Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 354-380. [490k pdf]

A meta-analysis of the distributed practice effect was performed to illuminate the effects of temporal variables that have been neglected in previous reviews. This review found 839 assessments of distributed practice in 317 experiments located in 184 articles. Effects of spacing (consecutive massed presentations vs. spaced learning episodes) and lag (less spaced vs. more spaced learning episodes) were examined, as were expanding inter-study interval effects. Analyses suggest that inter-study interval (ISI) and retention interval operate jointly to affect final test retention; specifically, the ISI producing maximal retention increased as retention interval increased. Areas needing future research and theoretical implications are discussed.

2008 (cited by 12)

• Cepeda, N. J., Coburn, N., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., Mozer, M. C., & Pashler, H. (in press). Optimizing distributed practice: Theoretical analysis and practical implications. Experimental Psychology.
• Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (in press). Spacing effects in learning: A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science.
• Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2008). Experimental evaluation of the effects of a research-based preschool mathematics curriculum. American Educational Research Journal, 45, 443-494.
• Glass, A. L., Brill, G., & Ingate, M. (in press). Combined online and in-class pretesting improves exam performance in general psychology. Educational Psychology.
• Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2008). Learning concepts and categories: Is spacing the "enemy of induction"? Psychological Science, 19, 585-592.
• Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2008). Optimizing self-regulated study: The benefits-and costs-of dropping flashcards. Memory, 16, 125-136.
• McCabe, D. P. (2008). The role of covert retrieval in working memory span tasks: Evidence from delayed recall tests. Journal of Memory and Language, 58, 480-494.
• Nieuwenhuis, I. L. C., Takashima, A., Oostenveld, R., Fernandez, G., & Jensena, O. (2008). Visual areas become less engaged in associative recall following memory stabilization. NeuroImage, 40, 1319-1327.
• Roediger, H. L. (2008). Relativity of remembering: Why the laws of memory vanished. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 225-254.
• Sandhofer, C. M., & Doumas, L. A. A. (2008). Order of presentation effects in learning color categories. Journal of Cognition and Development, 9, 194-221.
• Son, L. K., & Kornell, N. (2008). Research on the allocation of study time: Key studies from 1890 to the present (and beyond). In J. Dunlosky & R. A. Bjork (Eds.), Handbook of metamemory and memory (pp. 333-354). New York: Taylor and Francis.
• Weigold, A. (2008). The relationship bewteen restudying and testing in the short and long term. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University.

2007 (cited by 17)

• Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Testing improves long-term retention in a simulated classroom setting. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19, 514-527.
• Egan, R. G. (2007). Understanding the effects of different study methods on retention of information and transfer of learning. Unpublished masters thesis, Queen's University.
• Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Expanding retrieval practice promotes short-term retention, but equally spaced retrieval enhances long-term retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 704-719.
• Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Repeated retrieval during learining is the key to long-term retention. Journal of Memory and Language, 57, 151-162.
• Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2007). The promise and perils of self-regulated study. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 14, 219-224.
• Metcalfe, J., & Kornell, N. (2007). Principles of cognitive science in education: The effects of generation, errors, and feedback. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 14, 225-229.
• Metcalfe, J., Kornell, N., & Son, L. K. (2007). A cognitive-science based programme to enhance study efficacy in a high and low risk setting. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19, 743-768.
• Pashler, H., Bain, P. M., Bottge, B. A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M. A., & Metcalfe, J. (2007). Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning: IES practice guide (NCER 2007-2004). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U. S. Department of Education.
• Pashler, H., Rohrer, D., Cepeda, N. J., & Carpenter, S. K. (2007). Enhancing learning and retarding forgetting: Choices and consequences. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 14, 187-193.
• Philips, G. T., Tzvetkova, E. I., & Carew, T. J. (2007). Transient mitogen-activated protein kinase is confined to a narrow temporal window required for the induction of two-trial long-term memory in Aplysia. Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 13701-13705.
• Pyc, M. A., & Rawson, K. A. (2007). Examining the efficiency of schedules of distributed practice. Memory and Cognition, 35, 1917-1927.
• Richland, L. E., Linn, M. C., & Bjork, R. A. (2007). Cognition and instruction: Bridging laboratory and classroom settings. In F. Durso, R. Nickerson, S. Dumais, S. Lewandowski, & T. Perfect (Eds.), Handbook of applied cognition (2nd ed.) (pp. 555-584). West Sussex, England: John Wiley and Sons.
• Rohrer, D., & Pashler, H. (2007). Increasing retention without increasing study time. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 183-186.
• Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2007). The shuffling of mathematics problems improves learning. Instructional Science, 35, 481-498.
• Smith, T. A. (2007). Spacing and the delay-retention effect: An alternative explanation of the effects of feedback timing on semantic learning (Masters Thesis, University of Texas at Arlington).
• Soderlund, G. B. W. (2007). Noise improves cognitive performance in children with dysfunctional dopaminergic neurotransmission (Doctoral Dissertation, Stockholm University).
• Takashima, A., Nieuwenhuis, I. L. C., Rijpkema, M., Petersson, K. M., Jensen, O., & Fernandez, G. (2007). Memory trace stabilization leads to large-scale changes in the retrieval network: A functional MRI study on associative memory. Learning and Memory, 14, 472-479.

2006 (cited by 3)

• Balota, D. A., Duchek, J. M., Sergent-Marshall, S. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2006). Does expanded retrieval produce benefits over equal-spacing? Explorations of spacing effects in healthy aging and early stage Alzheimer's disease. Psychology and Aging, 21, 19-31.
• Pashler, H., Rohrer, D., & Cepeda, N. J. (2006). Temporal spacing and learning. Observer, 19, 19.
• Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 181-210.