spaced vs massed practice – Cognition in Class

April 26, 2026April 27, 2026

Study Techniques; Spaced v.s Mass Practice

By: Leon Danta

Introduction

Have you ever tried to intensely study for a long period of time without breaks? If so, do not worry, you are amongst many who believe that this is an efficient way of studying. As a first year freshman, I came into college with some knowledge about studying, but not as much as I know now. It can be overwhelming entering a new stage in your life, especially if no one in your family was interested in furthering their education. With your first lectures you may think to yourself: Am I taking notes right? What does that mean? Is this useful? I can’t push you to study a certain way as to each their own but, personally what I thought was the best way to study was to cram everything into one session right before a test, although the outcomes varied. Or even studying for a long amount of time with no breaks.

April 27, 2025April 28, 2025

Don’t space out in class, space out your study time

By Elly Jones

Don’t exhaust yourself, use the spacing effect

It is easy to fall victim to procrastination and decide to cram a study session right before an exam. Procrastinating will only give you mediocre scores and a whole Lotta stress. Our brain can memorize information much more successfully when studying is spaced out across hours, days, or even weeks. Studying too much over a short period can lead to overstimulation of neurons and mental fatigue. If you want to get great exam scores while still being able to go out and enjoy yourself try out the spacing effect. Even if you only study for ten minutes every day for a week, you’ll have more success in memorizing the implementation than you would if you studied for two hours only once. You don’t have to give up your weekends to succeed.

April 28, 2024May 1, 2024

Taking breaks while studying? Who knew studying could be this easy

By Kloe Norris

Introduction

When people first get to college, most kids do not know how to study. Some kids come into college homeschooled, some did not go to a public school while others went to a school where they did not have to study for hard tests/exams. Incoming freshmen wanting to go to college are blindsided when it comes to how much studying really affects how well someone does in college. Coming to college has made me realize how much studying you have to do. Knowing how to study the right way is something that has helped tremendously while being in college. College is a scary thing but knowing how to study the right way and pass your classes will make college so much easier in the future.

The Spacing Effect and how it works

Just hearing the word Spacing effect when it comes to studying may scare some students off and they will probably look past it like it is nothing, but it is very important. The Spacing Effect, when it comes to studying, is one of the earliest discoveries in human learning (1). It is proven that if a student spaces out their studying and processes what they are learning, they will remember and learn the information and memorize it better (1). For example, if you have a big exam coming up, it is better for you to take breaks throughout the time you are studying to help understand the information more.