- Distributed practice = a practice using many short sessions over a long period of time. 

- Massed practice = a practice using fewer, but longer, practice sessions. 

Using a distributed practice is proven to be an effective method in improving students learning outcomes. Students’ memory can stay for a longer time through distributed practice than massed practice. This is called the “spacing effect”.

Distributed practice vs Massed practice

Students space out their studying instead of massing (i.e. review the learning materials over a longer period of time). 

San Jose State University

Cramming is not beneficial to long term retention. Rather, the spacing effect has shown that it is helpful to study in smaller sessions throughout a long period of time.

Spacing Effect in Learning

Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making Things Hard on Yourself, But in a Good Way:
Creating Desirable Difficulties to Enhance Learning. Psychology and the Real World, 56-
64.

Making Things Hard on Yourself, But in a Good Way: Creating Desirable Difficulties to Enhance Learning

Spacing studying has been demonstrated to enhance student learning. even though this has been demonstrated in experimental settings, it is difficult for teachers to effectively develop instructional practices that include effective spacing strategies. spacing since it is a desirable difficulty, students struggle to "buy-in" to the strategy

Spacing Effect in Teaching Techniques

Spacing Effect in Study Habits

The outcomes of spacing and how much one can benefit from it can depend on different factors, including:
- comparing spacing and retention intervals
- prior knowledge/ability 
- degree of self-regulation of learning

Optimizing the spacing effect in education

To better understand the spacing effect in education, it's important to research what type of learning decisions students make when learning is self-regulated (as opposed to directed spacing in lab settings). One study used student data collected from a MOOC to examine if to examine various self-regulated spacing decisions and how they relate to student ability and learning outcomes. Spacing was defined as the number of sessions a student spent studying the unit that was covered by the quiz. Pretest grades (used to measure prior knowledge) and time spent in unit were used as predictor variables of performance. Data was analyzed from quizzes on 11 different units so that spacing effects could be examined within the same student.

Spacing effect in MOOCs

Study for one hour each day the week leading up to an exam, rather than studying all night the day before the exam.

Example of Spacing effect in learning

How the spacing effect has been used and observed in STEM learning by teachers and students. 

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