• Question: Is there research which informs advice about the optimal amount of time between study sessions to improve pupils' factual recall?

    Asked by mcnallym to Joni, Duncan, Catriona on 15 Apr 2015.
    • Photo: Catriona Morrison

      Catriona Morrison answered on 15 Apr 2015:

      Sleep!
      Sleep is incredibly beneficial for recall. Even a short dose of good sleep can really enhance memory. So, to set students up for an exam, I would advise them to study in the evening (on a decent meal, because we know that good food aids learning too – starvation is not wise), have a good 8/9 hours’ sleep, and eat a sensible breakfast (eggs and Omega 3s, if possible). Then they will be well primed for the exam situation.

    • Photo: Duncan Astle

      Duncan Astle answered on 9 May 2015:

      I think you are really asking about spaced versus massed practice. This is an effect that we have known about in cognitive psychology for loooooong time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacing_effect).

      The idea is that repeatedly revisiting ideas and concepts significantly helps to improve the durability of their retention. The idea is that the representation of that information drops to near zero, and then the process of reinstating that representation boosts its strength. Once this is repeated the end result is that the information is far more durable… than had you simply had all the learning in one block (without those ‘zero’ periods in between).

      24 hour delays seems popular (with plenty of research behind them)… so structuring learning to allow for these periods might be a good idea!
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_Practice

Comments

  • Photo: Carolina

    Carolina commented on :

    Hello. This is a fantastic question and a tricky one at the same time. I conducted studies to tackle this research question. The answer to this question is: The optimal time between study sessions depends on various factors. One such key factor is the length of the interval between the last learning session and the final test (I will call this “test interval”). Research shows that the longer the test interval – thus, the longer your test is in the future and away from the last time you have studied the material – the more you will benefit from longer intervals between study episodes. If your final assessment is in the nearer future, then shorter sessions between study episodes will be better. Your follow-up question could now be: Ok great, but how long should the interval between study sessions be? And the answer to this: Researchers don’t know exactly. In some studies, a 1-day interval between two study sessions has been shown to be best when the test is one week later, and an interval of 10 days has been shown to be best for a test that is a month later. However, these numbers are only valid for the specific material used (usually verbal learning) and only when two study sessions are used. In real life, students will engage much more often with the material than that. So, the general advice that I like to give is: Try to use an expanding learning schedule. This means that the intervals become longer over time. This had been shown a good way to introduce spaced practice for long-term retention.