Study Suggests Cramming to Learn Math Doesn't Work in the Long Term

September 14, 2007

Cramming for tests or exams reduces long-term retention, according to a paper in the August 2007 issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science. Moreover, it's a waste of time.

That's the conclusion that Doug Rohrer of the University of South Florida and Hal Pashler of the University of California, San Diego come to in their article "Increasing Retention Without Increasing Study Time." Cramming (or "massing") the study of a single topic into a single session does little good, they say. A single session devoted to the study of some material should continue only long enough to ensure that mastery is achieved. Immediate further study of the same material (known as overlearning) is an inefficient use of time.

Instead, the researchers offer this suggestion: After a while, it is better and more efficient to leave material alone then return to it later. Further, the longer the break, the better the retention!

These findings came from experiments involving different strategies for learning new vocabulary. In this case, instead of studying new material intensively for just a few days, students would be better off seeing the same words throughout the year, Rohrer and Pashler say.

The researchers also found similar effects with abstract learning, such as that required for mathematics. And they faulted most mathematics textbooks for abetting overlearning and massing. Students often end up doing numerous problems based on one concept in a short period of time — then simply move on to something else. The answer, the authors say, is to revisit material throughout the term.

Based on experiments reported in a separate paper published in Instructional Science, Rohrer and Kelli Taylor recommend that practice problems in textbooks be systematically shuffled so that each practice set includes a variety of problems drawn from previous lessons.

Source: Association for Psychological Science, Aug. 29, 2007; Daily India, Aug. 30, 2007.