Primary education and physical education

Spacing -- A considerable amount of time passes after the material is first learned.

Retrieval -- Students must retrieve the previously learned information from memory during a new learning session.

Repetition -- The process is repeated and material is re-learned over several sessions.

Essentially, the learning process looks like this:
Short term retention → spacing → retrieval → long term retention.
Think of this learning technique like sets of a workout. You need a break in between to gain the full benefits, reduce fatigue and develop important muscle groups or, in this case, skills.
But what does this break look like?
At this point, you’re probably asking one of the following questions:
Q: How long should the break be?
A: Experts say the optimal gap between learning sessions is about 10-30% of the retention interval-- the length of time you want students to remember the information.
For example, if you were preparing for a final test next month, the ideal spacing would be around 6 days. If it was something you wanted students to remember for 6 months, the ideal spacing would be around a month.
Q: How many learning sessions should there be?
A: This depends on a few factors:

• 
  How much are you trying to learn or teach?
  
• 
  How soon is the test or end of the learning period?
  
• 
  What’s your overall goal?
  

Carefully answering these questions will help you come up with a reasonable plan that compliments what educators plan to teach. One subject might naturally demand more learning sessions than another, so it’s important to carefully consider the questions above.
Distributed practice will likely look different across subjects. School leaders must show teachers and students how to space practice for various subjects. And teachers must provide opportunities for both group spaced learning (in the classroom) and individual spaced learning (studying).

Retrieval practice

Retrieval practice and distributed practice go hand in hand. This learning strategy is based on the idea that consciously bringing information to mind boosts learning -- a necessary component for productive distributed practice.
Retrieval refers to information recall, using long-term memory to make connections and inform future learning. In other words, pulling knowledgeout oftheir minds and not just putting informationinto them.
In practical applications, it means formulating answers to a question -- not just reading or hearing it. This encourages students to dig into their memories for lessons they’ve already learned and helps create relevant connections and critical thinking skills.
The goal of retrieval practice is to improve learning. You want the retrieval to be challenging enough so it maximizes the benefit of long-term learning. If something takes a lot of effort to retrieve, it doesn't mean you didn't learn enough... it means you’re currently learning!
Teachers can use many methods in the classroom for retrieval practice, including tests and quizzes, practice problems, and writing assignments.
One UK teacher proposed the following method for regular quizzes that involve retrieval and distributed practice:
My quizzes now appear something like this:
Q1 – Q3 – retrieve key knowledge from last lesson.
Q4 – retrieve key knowledge from last week.
Q5 – retrieve key knowledge from last term.
Q6 – retrieve key knowledge from last lesson and connect it to knowledge from last term.