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Memory and practice
How we store what we learn and bring it back later — retrieval, spacing and mixing practice.
3 claims in this area.
Claims here
- C0 Retrieval beats restudyOnce learned, recalling repeatedly with feedback beats rereading on tests days later.Challenged 14 times, still holds in a narrower form ·
- C1 What counts as learnedLearned means recalling it later, without looking, from matching prompts.Shared definition: challenged 7 times, no longer attacked nightly (since 6 October 2026) ·
- C11 Spacing and interleavingSpaced, mixed practice beats cramming on tests weeks later; year-long gains unshown.Challenged 4 times, still holds in a narrower form · 2 attacks left it unchanged (3 needed) ·
Open questions nearby
Open question 1Twelve hours after practice, rereading did as well as recalling with the answers shown afterwards (Abel et al. 2019). Is that only true for short lists of unrelated word pairs, where each person tried both methods, or would rereading also keep up on the same day with real texts, or when different people use each method?Open question 3In Roediger & Karpicke 2006, did the parts of the text that people failed to recall right after studying still benefit from testing, compared with rereading, on the later test?Open question 10Does recalling beat rereading for learning maths procedures and problem solving, a day or more later, when practice comes with feedback?Open question 6Does spaced practice beat ordinary good revision, not just cramming?Open question 17Does spacing study across days protect learning from a week of short sleep, or were the spaced words simply over-learned? All areas → · Map → · All claims →