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.
Why you can’t cram everything in right before the exam
It is shown by experts that trying to study the night before a big exam can mess with your brain. If you are trying to study for three or four chapters worth of notes and lectures, your brain tends to mix the information up. Researchers have found that the students that study a couple days before and take breaks in between have overall higher test scores than ones who cram all the information either the night before or the day of (2). Repeating the information while studying a couple days before helps your brain focus on that information. When it comes time for the exam, your brain knows the differences between all of the concepts and understands the information a lot better (3).
How the brain works when using the spacing effect when studying
The brain is something that is very confusing when it comes to how we learn and our abilities to learn and understand everything in the world. For centuries, researchers have been trying to find what is the most effective for children, especially students, to learn and remember the stuff they have learned. If you time the information while taking breaks, your brain has time to forget what was learned. When you come back to the information, your mind will remember seeing the information (4). This spacing effect process helps the brain focus on the specific concept that the student is trying to understand. Taking breaks is a must for students, especially college students because the breaks actually helps the brain forget then come back to the same information, resulting in better understanding of the chapters or whatever it is that you are studying for.
Reasons why you should use the Spacing Effect rather than other mechanisms
Time management is something that all college students have to figure out at some point. Studying periodically throughout the course of your classes will help you learn better. When it comes time for an exam, you will see the information that you have looked at throughout the weeks and remember talking about it in lectures. The spacing effect has helped tons of college students do better on exams and they see overall better exam scores. Having good time management and taking time to understand each concept learned in class will help you achieve better success in college and makes the professors happy to see you doing so well. As said earlier, it is proven that learning information in sections rather than in one sitting has a greater impact on learning (5). Spacing out trying to learn information can also help your stress level. Especially in college, it is easy to become stressed with all of the presentations, homework, quizzes/tests and lectures. Having set times to study throughout the week and already know the information is one of the key parts of being successful.
Conclusion
Coming into college may seem easy at first, but it can quickly become overwhelming and stressful. When it comes to studying and learning all of the concepts and material for each class the Spacing effect is the most effective. College has a lot of new experiences as an incoming freshman and classes sometimes get brushed away with everything else going on. Taking a few hours out of the day to go over materials each day will have a greater impact on your college career. Finding easier ways to study, by using the spacing effect will help the college experience as an incoming freshman be so much easier.
References
(1)Sewang, A. (2021). Understanding Learning Outcomes: Comparing the Effect of Spacing Instruction versus Massed Instruction. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 16(1), 328–340.
(2)Chen, O., Paas, F., & Sweller, J. (2022). Reply to Sana et al.’s (2022) Commentary on Rest-from-Deliberate-Learning as a Mechanism for the Spacing Effect. Educational Psychology Review, 34(3), 1851–1858. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09678-1
(3)Appleton-Knapp, S. L., Bjork, R. A., & Wickens, T. D. (2005). Examining the Spacing Effect in Advertising: Encoding Variability, Retrieval Processes, and Their Interaction. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(2), 266–276. https://doi.org/10.1086/432236
(4) Vlach, H. A. (2014). The Spacing Effect in Children’s Generalization of Knowledge: Allowing Children Time to Forget Promotes Their Ability to Learn. Child Development Perspectives, 8(3), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12079
(5) Miyamoto, Y. R., Coleman, C. A., Williams, J. J., Whitehill, J., Nesterko, S., & Reich, J. (2015). Beyond Time-on-Task: The Relationship between Spaced Study and Certification in MOOCs. Journal of Learning Analytics, 2(2), 47–69.
Do you use the spacing effect when studying? Have you seen any impacts on your retention (and outcomes) if you do? If not, after writing this post, do you think you want to implement it into your routine? How are you planning on doing this? Like you said, time management is super important, but can be a challenge, especially for student athletes like you and me. What effective specifics strategies could you implement other than just “taking breaks?”