The optimal spacing interval is bounded by reactive inhibition at short intervals and skill deterioration at long intervals¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q1
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Very short inter-training intervals suffer reactive inhibition while very long intervals cause skill deterioration and forgetting, suggesting an inverted U-curve relation between spacing interval and skill acquisition. → Fahl Jan Torge 2023

Evidence¶

Fahl Jan Torge 2023¶

Fahl Jan Torge, Duvivier Robbert, Reinke Laurens, Pierie Jean-Pierre E. N., Schönrock-Adema Johanna. (2023). Towards best practice in developing motor skills: a systematic review on spacing in VR simulator-based psychomotor training for surgical novices. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04046-1

q1 · i? · review · r3

Theoretical argument in the review's discussion, drawing on Smith et al.'s suggested inverted U-curve between spacing interval and skill acquisition. This is the authors' interpretive account, not a tested result of the review itself.

"Reactive inhibition negatively impacts the effectiveness of massed or distributed training using short (e.g., 15 minutes) inter-training intervals. At the same time, longer inter-training intervals (e.g., 14 days) result in skill deterioration, forgetting and ineffective training"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• No difference in bronchoscopy skill test scores between one-day spaced and weekly distributed training in Bjerrum et al. — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Spaced VR simulator training yields better performance and faster skill acquisition than massed training for surgical psychomotor skills — related
• ISI effects on recall are nonmonotonic and depend jointly on retention interval — a broader claim this one bears on
• In paired-associate paradigms, the lag function is decreasing at very short retention intervals, inverted U-shaped at slightly longer intervals, and monotonically increasing at long intervals — a broader claim this one bears on
• In continuous recognition memory, the lag function is inverted U-shaped after a short retention interval and monotonically increasing after a long retention interval — a broader claim this one bears on
• Spaced trainees completed endoscopic exercises 18.7% faster than massed trainees in Verdaasdonk et al. — related