The effect of spaced learning method on the evaluation score and education quality in nursing students

Spaced learning is a teaching method aiming to stabilize long-term memory. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of the spaced learning method on the evaluation scores and education quality in the practical course of principles and techniques of nursing.

In this quasi-experimental study, 51 nursing students in four semesters were selected by convenience sampling and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. We used the demographic characteristics form, student scores, and students' evaluations of the educational quality questionnaire (SEEQ) for data gathering. In the next step, the classes of the experimental groups were held with the spaced learning method, and the traditional methods were used for the control groups. After the end of each semester, the SEEQ questionnaire was given to the students of both groups, and their evaluation scores were extracted. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 using descriptive and inferential statistics.

After ensuring the independence of the data, the results showed that the difference in the mean evaluation score of the students in the two groups is not statistically significant (p > 0.05). However, the mean score of total SSEQ in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group. Furthermore, except for the dimension of examination assignments and group interaction, the mean score of other SSEQ dimensions in the experimental group was statistically higher than the control group (p < 0.05).

Spaced learning is an easy, low-cost, and fun learning method that affects the teaching method compared to evaluation results and effortlessly has the potential to become an appropriate alternative to traditional teaching methods.