A pedagogical strategy in which learning episodes are distributed across time intervals rather than massed into a single session. Parameters: (1) learning events must be temporally separated by a measurable gap, (2) the gap exceeds the minimum retention interval for the material, (3) retrieval is required at each spaced interval. Persistence mechanism: curriculum scheduling systems, spaced-repetition algorithms (e.g. SM-2, FSRS), educational software, and instructional design practice. The spacing effect is a robust empirical finding in cognitive psychology, first documented by Ebbinghaus and replicated across domains, ages, and materials.
[formal: spatiositas | substrate: behavior | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.63]
Accepted ontology entry
spacing-effect
A pedagogical strategy in which learning episodes are distributed across time intervals rather than massed into a single session. Parameters: (1) learning events must be temporally separated by a measurable gap, (2) the gap exceeds the min…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made pedagogical strategy: distributing study sessions over time rather than massing them. Created by cognitive scientists to exploit the psychological spacing effect; persists through curriculum design, scheduling algorithms, and educational practice.
Names and aliases
- spacing-effecten · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrf51qwi005rcqqtmpyziy84DEPENDS_ON →
Spacing-effect (retention benefit of distributed over massed practice) depends on memory — the effect only operates because spaced repetitions allow memory traces to partially decay and rebuild. Without memory, there is no spacing effect.
- cmrppheh707r6d1nlagm095rpINSTANCE_OF →
Spacing effect (spacing study sessions over time) is a specific desirable difficulty — a learning condition that creates temporary difficulty but improves long-term retention. A competent speaker would call it 'a desirable difficulty'. Law 9 specific→general.
- cmrysnne801xlekkxqxo7iqrmINSTANCE_OF →
Pinned sense: spacing-effect as its accepted definition carves it — a human-made pedagogical observation/construct about distributing practice over time to improve retention. Learning-strategy is the general kind of deliberate approaches to learning. Spacing-effect is a specific kind of learning strategy, i.e., a strategy of scheduling practice intervals. Direction specific→general holds under Law 9.
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 18, 2026, 3:02 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 36c22bd6b4ad6bea7f0ce181042b5b22ea74e37f8558544cb9a95a04dc0e1312