We get it — a lot of people cram. But did you know that research indicates that cramming does not help you remember information in the long term? Instead, try spaced practice, which helps you remember concepts and information in a more long-lasting way. And it prevents you from engaging in unhealthy all-night cram sessions!

WHAT IS SPACED PRACTICE?

IT SPACES OUT YOUR STUDYING. In a nutshell, spaced practice (some people call it “distributed practice”) is the opposite of cramming. It involves regular, frequent study sessions that expose your brain to the information you need many times over a long period. Cramming (sometimes called “massed practice”) has been shown to lead to poorer retention — which means that you’ll remember material better, and for longer, if you engage in many shorter study sessions that are spaced out over time than you will if you try to study in one big chunk immediately before an exam.

IT REQUIRES PLANNING. Spaced practice works best when you do it regularly. So, if you have a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, schedule a short study session for that class on each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You want to review information from each class, but not immediately — remember, the idea is to space out your practice so that you keep ideas and information in your mind. 

How long should you schedule each study session? That depends on the complexity of the material as well as the time that’s available in your schedule. For some classes, regular sessions of 10-15 minutes might be enough.

WHAT IF I FORGET THINGS? You’re human, so you will forget some of what you learn. But with spaced practice, you’ll refresh your memory, giving yourself repeated exposure to course information. That will help you in the long term.

HOW DOES SPACED PRACTICE WORK?

THINK OF LEARNING A SPORT. If you play basketball, did you learn to shoot baskets by having only one shooting practice session? If you play tennis, did you cultivate a great backhand by only practicing it during one session? Studying is similar — you have to have many practice sessions for the same skill or content to get good at it, and you have to space that practice out rather than do it all at once to build up your ability. 

PRACTICE. Study by self-quizzing, creating concept maps, or otherwise making your study time active. End study sessions with a review of what you’ve covered, and start new study sessions by testing yourself on material that you’ve previously learned.

Remember, “practice” means different things for different courses. It might mean doing more example problems for economics or chemistry classes, but it might mean formulating questions about difficult theoretical texts in an English or philosophy class.

PLAN. Some people like to study in one-hour increments, while others like their practice sessions to last two hours or longer. You may need to experiment with the length of your study sessions to see what works for you — but make sure to build in breaks. Those are good opportunities to move around, stretch, and give yourself a small reward (like time spent with friends, playing video games for 20 minutes, or enjoying a snack).  This helps keep you refreshed.

It will help you to set up regular practice (or study) sessions for each of your courses so that you frequently review the information for each course. That’s what will allow you to feel more confident when taking a test, and what will give you a better starting point for an essay- or report-writing assignment.

FURTHER RESOURCES 

Gurung, Regan A.R. and Dunlosky, John. “Ch. 4: Spacing It Out” in Study Like a Champ: The Psychology-Based Guide to Grade A Study Habits (2022).

University of Arizona, Office of Academic Affairs. “Spaced Practice.”

University of Iowa, Learning at Iowa. “Spaced Practice vs. Massed Practice: Why Cramming Doesn’t Work

FACULTY FAUCET

We know that it’s important to circle back to concepts and ideas repeatedly throughout varying periods of time for effective learning. Consider starting or ending class with:

  • A quick online quiz (try the Poll Everywhere add-on to Google slides, or use Mentimeter)
  • An exit ticket (brief question or task to help you gauge students’ understanding of new material or skills)
  • Simply asking students to recall material or skills covered previously in the course. 

This kind of review is especially important for novice learners who are building their knowledge base, but it helps all students to reinforce their learning. See advice on spaced practice from the University of Arizona (use the QR code to access via the digital version of this poster).