Man har sedan länge förstått att lärande gynnas repetition och pauser däremellan, menvarför detta har en positiv effekt på långtidsminnet har varit okänt. Försök på råttor harvisat att repetition är viktigt för att förstärka kommunikationen vid synapser som ärviktiga för minnesbildning och att pauser är nödvändiga för att de proteiner som stärkersynapsen ska hinna bildas och verka.Med stöd i detta har man utvecklat en undervisningsteknik som kallas spaced learning,där undervisningsmaterialet presenteras tre gånger, separerat av pauser inkluderande enorelaterad aktivitet. Studier där denna teknik har testats på elever har visat att teknikenhar god effekt på elevernas kunskap, utvärderat med flervalsfrågor, jämfört medkontrollgruppens undervisning och att tekniken lämpar sig väl för att sammanfatta faktaefter en kurs inför prov.Eftersom metoden är relativt ny är mängden och fullständigheten av insamlade data omspaced learnings effekt begränsad. De resultat som finns baseras framförallt påhögstadieelever i England och utvärderingen grundar sig på flervalsfrågor, vilket gör detsvårt att mäta analytiska förmågor.Den mindre studie som presenteras i detta arbete skiljer sig från tidigare studier genomatt eleverna är äldre. I försöket analyseras gymnasieelever till skillnad frånhögstadieelever vilket endast undersökts tidigare i en mindre svensk studie. Ingen av detidigare studierna har heller använt samma undervisande lärare och samma elever, vilketeventuellt kan påverka resultatet. Studien syftar också även till att mäta mer analytiskaförmågor hos eleverna genom att efterfråga förklaringar och motiveringar iprovfrågorna.Resultaten från denna mindre studie antyder att spaced learning ökar elevernaskunskaper, både angående enkla faktakunskaper och mer analyserande kunskaper, påkort sikt. När längre tid har passerat så tycks den procentuella minskningen avprovresultaten vara lika stor oavsett om spaced learning eller traditionell undervisninghar används. Spaced learning fungerade väl i klassrummet och de elever som uttalade sigom metoden uppskattade upplägget.

Nya kunskaper om hur hjärnan fungerar när långtidsminnen bildas ligger till grund för undervisningsmetoden spaced learning. Metoden utvecklades i Storbritannien i samarbete mellan lärare, hjärnforskare och socionomer och går ut på att inlärning sker i tre korta, intensiva block separerade av två tydliga pauser om 10 minuter då eleverna får göra en distraherande aktivitet som att rita, arbeta med lera eller jonglera. Just dessa pauser anses kritiska för bildning av långtidsminnen. I denna studie testades metoden inom biologiundervisning med ett slumpmässigt urval elever i en gymnasieklass. Elevernas minnen av de fakta som presenterades under lektionen kvantifierades i ett test 7 dagar efter testlektionen. Antalet poäng på minnestestet jämfördes med en population elever från samma klass som istället för spaced learning fått en lektion med en sammanhängande, mer traditionell, genomgång av samma fakta. Resultatet visar att elever som tillägnat sig kunskaperna i formatet spaced learning har signifikant högre poäng på minnestestet efter 7 dagar, vilket tyder på att dessa elever har fått fler långtidsminnen från undervisningen. Strategier i undervisningen som gör att eleverna minns det de lär sig sparar både tid och resurser i skolan och gör att elevernas kunskaper blir mer varaktiga.

There are many recognised forms of teacher professional development ranging from simply reflecting on a lesson recently taught to enrolling in a formal course at university. This study set out to examine the perceived effectiveness of one mode of professional development, a spaced learning activity(SLA). The SLA was selected for a number of reasons. Firstly, current government economic and industrial policy includes an emphasis on the training and retraining of the Australian workforce as an economic necessity. Within this policy, teacher professional development is considered to improve the quality of teaching and to raise professionalism. Secondly, the literature in the area suggests that professional development activities have the potential to improve the quality of teaching by enhancing teachers' knowledge and skills. Thirdly, an SLA appeared to incorporate many characteristics of effective professional development which are identified in the literature, for example, allowing time for critical reflection and for internalising concepts. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of an SLA as a training strategy and in enhancing teachers' knowledge, beliefs, classroom practice and students' learning outcomes and also to identify characteristics of an SLA which assisted and inhibited its effectiveness. Perceived costs and benefits of participation to the individual teacher were also evaluated.. The study was carried out at Marist College, Canberra , a Y7-12 single sex secondary school with an enrolment of approximately 1100 boys. The study involved twenty five teachers who participated voluntarily in a pilot collegial group programme at the school during 1993. The term "collegial group" is used for a small group of professionals who meet on a regular basis to learn together and to support one another in their on-going professional development. Adie (1988:4) explains that collegial groups are designed to assist in supporting, learning, problem solving, planning and performing. The twenty five volunteers were divided into three groups. Each group determined its own 'focus1 and met on an average of five occasions over six months, for meetings ranging from two to four hours. The foci selected by each group were: Increasing student motivation Increasing student responsibility for learning. Excellence in Teaching course. Meetings usually provided an opportunity for individual feedback on teaching changes tried, some input on the focus area, discussion of its practicality and a commitment to try something new and to report back at the next meeting. Some groups also included discussion of specific teaching and learning 'problems', where the group would offer solutions. A variety of data collection techniques were employed in the study. A questionnaire was conducted before the programme commenced to ascertain participants' expectations and concerns about the programme and anticipated effects of participation on their teaching knowledge, beliefs and practice and on their students' learning outcomes. A questionnaire was also administered at the end of the programme. The post-study questionnaire sought participants' perceptions about how well their expectations for the programme had been met, any differences participation had made to their teaching knowledge, beliefs and practice, and to their students' learning outcomes and whether these differences constituted improvements. Further questions covered: the benefits and costs to individuals of participation in the programme; the benefits participants perceived that other non-participatory colleagues could derive from a future programme; and the perceived value of the activity as a mode of professional development. The questionnaire also included a table covering organisational factors of the programme and elicited participants' responses about the degree to which each assisted and inhibited progress. In addition to the questionnaires, structured interviews were conducted with the participants after the completion of the programme asking similar questions about their perceptions of its success. Analysis of a variety of data collected through pre and post-programme questionnaires as well as interviews clearly indicates that this mode of delivery was perceived by the participants to be an effective form of professional development from the perspective of changing teaching knowledge, beliefs and practice, and as a refocussing or confirming activity by providing stimulus to an individual's professional development. Further data collected support the organisational characteristics of this SLA and provide some suggestions for changes. Finally, the findings clearly show that the benefits to individuals of participation are perceived to outweigh the costs, further supporting the effectiveness of this mode of professional development.