How we build on research into learning

A review of 317 experiments on remembering words and facts found that spaced practice gives better memory than the same amount of practice in one sitting. The longer you want to remember, the longer the gap between sessions should be. (Cepeda et al. 2006)

In a music study, 29 musicians who were not pianists learned a nine-note sequence on a piano keyboard in three sessions, with 5 minutes, 6 hours or a full day in between. Only the group with a day between sessions played more accurately in the second session. (Simmons 2012)

Students who, after reading, wrote down what they remembered of a text instead of rereading it remembered it clearly better after two days and after a week. After five minutes rereading was better, and those who reread felt more confident. (Roediger and Karpicke 2006)

A review of ten study techniques gave the highest ratings to self-testing and spreading out practice. (Dunlosky et al. 2013)

Participants who practised three movement tasks in random order performed worse during practice but kept the skill better when tested under conditions different from practice. They also handled new variants better, especially the hardest one. (Shea and Morgan 1979)

A synthesis of 59 studies found a moderate advantage for interleaved order. The advantage was larger when the mixed categories were similar to each other. When the material was words, it was better to practise one thing at a time. (Brunmair and Richter 2019)

Ten advanced clarinettists practised both in blocks and interleaved. Interleaved practice usually received better ratings from the judges, but the difference was small and not statistically reliable on average. (Carter and Grahn 2016)

Feedback is one of the strongest factors in learning, but it can also backfire. The kind of feedback and how it is given make a big difference. Good feedback answers three questions: where am I going, how am I doing and what is the next step? (Hattie and Timperley 2007)

Real-time feedback helps while you practise, but constant support can make you lean on it. For simple movements the gain can disappear when the support is removed. For complex tasks real-time support helps most at the start. The review recommends that feedback decreases as skill grows. (Sigrist et al. 2013)

17 piano students practised a difficult three-bar passage from a Shostakovich concerto and played it again the next day. How long they had practised and how many times they had played the passage was not related to the result. What was related included the share of attempts that were correct during practice. (Duke et al. 2009)

96 people repeated a new daily habit for twelve weeks. The more repetitions in the same context, the more automatic the habit became. According to the study's model it took between 18 and 254 days for the habit to reach 95 percent of its maximum automaticity. The study lasted 84 days, so the longest times are estimates. (Lally et al. 2010)

A synthesis of studies on game elements in teaching found small positive effects on knowledge, motivation and behaviour. Only the effect on knowledge held up in the most rigorous studies. (Sailer and Homner 2020)