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The evidence behind the series
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Browse the scientific research and professional literature used across all seven volumes of The Science of Learning for Educators.
7book volumes
8author ranges
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1 reference
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- Vol 1 RE: Chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, App A, App B
- Vol 1 TE: App A
- Vol 2 RE: Chapter 10, App C, App D
- Vol 4 RE: App A, App C
- Vol 4 TE: App C
- Vol 5 RE: Chapters 7, App A
distributed practicespacing effectverbal recallretention intervalinterstudy intervallong-term retentionspacing optimisationexpanding schedulesJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Cepeda and colleagues meta-analyse distributed practice in verbal recall, drawing 839 assessments from 317 experiments in 184 articles.
Key ideas
Spacing study episodes generally improves later retention compared with massing them together, but the best interval between study sessions is not fixed. Interstudy interval and final retention interval interact: as the time until the final test grows, the spacing that maximises performance also tends to grow. The review distinguishes the benefit of any spacing from the question of whether more spacing is always better and finds limited support for simple expanding schedules as a universal rule. Considerable variation and gaps in long-duration research remain.
Why it matters
For educators, the synthesis supports revisiting important material across separated occasions, choosing spacing in relation to how long knowledge should last, and avoiding both immediate repetition and excessively long gaps that make successful retrieval unlikely.
A transparent research trail
More than a bibliography.
What it contributes
Evidence summaries explain the central idea and why the source matters to educators.
How to access it
Entries link to lawful full text where available, or to a publisher, library or purchase page.
Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
Citation checks
References are checked against publisher records, scholarly indexes, DOI or ISBN metadata, repositories and author records where available. An entry marked [Citation not verified] preserves the wording found in the relevant volume without attributing findings to an unconfirmed work.
From sources to a coherent pathway