ERIC Number: ED611846
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Spaced Mathematics Practice Improves Test Scores and Reduces Overconfidence
Enemy, William G.; Hartwig, Marissa K.; Rohrer, Doug
Grantee Submission
The practice assignments in a mathematics textbook or course can be arranged so that most of the problems relating to any particular concept are massed together in a single assignment, or these related problems can be distributed across many assignments -- a format known as spaced practice. Here we report the results of two classroom experiments that assessed the effects of mathematics spacing on both test scores and students' predictions of their test scores. In each experiment, students in Year 7 (11-12 years of age) either massed their practice into a single session or divided their practice across three sessions spaced one week apart, followed one month later by a test. In both experiments, spaced practice produced higher test scores than did massed practice, and test score predictions were relatively accurate after spaced practice yet grossly overconfident after massed practice. [This paper will be published in "Applied Cognitive Psychology."]
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A160263
Author Affiliations: N/A