Varied Retrieval Practice and the Effects on Learning

One of the misconceptions about learning is that rereading and massing practice is an effective way to study and commit to memory concepts we intend to learn. However, studies have shown that there are other, more effective ways to study. The authors of "Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning" state the following: 

Retrieval practice that you perform at different times and in different contexts and that interleaves different learning material has the benefit of linking new associations to the material. This process builds interconnected networks of knowledge that bolster and support mastery of your field. It also multiplies the cues of retrieving and knowledge, increasing the versatility with which you can later apply it. (p. 83)

Essentially, if you want to really learn something and be able to retrieve it at a later time and apply it to different contexts, you must practice recalling that information at spaced intervals and connecting it to different knowledge within different contexts. Can you think of a time when you learned about something and then you found yourself within a different context and you related what you'd learned to something within that new context? Making these connections and thinking about what you have learned in various situations can help commit it to memory and also help you retrieve it again later. It doesn't work to simply read about something and remember it long enough to answer a question on a test. This does not ensure long term retention of that information. Instead, it's essential that we periodically recall that information and that we apply it to different contexts so that we're building new and varied connections within our brain and memory.