Noooli Learn
Short Daily Practice for Kids: Spaced and Retrieval Research
Why a few focused minutes most days can help children remember more. What research says about spaced and retrieval practice, and how to use it at home.
Read the guideKey points
Retrieval practice (recalling from memory) and spacing (spreading learning over time) are two of the best-supported strategies in learning research [1][2][3].
A systematic review of classroom studies found that most showed medium or large benefits from retrieval practice [4].
Short, regular sessions make it easier to space learning and revisit earlier content than long, occasional ones.
Research does not prescribe an exact daily time. About 10 focused minutes most days is a practical way to apply these principles at home.
Many parents wonder whether a long session on the weekend is better than a little practice each day. Learning research has a fairly clear answer about the principles, even if it does not set an exact number of minutes. This article explains spaced and retrieval practice and how to apply them at home.
What is retrieval practice?
The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) defines retrieval practice as "the strategy of getting students to actively recall their learning" [1]. Examples include answering questions from memory, quick quizzes or explaining a concept without looking at notes.
AERO explains that when students bring previously learned information to mind to answer a question, rather than looking it up or having it explained again, the information becomes more retrievable in the future [3]. In simple terms, the act of remembering strengthens the memory.
What is spaced practice?
AERO describes spacing as "the practice of sequencing learning so that information is delivered across two or more lessons rather than just one" [1]. AERO notes that spacing learning allows students to remember more in the long term than if they learnt everything at once [3].
When spacing and retrieval are combined, students recall earlier learning at intervals after it was first taught. AERO recommends this as a way to help consolidate knowledge in long-term memory [1][2].
What does the research say?
Retrieval practice:
A 2017 meta-analysis in the Review of Educational Research examined the "testing effect", the gains in learning that can occur when students take a practice test before a final test on the same material [5]. It found that practice testing was more effective than restudying and other comparison conditions [5].
A 2021 systematic review in Educational Psychology Review focused on research in real schools and classrooms [4]. The authors screened nearly 2,000 abstracts and coded 50 experiments with a total of 5,374 participants. Of the 49 effect sizes, 57 per cent showed medium or large benefits from retrieval practice [4]. Benefits appeared across a range of education levels, subjects and test formats [4].
Spacing:
A 2006 meta-analysis in Psychological Bulletin reviewed 839 assessments of spaced practice from 317 experiments [6]. The authors found that the gap between study sessions and the length of time until the final test work together. The gap that produced the best retention grew longer as the retention interval grew longer [6]. In other words, if you want children to remember something for months, it helps to keep coming back to it over time.
Much of this research involved older students or adults, and verbal learning tasks such as word lists. AERO's guidance applies the same principles to Australian classrooms [1][2].
Why can short, daily practice beat long, occasional sessions?
The research above is about how learning is spread out and whether children recall it, rather than about session length. Short, regular sessions help put these principles into practice:
More opportunities to recall. Five short sessions give five chances to retrieve learning. One long session gives one, followed by a long gap.
Earlier content keeps coming back. Regular sessions make it easy to mix in last week's and last term's skills.
Less fatigue. AERO notes that spacing helps avoid mental fatigue by allowing cognitive resources to recover between similar tasks [2].
Easier to sustain. A short routine is more likely to happen on a busy school night than a long one.
This does not mean longer sessions are harmful, or that a set number of minutes guarantees results. It means that, for the same total time, spreading practice out and including recall is consistent with the evidence.
How to use spaced and retrieval practice at home
Start with recall:
Begin with two or three questions from earlier work before anything new. AERO recommends "do-now" style activities that connect to prior learning [2].
Keep it low stakes:
AERO recommends retrieval activities where students are not being assessed, which reduces anxiety [1]. Avoid treating daily practice as a test.
Give timely feedback:
AERO highlights timely corrective feedback so misconceptions are not reinforced [1]. Worksheets with answer keys, such as Noooli's free printable worksheets (noooli.com/worksheets/maths), make checking quick.
Revisit older topics:
Include content from earlier weeks, not just what was taught today. AERO suggests homework that focuses on previously learned concepts [2].
Match practice to your child's year level:
Practice works best on skills your child has already been taught. See is my child on track (noooli.com/learn/is-my-child-on-track) for what the Australian Curriculum expects each year, and how to read your child's NAPLAN report (noooli.com/learn/how-to-read-your-childs-naplan-report) if you want to identify areas to revisit.
How Noooli can help
Noooli is built around short daily maths practice, about 10 minutes, for Kindergarten to Year 6, aligned to the Australian Curriculum. Parents can see their child's progress. Free printable maths worksheets with answer keys are available on the free maths worksheets page (noooli.com/worksheets/maths), with no sign-up. Plans are Free, Noooli Plus (A$9.99/month or A$107.89 a year, one child) and Noooli Max (A$19.99/month or A$214.99 a year, every child in the family).
References
1. Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). (2021, updated 2026). Spacing and retrieval practice guide. https://www.edresearch.edu.au/guides-resources/practice-guides/spacing-and-retrieval-practice-guide-full-publication
2. Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). (updated 2026). Spacing and retrieval (explainer). https://www.edresearch.edu.au/summaries-explainers/explainers/spacing-retrieval
3. Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). (2021). Tried and tested: Spacing and retrieval practice. https://www.edresearch.edu.au/sites/default/files/2021-09/tried-tested-spacing-retrieval-practice-aero.pdf
4. Agarwal, P. K., Nunes, L. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2021). Retrieval practice consistently benefits student learning: A systematic review of applied research in schools and classrooms. Educational Psychology Review. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-021-09595-9
5. Adesope, O. O., Trevisan, D. A., & Sundararajan, N. (2017). Rethinking the use of tests: A meta-analysis of practice testing. Review of Educational Research. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1141817
6. 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. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/1771/
Common questions
What is retrieval practice?
Retrieval practice means actively recalling something you have learned, such as answering a question from memory, rather than rereading or being told again. The Australian Education Research Organisation describes it as getting students to actively recall their learning, and recommends low-stakes activities where children are not being assessed.
What is spaced practice?
Spaced practice means spreading learning across several sessions over time rather than completing it all at once. A large research review found that the best gap between sessions depends on how long you want to remember something, with longer retention generally benefiting from longer gaps between practice sessions.
Is 10 minutes of maths practice a day enough?
For a primary-school child, a short, focused session on most days is a practical way to add regular recall and spacing to school learning. Research does not set an exact number of minutes. What matters is regular, low-pressure recall of earlier learning, with feedback, alongside classroom teaching.
