Document Type
Article
Abstract
From athletics, school clubs, coursework, and jobs to hanging out with friends, endless scrolling, or binge watching, students have constant competition for their time. Each student must prioritize their tasks. How much time should be devoted to reading a course textbook or reviewing class notes? When is the best time to complete homework sets or study for an assessment? Literature shows that students learn best when they space their practice or study over time [1]. However, students are not always disciplined to follow this advice and often leave their work to the last minute, cramming in study in less beneficial ways. Are there ways to redesign courses to encourage spaced practice? To examine this question, engineering professors from two different institutions, The United States Military Academy (USMA) and Calvin University (Calvin), applied different approaches to homework and frequent quizzes to encourage spaced practice for improved retention. The course at USMA was an introductory construction management course taught in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering. The course at Calvin was an upper-level hydraulic engineering course required for all students graduating with a concentration in civil and environmental engineering or energy, environmental, and sustainability engineering. The USMA instructor assigned ungraded homework with solutions available for reference and unannounced quizzes of low-grade value. The Calvin instructor assigned graded weekly homework sets (10% of course grade) and daily low-stakes quizzes (5% of course grade). At the beginning of each class, both instructors asked students to self-report the number of minutes they spent preparing for that lecture through textbook reading, completing homework problems, and reviewing past lecture material. Student time reports show some spaced practice encouraged by frequent low-stakes activities such as unannounced quizzes and regular homework submissions with peaks near high-stakes activities such as tests and lab reports.
Publication Date
6-22-2025
Recommended Citation
Wildschut, Julie Field and Jordan, Dr. Gary A., "Course design to encourage spaced practice" (2025). University Faculty Publications and Creative Works. 1155.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/calvin_facultypubs/1155