{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/use-spacing-as-a-control-loop-not-a-sacred-calendar",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1129",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Use spacing as a control loop, not a sacred calendar",
  "summary": "The interval should react to memory, not worship a sequence of numbers.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Space successful retrievals farther apart and pull failed or effortful items nearer. As a practical starting heuristic, a newly learned high-value item might be checked around the next day, then after roughly 3, 7, 14 and 30 days, with longer gaps after stable success. Treat those numbers as defaults, not evidence-backed commandments. The research supports spacing and longer gaps for delayed retention, while equal and expanding schedules perform similarly on average.",
  "limits": [
    "The example 1-3-7-14-30 sequence is an editorial starting heuristic, not a finding that these exact days are optimal."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-language-vocabulary-chunks-and-spacing"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-D49FF6D4C7F6E228"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "Spaced practice has a medium-to-large positive effect on second-language learning; longer spacing is more beneficial than shorter spacing on delayed tests, while equal and expanding schedules were statistically equivalent in the meta-analysis.",
      "source_id": "RS-D49FF6D4C7F6E228",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "The evidence does not yield one fixed interval sequence that is optimal for every learner, item and retention horizon.",
      "locator": "Abstract"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "You want concrete review intervals but do not want to pretend one schedule is scientifically optimal for every item."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "The example 1-3-7-14-30 sequence is an editorial starting heuristic, not a finding that these exact days are optimal."
  ],
  "example": "A German connector recalled easily at 30 days moves to a much longer maintenance gap; a repeatedly confused preposition returns sooner with a contrast card.",
  "check": "Intervals change in response to retrieval quality and the desired retention horizon.",
  "steps": [
    "Fast, correct recall with appropriate use: Increase the next interval substantially.",
    "Correct but fragile or slow recall: Increase only modestly and keep a productive prompt.",
    "Wrong or absent recall: Relearn now and schedule a nearer retrieval.",
    "Stable recall after long delay: Move to maintenance intervals or retire from frequent review."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-D49FF6D4C7F6E228",
      "title": "The Effects of Spaced Practice on Second Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis",
      "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lang.12479"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1129",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1130",
      "type": "use_before",
      "url": "/knowledge/promote-mature-vocabulary-into-maintenance"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-19E8D9BF2A05811F",
      "title": "Make vocabulary retrievable, durable and usable",
      "url": "/collections/make-vocabulary-retrievable-durable-and-usable"
    }
  ]
}