One of the hallmarks of the A Beka curriculum is its spiral method of learning. In this method, students are introduced to topics that continually build upon one another and then “circle” around to earlier concepts in more depth. This method works with a concept called spaced learning. This concept uses science to maximize the amount of time between concepts and skills so that they become ingrained in the mind better.
When we practice spaced learning, we are using our mind’s ability to remember and forget to a greater potential. Most of us remember trying to cram as much information in our heads the night before a quiz, hoping it would stick. If we did remember it during the quiz, we quickly forgot it afterwards. Why? We only tried to access it right there. After that, it didn’t really have any value so our brain pulled the plug and we moved on.
With spaced learning, we use time as an ally. Our memory goes through the “forgetting curve”, an exponential reduction in the knowledge we have learned as we get farther away from learning something. Within an hour of learning a new concept or skill, we forget up to 50% of it. Within seven days, if we don’t revisit it, we will have forgotten most of what we have learned. When we use spaced learning, we have set intervals where we come back and revisit that knowledge. This is what happens in our classrooms every day. Teachers and students review and build on the prior day’s knowledge in a specific timeframe to ensure the knowledge sticks in the memory of each student. Not every student is the same, so sometimes the effect is greater or less, but the basic principle remains the same.
You might be saying to yourself, “That’s great, but what does it have to do outside of the classroom?” One reason students have homework is to shorten the interval in which that memory is used. By causing a student to rehearse what he or she learned in school that day, homework helps solidify that information in the brain. When done properly, it aids knowledge retention and helps students speed up the learning process the next day. One way parents can help is to ask what was learned in school from the day. When we talk about what we have learned and show it to another person, it helps build the synaptic connections that cement a memory in our mind. Asking your kids to tell you what they learned in class can create an interval where memory is secured.
“The expert in anything was once a beginner.”
Think of spaced learning as a form of meditation on what was learned. Psalm 119:97 states, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” When we bring those memories back, they bring other benefits as well. Keeping these intervals going helps reduce study anxiety, promotes deeper understanding, reduces mental exhaustion, and helps make real-world connections. So, how can you help your student succeed in spaced learning? Find a new concept that he or she learns at the beginning of the week. You can do this by asking your student or the teacher. Then, spend 5 or 10 minutes working on that concept. It might be as simple as rehearsing some history facts or working on a multiplication family. Do that every day of the week, but add a little more to what you did each day. At the end of the week, your child will see a marked improvement in what he or she knows.