The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Differences in procedural knowledge after a “spaced” and a “massed” version of an intensive course in emergency medicine, investigating a very short spacing interval
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Distributing a fixed amount of teaching hours over a longer time period (spaced approach) may result in better learning than delivering the same amount of teaching within a shorter time (massed approach). While a spaced approach may provide more opportunities to elaborate the learning content, a massed approach allows for more economical utilisation of teaching facilities and to optimise time resources of faculty. Favourable effects of spacing have been demonstrated for postgraduate surgery training and for spacing intervals of weeks to months. It is however unknown, whether a spacing effect can also be observed for shorter intervals and in undergraduate medical education. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of a short spacing intervention within an undergraduate intensive course in emergency medicine (EM) on students' procedural knowledge. METHODS: An EM intensive course of 26 teaching hours was delivered over either 4.5 days, or 3.0 days. After the course students' procedural knowledge was assessed by a specifically developed video-case based key-feature test (KF-test). RESULTS: Data sets of 156 students (81.7 %, 191 students eligible) were analysed, 54 from the spaced, and 102 from the massed version. In the KF-test students from the spaced version reached a mean of 14.8 (SD 2.0) out of 22 points, compared to 13.7 (SD 2.0) in the massed version (p = .002). Effect size was moderate (Cohen's d: 0.558). CONCLUSION: A significant spacing effect was observable even for a short spacing interval in undergraduate medical education. This effect was only moderate and may be weighed against planning needs of faculty and teaching resources.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis.
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354 · Cited by 1,888 · cited 1×
“The chosen interval may be regarded as very short compared to spacing intervals usually studied under experimental conditions [6], however still distinctly different from a massed version.”
BackgroundA meta-analytic review of the distribution of practice effect: Now you see it, now you don’t
Donovan, J. J., & Radosevich, D. J. (1999) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.84.5.795 · Cited by 696
Sleep selectively enhances memory expected to be of future relevance
Wilhelm, I., Diekelmann, S., Molzow, I., Ayoub, A., Mölle, M., & Born, J. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3575-10.2011 · Cited by 397
Recent research on human learning challenges conventional instructional strategies
Rohrer, D., & Pashler, H. (2010) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x10374770 · Cited by 269 · cited 2×
“Advantages of spaced learning have been supported by neurophysiological MRIstudies, where knowledge gain was more sustainable, if learning had been distributed over more time [13].”
BackgroundDreaming of a learning task is associated with enhanced sleep-dependent memory consolidation
Wamsley, E. J., Tucker, M., Payne, J. D., Benavides, J. A., & Stickgold, R. (2010) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.03.027 · Cited by 255
Overnight alchemy: sleep-dependent memory evolution
Walker, M. P., & Stickgold, R. (2010) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2762-c1 · Cited by 229
Distributed and massed practice from laboratory to classroom
Seabrook, R., Brown, G. D. A., & Solity, J. E. (2005) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.1066 · Cited by 211
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 18
- Bahrick HP. Long-term maintenance of knowledge. In: Tulving E, Craik FIM, editors. The Oxford handbook of memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2000. p. 347–62. · DOI
- Cohen N, Pell L, Edelson MG, Ben-Yakov A, Pine A, Dudai Y. Peri-encoding predictors of memory encoding and consolidation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015;50:128–42. · DOI
- Bransford JD, Brown AL, Cocking RR. How people learn. Washington: National Academy Press; 2000.
- Paris SG, Byrnes JP, Paris AH. Constructing theories, identities, and actions of self-regulated learners. In: Zimmerman B, Schunk D, editors. Self-regulated learning and academic achievement. New York: Springer; 2001. p. 253–87.
- Zimmerman BJ, Schunk D. Self-regulated learning and academic achievement. New York: Springer; 2001.
- Shebilske WL, Goettl BP, Corrington K, Day EA. Inter-lesson spacing and task-related processing during complex skill acquisition. J Exp Psychol Appl. 1999;5:413–37. · DOI
- Stickgold R, Hobson JA, Fosse R, Fosse M. Sleep, learning, and dreams: Off-line memory reprocessing. Science. 2001;294:1052–7. · DOI · Paper page
- Mitchell EL, Lee DY, Sevdalis N, Partsafas AW, Landry GJ, Liem TK, Moneta GL. Evaluation of distributed practice schedules on retention of a newly acquired surgical skill: a randomized trial. Am J Surg. 2011;201:31–9. · DOI
- Moulton CA, Dubrowski A, Macrae H, Graham B, Grober E, Reznick R. Teaching surgical skills: what kind of practice makes perfect? A randomized, controlled trial. Ann Surg. 2006;244:400–9. · DOI · Paper page
- Spruit EN, Band GP, Hamming JF. Increasing efficiency of surgical training: effects of spacing practice on skill acquisition and retention in laparoscopy training. Surg Endosc. 2015;29(8):2235–43. · DOI
- Patocka C, Khan F, Dubrovsky AS, Brody D, Bank I, Bhanji F. Pediatric resuscitation training-instruction all at once or spaced over time? Resuscitation. 2015;88:6–11. · DOI
- Fischer MR, Kopp V, Holzer M, Ruderich F, Jünger J. A modified electronic key feature examination for undergraduate medical students: Validation threats and opportunities. Med Teach. 2005;27:450–5. · DOI
- Hatala R, Norman G. Adapting the key features examination for a clinical clerkship. Med Educ. 2002;36:160–5. · DOI
- Kopp V, Möltner A, Fischer MR. Key-feature problems for the assessment of procedural knowledge: A practice guide. GMS Z Medizinische Ausbildung. 2006;23:Doc50.
- Page G, Bordage G, Allen T. Developing key-feature problems and examinations to assess clinical decision-making skills. Acad Med. 1995;70:194–201. · DOI
- Nolan JP, Soar J, Zideman DA, Biarent D, Bossaert LL, Deakin C, Koster RW, Wyllie J, Böttiger B, on behalf of the ERC Guidelines Writing Group. European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2010. Section 1. Executive summary. Resuscitation. 2010;81:1219–76. · DOI
- Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences. 2nd ed. Hillsdale: Erlbaum; 1988.
- Benjamin AS, Tullis J. What makes distributed practice effective? Cogn Psychol. 2010;61:228–47. · DOI · Paper page
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Conceptualising spaced learning in health professions education: A scoping review
Versteeg, M., Hendriks, R. A., Thomas, A., Ommering, B. W. C., & Steendijk, P. (2020) · Medical Education · doi:10.1111/medu.14025 · Cited by 107
Chen, O., Paas, F., & Sweller, J. (2021) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-021-09613-w · Cited by 62
The Distributed Practice Effect on Classroom Learning: A Meta-Analytic Review of Applied Research
Mawson, R. D., & Kang, S. H. K. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15060771 · Cited by 14
“Indeed, although some studies operationalize spaced practice as ‘stretched out’ study time (e.g., 26 h over 4.5 days versus 3 days; Breckwoldt et al., 2016), this misses the critical factor driving the benefits of spaced over massed practice.”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Breckwoldt, J., Ludwig, J. R., Plener, J., Schröder, T., Gruber, H., & Peters, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Turku (FI)
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
- University of Regensburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Breckwoldt, Jan
- Venue
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2016-09-26
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 249-249
- ISSN
- 1472-6920 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5037615
- OpenAlex
- W2526163671
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 1.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Medical Education (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- University of Regensburg Publication Server (University of Regensburg) (submittedVersion)
- Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Emergency Medicine Education and Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Keywords
- spacing effect, procedural knowledge, emergency medicine education, intensive course, video-based assessment, undergraduate medical students
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
