This statistical analysis plan sets out the planned analysis for the evaluation of SMART
Spaces: Spaced Learning Revision Programme (SMART Spaces Revision), an efficacy trial
funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), to investigate the effect of the
intervention on the chemistry element of the GCSE double award science.
The SMART Spaces revision programme uses spaced learning within chemistry revision for
the AQA GCSE double award science examinations. Evidence from neuroscience and
cognitive psychology (e.g. Fields, 2009) indicates that including spaces – time intervals -
between learning sessions can improve factual recall. It is anticipated that improved factual
recall will have a positive impact on the application and analysis as well as knowledge
elements of the chemistry score in GCSE double award science. An earlier pilot study (O’Hare,
Stark, McGuinness, Biggart & Thurston, 2017), also funded by the EEF, suggested that a
combination of short (10 minute) and longer (approximately 24 hour or night-time sleep)
spaces provides a promising model of spacing.
The intervention comprises both continuing professional development (CPD) and support for
teachers to deliver the SMART Spaces revision programme and teacher implementation of
the programme in Year 11 science lessons. The programme consists of six lessons delivered
over two weeks and is designed to space the revision of content both between and within
lessons. The chemistry topics for AQA Paper 1 are covered in one SMART Spaces lesson.
This lesson is repeated three times in the same week, with spaces which allow pupils a nighttime sleep between lessons. After at least one further night-time sleep, but ideally the
following week, the process is repeated for content associated with AQA Paper 2. Within
lessons, chemistry topics are revised using the SMART spaces materials in three short ~12-
minute sessions with 10-minute spaces between each topic. During the 10-minute spaces,
pupils take part in a sensorimotor activity (such as juggling).
The evaluation is structured as a two-armed school-level cluster randomised controlled trial
involving 125 secondary schools. Fifty-four schools were allocated to receive the intervention
and 71 to a business as usual control group. Recruitment occurred in Spring-Autumn 2018
with the aim of initiating training for teachers in intervention schools in November 2018. The
evaluation will look at the impact of the programme on pupils’ performance on the chemistry
element of the AQA GCSE double award science
