Impact of Spacing of Practice on Learning Brand Name and Generic Drugs

To test the impact of schedules of retrieval practice on learning brand and generic name drug information in a self-paced course. Students completed weekly quizzes on brand and generic name conversions for 100 commonly prescribed drugs. Each student completed part of the drug list on a schedule of equal, expanding, or contracting spacing, one practice (massed) or study only in a partial block design. On measures of long-term retention, the contracting spacing schedule led to superior retention (67%) compared to the massed practice (50%) and study-only condition (46%); contracting practice also was significantly higher than expanding practice (58%,) or equal practice (59%). Overall performance decreased by almost 50% (final exam 95%, long-term retention 55%) over a 6-week period. A contracting spacing schedule was the most effective schedule of practice, and all spacing schedules were superior to massed practice or study-only conditions.