Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

We checked this card's citation and the finding we state against the source's own page or record in October 2026.

What it found

A What Works Clearinghouse panel made seven recommendations for organizing teaching and study. It rated the evidence Strong for using quizzes to bring key content back, and for asking deep explanatory questions; Moderate for spacing learning over time, interleaving worked examples with problems, pairing graphics with words, and linking abstract and concrete ideas.

The recommendations and the panel's ratings

1. 1. Space learning over time. Moderate evidence
2. 2. Interleave worked example solutions with problem-solving exercises. Moderate evidence
3. 3. Combine graphics with verbal descriptions. Moderate evidence
4. 4. Connect and integrate abstract and concrete representations of concepts. Moderate evidence
5. 5a. Use quizzing to promote learning: pre-questions to introduce new topics. Minimal evidence
6. 5b. Use quizzing to promote learning: quizzes to re-expose students to key content. Strong evidence
7. 6a. Help students allocate study time efficiently: teach delayed judgments of learning. Minimal evidence
8. 6b. Help students allocate study time efficiently: use tests and quizzes to identify content that needs more study. Minimal evidence
9. 7. Ask deep explanatory questions. Strong evidence

What kind of study it is

Design

Practice guide

Weight

Each recommendation counts by the panel's own rating: Strong as a synthesis, Moderate as a trial, Minimal as context.

Who

Both school-age children and college students

Read it

ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/1 · ERIC record ED498555

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Cited in the Library

• Retrieval practice
• Spaced practice
• Explicit and direct instruction
• Worked examples
• Teaching with number lines