Concept Formation and the Spacing Effect

A week is plenty of time to study! Do I need to start today?

 

I still have 4 whole units to get through! I’m not going to sleep tonight! I’ll just have to memorize everything!

 

Huh? I thought I fully understood this topic when I was memorizing last night, why can’t I find the answer? 

 

Maybe it's because you crammed everything last night? Why didn’t you use the spacing effect? It would have helped your concept formation, and you would’ve been able to answer these questions. 

 

My name is Ruda Lee and today I will speak about the relationship between concept formation and the spacing effect, an effect that demonstrates that learning is more effective in spaced out sessions rather than immediate successions. This can aid students in our society to study more successfully and productively, as concept formation is the key to a student truly understanding what they are learning. 

 

Expanding beyond the conventional notion of the spacing effect, Vlach and Sandhofer explored the relationship between the spacing effect and simple and complex generalization, both types of concept formation.

 

Their study began with a pre-test, consisting of questions with different complexities to test the children’s initial concept formation abilities. (insert drawings to show the types of questions). In their study, 36 elementary school children were recruited, and were taught about the food chain through three different lesson frequencies .12 children received all four lessons in one day, another 12 through the span of two days, and the last 12 received one lesson each day for four days. The last group participated in the ideal spaced lesson frequency. (insert identical images) Then, children were given a post-test, one identical to the pre-test, exactly one week after the last lesson, to make a final assessment of whether the children could successfully apply the information they were taught rather than merely memorizing it. 

 

From there, It was found that there was a greatest increase in test scores, when students used the spaced lesson frequency. This led Vlach and Sandhofer to conclude that the spacing effect not only helps with remembering the topics long-term, but also helps their concept formation, a concrete understanding of the topic that the student is learning. It’s like teaching a man to fish, so he can feed himself for a lifetime, rather than giving him a fish keeping him fed for a day.  

 

This finding can directly help students in our society today. In America, students take several AP exams at the end of the school year, testing all of the content that they have learned throughout the year. Many students cram for these exams, trying to learn all the content a week or even the day before the exam, a very unsustainable practice. This leads to a quick fix to get through the imminent exam, resulting in only memorization, not true learning. However, through spacing out their studying, for instance, reviewing one unit per week, three months before the exam, students can more confidently prepare for their AP exams. They can garner a more comprehensive understanding or “concept formation” of the topics they are being tested on, rather than stockpiling information at the last minute.