Spacing and Interleaving: counterintuitive way of study

Have you ever tried to cram 100 pages of textbook at the night right before history test? Or recite all those complicated Calculus formulas 3 hours before the quiz? I have. It just seems so reasonable to put all the work, spend few hours or a whole day, and finish it together. Doesn't it?

However, researches have showed that this is not how our brains work. Here are two of  those principles that researches find efficient for students to apply on subjects such as science, and art.


NO.1 Space your study time

If you have a test next week, you'd start to review right now and plan your study time evenly throughout the 7 days. Seemingly a clique, starting early is based on the findings demonstrated by years of research. When spending same amount of time, you wait longer between two sessions of studying. According to Williams College psychologist Nate Kornell, PhD, his research paper proposes that spacing is much more efficient than cramming. The more time you space between two period of study, the more you forget, and therefore the more reinforcement of your memory when you review again, though a really long break will be negative to memory.


NO.2 Interleave your subjects

It is common sense that students focus on one subject at a time, which seems to be more organized and concentrated. However, Robert Bjork, PhD, a psychologist in UCLA, thinks differently. His research paper which discusses the effect of interleaving points out that interleaving, by pushing students to distinguish the differences and similarities between two or more subjects, improves memory significantly.

In general, both spacing and interleaving enhance the long-term memory of students. For more information, check out the article from American Psychological Association that introduce even more surprising and useful principle for study.