Spaced Learning
(SPAY-st LUHR-neen)
LIQUID
What is Spaced Learning?
Spaced learning is a learning program strategy in which content is revisited over a period of time (e.g., hours, days, weeks), encouraging learners to access previously introduced topics and increasing the potential for retention.
Other Common Names for Spaced Learning
Other common names for spaced learning include:
- Spaced retrieval
- Multiple learning sessions
- Spaced practice
- Spaced education
Key Properties of Spaced Learning
- There is more than one learning “touch point.”
- It includes a pause between when content or skills are taught.
- Content or skills are revisited following the pause.
Resources From The Train Like a Champion Blog
Insights that may be Spaced out out over a series of pages of What's Your Formula?
- "Learning and development expert Mike Taylor has spent a lot of time studying what the field of corporate training can learn (and steal) from the advertising industry. “No company has ever just run one ad on one day, and then never advertised again. If you pay attention to how companies advertise, it’s more of a drip campaign in which you may see a billboard, you may hear an ad on the radio, see a commercial on tv, see a sponsorship of a local youth sports team. This is something that the world of L&D can really learn from”."
- "Spaced learning can take many forms—from a year-long leadership development program for high-potential managers to an asynchronous, online course offering a certification in project management. Offering space between learning experiences can allow participants to go back to their desks, try out your concepts, have some real-world experience, and return to the next learning experience with thoughts, questions, or reflections that make your content more memorable and real."
- "Regardless of how powerful the supporting research, beware those in your organization who want to “just get it over with.” Element 16 may be met with skepticism by some decision makers, turning up the heat so high on the concept that this entire liquid element is at risk of evaporating. There’s a school of thought that suggests it’s better to just sit through a full-day session and get it over with as opposed to needing to attend a series of three 2-hour sessions that take place over the course of one month. This can be a difficult balance to strike because while some learning experience may be better than no learning experience at all, there is clear evidence that retention (and therefore the propensity to use what’s learned) goes up when learning is spaced. If multiple sessions won’t work, using text tools or emails to follow up and offer learning boosts may be the most practical way to go."
Elements that have a "Touch Point" with Spaced Learning
Instructional Design
Like many other elements, spaced learning isn’t something to throw together at the last minute. It needs to be intentionally designed whether you’re developing instructor-led or online learning experiences, presenting content, or pausing that content and returning to it later in the session or during a second or third session down the road.
Elearning
Breaking longer courses (I’ve been involved in the development of courses that can run an hour or more!) down into shorter, 15-minute chunks with a review of what was learned in previous chunks may be one way to go. Multiweek, asynchronous online courses during which participants can be exposed to content and do assignments at their own pace may also be a way to space out the learning and revisit key points.
Email
Similar to the way in which learning boosts operate, sending automated emails with bits of content or short quizzes can help learners revisit and recall key information.
Microlearning
In addition to short e-learning modules, you can design short videos, articles, or tutorials into your spaced cadence of content to reinforce previously covered concepts.
Other Sources of Information on Spaced Learning
Books to Support Spaced Learning
