Bill Murray was onto something

Bill Murray was onto something

What is spaced learning—and how do you use it without making your content feel like Groundhog Day?

Ever “learn” something and forget it 24 hours later?

You studied. You underlined. You told yourself this time you had it. Then someone asked you about it the next day and your brain just… glitched. Blank screen. Spinning wheel. Gone.

Now picture your learner: trying to reengage with education after years of interruption, shame, or trauma. They finally build up the courage to try. You present a new concept—clearly, passionately, and concisely.

And then… move on.

We're surprised when they forget.


But what if forgetting isn’t a flaw—it’s the first step of how the brain learns.

What if instead of cramming, we circled back?

What if instead of bulldozing through new material, we gave it room to breathe?

That’s spaced learning. And no—it’s not just playing the same clip again like it’s Groundhog Day. (Though a little repetition never hurt anyone. Just ask Bill Murray.)
What you’ll walk away with
  • A crystal-clear definition of spaced learning (without the edu-jargon)
  • What the science actually says about timing, memory, and retention
  • Why spaced learning matters even more for incarcerated adults
  • How to build it into your Edovo course without being repetitive
  • Quick examples, clever tricks, and one big takeaway you won’t forget


The jargon you actually need to know

Term: Spaced Learning (aka spaced repetition)
What it is:
Spaced learning is a science-backed approach where content is reviewed multiple times, over time, with intentional pauses in between. Not all at once. Not in a row. Not copy/paste on repeat.
What the science says:

We forget fast when we don’t revisit information. But each time we come back to it, the memory trace gets stronger. That’s the spacing effect in action (Ebbinghaus, 1885; Cepeda et al., 2006).
Spaced learning outperforms cramming because it works with the brain’s natural rhythm of forgetting and remembering. When we let a concept fade just enough before bringing it back, we activate retrieval practice—a process that doesn’t just jog memory but deepens it (Kang, 2016).

Add in a little variation and self-reflection, and now you’re not just helping someone remember a fact—you’re building a durable, flexible skill they can use later. TL;DR: Your brain needs to forget just enough to make remembering it worthwhile.


Why it matters more in correctional settings

Many incarcerated adults are learning after years of disruption—school dropouts, disciplinary removals, or trauma-triggered disengagement. That means fewer neural pathways already built for academic recall.

Add in background noise, lack of feedback, little-to-no in-person support, or inconsistent access to the tablets? Forgetting becomes even easier. 

Spaced learning meets them where they are. It doesn’t assume the first explanation will stick and it doesn’t punish forgetting. It plans for it.

So how does it work? A very unofficial analogy

Let’s say you’re trying to remember the name of the pink-suited assassin in Squid Game. You Google it once: Hwang Jun-ho.
Cool.
Then forget it.
A few days later, you see a Halloween costume on TikTok.
Next week, a friend brings up the plot twist over lunch.

Two weeks later, Squid Game: The Challenge drops and you binge the first three episodes.
Suddenly—Hwang Jun-ho isn’t just a name you Googled. It’s lodged in your brain.
You didn’t memorize it.
You spaced it.

Your brain had multiple, low-stakes exposures over time—without pressure—and that’s what made it stick. That’s spaced learning in action.

Let’s try that again: what would that look like in a course?

Topic: Responding to disrespect
Here’s one way spaced learning might play out across a course:

  • Screen 4: Introduce the “pause + breathe” strategy for emotional regulation
  • Screen 12: Reflective question: “What happens when you don’t pause?”
  • Screen 17: Short video: someone modeling the pause before reacting
  • Screen 23: “Pick your response” scenario—pause or react?
  • Final quiz: “Which of these helps de-escalate tension fast?”

Same concept.
Different touchpoints.
Each touchpoint deepens the groove in the brain.

How to build spaced learning into your course (without sounding like a broken record)

  1. Break it up, don’t stack it up
    1. Instead of dropping five new terms all at once, introduce one or two. Let learners engage. Then revisit the rest across future screens or sections. You are not watering it down. You are giving their brains room to breathe.
  2. Revisit, remix, repeat
    1. Spaced learning isn’t about repeating the same slide. It’s about revisiting the idea in different ways.
      1. A short quote or reflection
      2. A real-life scenario
      3. A sentence starter
      4. A visual or quick video
      5. A final challenge using the concept
    2. Mix it up so it feels like reinforcement, not déjà vu.
  3. Ask, don’t tell
    1. Instead of explaining it all over again, prompt recall: “Remember that strategy for staying calm when disrespected? Which part would help here?” \
    2. This builds memory, not just recognition.
  4. Space it out with intention
    1. The magic is not just in how you repeat the idea. It’s also in when you do it.
    2. Avoid dumping everything up front and then leaving it behind
    3. Drop a “Did you catch that?” screen a few moments later
      1. For example: “Which of these fits what we talked about earlier?”
    4. Bring core concepts back in the next lesson but in a new way
      1. For example: “Back to that tool from last time. How might it help here?
    5. Your goal is to reintroduce a concept right after the learner starts to forget it. That’s the moment long-term memory kicks in.
  5. Let forgetting do its job
    1. Our brains are wired to forget what we do not use. Spaced learning interrupts that forgetting just in time and says, “Actually, this matters.”
    2. Each time learners retrieve a concept, the memory trace gets stronger.
Think of it like leveling up in a video game. The more you practice the move, the easier and quicker it is to recall.

So yes, if your course feels a little familiar the second or third time around, that is not lazy design. That is great teaching.

Socratic pause: What sticks with you longer?

A) A definition you read once on Slide 5
B) A strategy you saw, tried, reflected on, and re-applied three times across a course

Right. Now design for B.
​
Spaced learning design checklist (for Edovo)
  1. Spacing concepts across a course
    1. Key ideas are revisited in at least 2–3 different places
    2. Each repetition feels different: scenario, reflection, video, quiz
    3. Touchpoints are spread out—not bunched together
  1. Variation in exposure
    1. Strategy or concept appears in more than one format (text, video, activity)
    2. Reflection questions return to earlier content in new ways
    3. Review doesn’t feel like “repeat,” but like “return and build”
  1. Use of prompts and previews
    1. Prompts like “Remember when…” or “Earlier we saw…” appear naturally
    2. Learners are cued to connect new info to earlier lessons
    3. Course includes at least one recap before a high-stakes assessment
  1. Designed for memory, not just mastery
    1. Concepts show up again after being “taught”—not just once
    2. Learners get low-stakes practice before being tested
    3. Key takeaways are summarized at the end or in between sections
  1. Avoiding overload
    1. Content is spaced out—not dumped all at once
    2. Lessons revisit earlier material without assuming mastery
    3. Learners have time to reflect, reset, and reengage
  • TL;DR: Space it out to make it stick
  • Spaced learning = revisiting key ideas over time to boost memory
  • It’s backed by over a century of brain science (and common sense)
  • Perfect for digital learning, especially where stress affect retention
  • Build it in through variation, gentle reminders, and reapplication
  • Don’t cram—guide learners back to what matters

Because sometimes, the third time’s the charm—but only if the first two felt worth remembering.

References
  • Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology.

  • Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.

  • Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning. Cambridge University Press.

  • Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2015). Emotions, Learning, and the Brain. W. W. Norton & Company.



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