![]() ![]() What’s the science behind spaced repetition? ![]() From Harvard to MIT, leading educational institutions continue to encourage students to practice spaced repetition due to its proven efficacy and effectiveness. Spaced repetition has continued to be a tried-and-true retention technique within the education industry. This method of separating information by difficulty level and then re-visiting the more challenging information frequently over a longer course of time strengthens memory retention. Once some of those more difficult words start to become easier, they move them to the easy pile and repeat the pattern throughout. Each day they run through the easy pile once and the difficult pile three times, adding 10 new cards into the mix every day. Using spaced repetition, they create two piles, one of words they’re finding easier to memorize and one that has more difficult words. Using index cards, they write out one word and its definition on each card and commit to introducing 10 new cards per day. Let’s say someone had one week to memorize 70 new vocabulary words. This means more time is spent focusing on areas that need the most improvement, while easier concepts and information are still included in the study process to maintain regular exposure.Ī simple example is flash cards. Spaced repetition, also referred to as spaced learning, is a method of studying where more challenging and new information is reviewed more frequently while less challenging and older information is reviewed less frequently. No matter how tempting it can be to put off studying, planning ahead actually helps us more. This idea of regular exposure to learning information is called spaced repetition, a proven method of effective studying. Scientific studies have continually shown that certain learning techniques, from taking strategically timed breaks ( the Pomodoro Technique) to setting specific goals and diving deeper into the material ( deliberate practice) are essential in retaining information.Įven when we find ourselves incredibly busy, practicing or studying for as little as 20 minutes a day will help us more than bulked hours of last minute cramming. The reality is that committing to a small amount of studying daily will go a long way in understanding complex concepts and truly retaining the information that we’re learning. While we may be able to thinly slide by and land a passing grade for what we need, the information we’ve “memorized” was never truly stored in our memory, and within days we are back to square one. It also gives us a sense of false confidence. The reality is that this method has continually shown to do more harm than good and serves as only a short-term information storage method.Ĭramming increases our stress levels, negatively impacting our ability to concentrate and truly retain information. Some studies have even shown that 99% of people have done it. Truthfully, many of us have done it more than a few times. We all know someone who relies on cramming to prepare for a big exam. Cramming’s popularity doesn’t make it a smart study strategy. ![]()
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