From Daily Practice to Final Review: What Research Says About How We Spend Instructional Time?

While visiting PLC's at my school this week a question came up about having a review day before a summative assessment in math classes. The PLC had a scheduled review planned and the worth of spending a day only in review was questioned.  Listening to the concern got me thinking.  If we take a day to review learning previously taught and then we take a day to access that learning is that the best use of instructional time? While this came up in a math PLC the question I have goes beyond the practice just in math.

What does research say about taking a full class period to review vs revisiting concepts each day during warm ups leading up to the test and teaching new concepts up until the day of the test?

Using help from Chatgpt, I found that research suggests that both approaches—dedicating a full class period to review and incorporating daily warm-up reviews—have their own merits in preparing students for summative assessments. Here’s a breakdown of what the research says about each:

1. Full Class Period for Review
This approach, where an entire period is devoted to reviewing content, has distinct advantages:

• Cognitive Load Reduction: A focused review session allows students to consolidate learning and address misconceptions without the distraction of new content. This promotes deeper understanding and retention.
• Spaced Practice: Research supports the idea that retrieval practice spaced over time improves memory. A dedicated review day gives students an additional chance for spaced retrieval before the test.
• Error Correction: A full review session often uncovers misconceptions that can be addressed in a more structured and targeted way. Studies show that immediate feedback during review sessions can significantly improve learning outcomes.
• Confidence Boosting: Students benefit from a final opportunity to clarify doubts, which reduces anxiety and enhances test performance.

However, this approach might result in “cramming,” where the emphasis on new learning is sacrificed to allow time for review.

2. Daily Warm-Ups + Teaching Up Until the Test
In contrast, incorporating review into daily warm-ups while continuing to teach new material has its own research-backed benefits:

• Interleaving Practice: When students encounter a mix of new content and review questions regularly, they are forced to switch between different topics. Research on interleaving suggests that this practice helps students learn how to apply their knowledge flexibly, improving long-term retention.
• Cumulative Learning: Daily review helps reinforce previously learned material while learning new concepts. This reduces the likelihood of forgetting and avoids the “all-at-once” feeling that can come with a single review day.
• Retrieval Practice in Context: Using warm-ups to review not only strengthens retrieval but also helps integrate new and old material, giving students a more comprehensive understanding of the course content.
• Maximizing Instruction Time: Teaching up until the day of the test ensures that no instructional days are lost, making the most of class time, especially in fast-paced curricula.

Which is Better?
Research suggests that a combination of both approaches is often most effective. Daily review through warm-ups promotes consistent retrieval and reinforcement of key concepts, while a dedicated review session offers focused time to address misconceptions and prepare mentally for the test. This hybrid model balances the advantages of regular practice with the cognitive benefits of spaced and targeted review sessions.

Key Takeaway
A well-rounded strategy that incorporates brief, consistent review during warm-ups along with a final, structured review session tends to produce the best results for long-term retention and student success in summative assessments.  I'll also add the structure and quality of the full day review period matters. 

References:
1. Spaced Retrieval Practice

• Roediger, H. L., & Butler, A. C. (2011). The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(1), 20-27.
  • This study demonstrates that spaced retrieval practice, or regularly revisiting material, enhances long-term retention. Incorporating review in daily warm-ups aligns with this principle by helping students continuously recall and reinforce their understanding.

2. Interleaving Practice

• Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2007). The shuffling of mathematics problems improves learning. Instructional Science, 35(6), 481-498.
  • Rohrer and Taylor’s research on interleaving practice, where students encounter a mix of topics rather than focusing on one at a time, shows that alternating between new content and previous concepts during warm-ups improves problem-solving skills and flexible thinking.

3. Error Correction and Feedback

• Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112.
  • This meta-analysis highlights the importance of feedback in the learning process. During a full review session, teachers can provide immediate and targeted feedback, correcting misconceptions and improving student performance, which aligns with the benefits of a dedicated review day.

4. Cognitive Load Theory

• Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285.
  • Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory suggests that students benefit from reducing cognitive load during complex problem solving. A dedicated review day can reduce the cognitive demands on students by focusing on mastering existing content rather than introducing new material before an exam.

5. Spaced vs. Massed Practice

• 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.
  • This comprehensive review of distributed (spaced) versus massed (cramming) practice supports the notion that spreading out review, as in daily warm-ups, is more effective for long-term learning than massing practice in a single session.

6. Retrieval Practice

• Agarwal, P. K., Bain, P. M., & Chamberlain, R. W. (2012). The value of applied research: Retrieval practice improves classroom learning and recommendations from a teacher, a principal, and a scientist. Educational Psychology Review, 24(3), 437-448.
  • This article provides evidence for the benefits of retrieval practice—especially frequent, low-stakes quizzes or reviews in the classroom, which directly aligns with daily warm-up reviews.

Using these sources, you can build a strong research-based argument for the combined approach of daily warm-ups and a final review day as an optimal strategy for math test preparation.