spaced Practice
[podcast 16:32] How Students Can use Spacing and Retrieval Practice
[podcast 11:28] Bite-Size Research on Spaced Retrieval
[podcast 21:21] Sleep, Learning, and Self Care