Distributed Versus Massed Practice in High School Physics

An analysis of the effects of distributed practice in physics was undertaken. The subjects were 41 students, nearly equal numbers of males and females, in two suburban high school physics classes. All students were exposed to both massed and distributed practice on two different physics topics. The interaction of practice type with time and previous physics achievement were evaluated using a repeated measures MANOVA. A significant difference in achievement at the 0.01 level was found between the group which used distributed practice and the group which used massed practice in favor of distributed practice; the effect was stable with time, and the treatment was of benefit to both high and low achievers. The results suggest that using distributed practice in high school physics classrooms can lead to higher student achievement in physics.