Spaced Repetition Jul 29

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Spaced repetition is a learning technique that gives results that have been studied and duplicated scientifically. The use of spaced repetition has been proven to increase the rate of learning. This technique is usually performed with flashcards.  Spaced repetition is commonly applied in contexts in which a learner must acquire many items and retain them permanently in memory. Therefore, it’s well suited to solve the problem of vocabulary acquisition and to improve your fluency when speaking English. Let’s explore this learning technique.

A flashcard is a card that has information on both sides. It is intended to be used as an aid in memorization. Each flashcard bears a question on one side and an answer on the opposite side. Flashcards are often used to memorize vocabulary, historical dates, formulas or any subject matter that can be learned via a question-and-answer format.

In the 1970s, Sebastian Leitner, a German science journalist, created the flashcard study method called the Leitner System to assist in more effective learning. The Leitner System employs the concept of spaced repetition, which is an approach to learning information by using time intervals. Rather than cramming information into your brain all in one sitting, spaced repetition encourages learners to space out learning over periods of time.

Back in the late 1880’s, a psychologist named Hermann Ebbinghaus began to study how human memory works, and he did this by spending years memorizing lists of syllables with no meaning. By meticulously recording his results for example how many times he studied each list, the time intervals between his study sessions, and how many syllables he was able to remember – Ebbinghaus was able to chart the rate at which memories fade or “decay” over time. He showed this rate of decay in a graph called the Forgetting Curve.

Your memory has two different strengths – storage strength and retrieval strength.

Storage strength doesn’t fade over time. Once information has been acquired and your brain thinks it’s important, it stays stored. Storage strength can only increase through repeated recall or use.

Retrieval strength, the ability to access the memory, this one fades over time. It’s fickle, not as voluminous as storage strength, and needs regular maintenance.

As a result, “forgetting” is an accessibility problem. The memory exists in storage, but you can’t find it.

The basis for spaced repetition takes into account that some ‘breakdown’ must occur for us to strengthen learning when we revisit the material. Without a little forgetting, you get no benefit from further study. A little forgetting is what allows learning to build, like an exercised muscle.

According to German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, facts that you get through cramming vanish with time. Instead, Ebbinghaus encourages us to focus on some other factors before delving into frequency. Those factors are the intensity of our emotions and the intensity of our attention. The brain must consider whatever you want to learn important, in order to store it. 

You might wonder now what is then the perfect repetition pattern that you should follow to consolidate your learning. This is what several people who have used the system recommend. 

First repetition: 1 day

Second repetition: 7 days

Third repetition: 16 days

Fourth repetition: 35 days