The Spacing Effect: Building Study Skills
By Kristopher Heaton, Premier Tutor with Tutoring For Success
One of the main reasons that many students struggle in school is poor study skills. A particular study skill called Spaced Repetition can help.
If you’re like me, studying can feel like a huge time-sink. If you’re like most students, you’ve probably spent hours cramming for a test, only to forget most of what you studied a few days later. Good news: there’s an easy, low-stress way to remember more of what you learned and improve your study skills. The secret is spacing out your study time with a trick called spaced repetition. This technique is the epitome of “work smarter, not harder.” Giving your brain time to process and store information over time allows you to remember more with less effort.
Today, you get to learn how spaced repetition works, why it’s a good study skills technique, and how to use it to improve study skills.
History of the Spacing Effect
Spaced repetition is a study skill based on a psychological concept called the spacing effect, which is simple: your brain retains information better when you spread out your study sessions over time rather than cramming everything in one go. Sounds pretty great. Well, this idea isn’t new. It goes back to the late 1800s when a psychologist named Hermann Ebbinghaus first studied memory. He found that we forget things over time, but we can make those memories stick by reviewing them regularly. The trick is spacing out your review study skill sessions so your brain has time to absorb and strengthen those memories.
Why It Works
So, why is the spacing effect such an incredible study skill? Well, because of how your brain learns. It’s harder to remember when you forget something, but the harder you try to remember, the stronger the memory becomes, like a good workout. Consistency is king. Returning to what you’ve learned after some time makes these memories better and longer lasting.
How to Use It to Improve Study Skills
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how you can use this technique to study more effectively:
- Break up your study sessions: Instead of tackling all your study time in one go (it sounds exhausting), break it into small chunks so your brain has the much-needed space to process the information.
- Review material more than once: Instead of doing what we’ve all been tempted to do and cramming right before an exam, review your notes a few times over days or weeks, ideally blocking out and scheduling specific times to do so. The better you plan, the better your information becomes retained long-term.
- Use active recall: Quiz yourself on what you learned, or have an accountability buddy quiz you. Actively trying to remember the information will help it stick.
The Leitner System (Flashcards)
One of the best ways to use spaced repetition is with flashcards, and the Leitner System is an excellent method to get started. This is how you do it:
- Organize your flashcards into boxes: The idea is simple: each box represents a different study interval. Box 1 might mean reviewing daily, Box 2 might mean reviewing every other day, and so on.
- Move your cards: When you get a card right, move it to the next box, which will wait longer until your following review. If you get it wrong, just put it back in Box 1 so you know to review it more frequently. The result? Less time spent on what you already understand and more time on the more complex material means you get closer and closer to needing less time to study overall.
This method helps you study smarter, not harder, by focusing your energy where it’s needed most.
Spaced Repetition Apps
While the Leitner System works wonders for paper flashcards, some fantastic apps can help with a digital approach to the spacing effect. One of the most popular is Anki. It’s free for most platforms (except iPhones, which cost $25) and lets you create digital flashcards and track your progress. Anki even spaces out your review sessions automatically based on how well you know each card, making it easy to study efficiently.
There are other apps, too, including Memrise, Quizlet, and TinyCards (for iPhone users). These apps add fun features like games, pictures, and audio to your flashcards, making studying more interactive and enjoyable.
Other Options
There are plenty of more straightforward options if that’s what you want. Flashcards Deluxe and SuperMemo are other great apps that help you practice spaced repetition. Choose what works best for you.
Conclusion
Spaced repetition is easily one of the best ways to improve memory and study more effectively and efficiently. By breaking up your study sessions over time, actively recalling what you’ve learned, and using tools like the Leitner System or apps like Anki, you can retain more information with less effort. So when your next test comes around, a new subject rears its head in school, or you feel like learning something new, try to space out your study time and watch the magic happen. You will make your learning life a lot easier by doing this.
