Primary education and physical education

Massed vs. distributed practice

Think back to the scenario we discussed at the beginning of this article. Teachers focusing on one unit at a time, students cramming for tests, and forgetting material.
That form of learning is called massed practice-- the polar opposite of distributive practice.
Massed practice comes down to cramming. It involves fewer, longer learning sessions with little to no rest in between. Reviews happen right after the original learning event and learning is generally more intense.
Advantages and disadvantages exist for both learning theories, though research seems to favor distributed practice.
Let’s explore some benefits and drawbacks of massed vs. distributed practice.


Whichever practice you use would largely depend on the desired outcome and how much learning there is to do.
In school settings, distributed practice is typically a smarter choice -- it helps students remember things they need to know all year long, so they can build upon prior knowledge.

7 Distributed practice strategies for your school

Now that you’re familiar with distributed practice as a theory, it’s time to take action!
Share these seven distributed practice examples and strategies with your teachers, so they can help students learn.

1. Study schedules and journals

Most kids have trouble regulating their schedules, especially when it comes to homework.
Luckily, you can overcome this by making study schedules and journals a necessary part of your curriculum.

Image source: Shining Mom
Schedules help students create time to study each day, so they can steadily gain all the important benefits of distributed practice.
Teachers should make sure their students follow these steps:

1. 
   Write down their current after school schedules on a calendar.
   
2. 
   Try to find time they can dedicate to studying each day, at least three days a week.
   
3. 
   Choose how long each session will be, based on how busy they are and/or how long they can be productive for. This could range from five minutes to multiple hours.
   
4. 
   Add their study times to the calendar
   

Once the calendar is complete, students can use study journals to log whether or not they succeeded, and adjust their calendars as necessary. Encourage students to do daily self-reflections, and encourage teachers to check in with their students on an ongoing basis.
At the beginning, it can be a hard commitment for kids. But even if they don’t stick to the them, having these schedules can help motivate them to practice more than they otherwise would have.