Transform your revision habits with the Synap revision app.

Did you know: you’re more likely to remember something for longer if you see it more frequently? Your brain prioritises content that it is seeing regularly. If you’re seeing it often, your brain believes it must be important.

This concept, often referred to as spaced repetition isn't a new idea. It was first described in the 1800s by German psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus. He stated that learning should be spaced out and repeated to mitigate the effects of forgetting. The forgetting curve shows the effects that time has on learning something new.

The forgetting curve

Photo credit: Synap

Spaced learning helps break down learning and show users what they need to study, when they need to see it. The system is based on the concept of spaced repetition – simply put, it’s learning little but often.

The Synap revision app does this for you. It's designed to be used at short regular intervals – ideally 10-15 minutes a few times a day, several times a week. Students can access an exclusive offer for Synap with their MDU membership.

With Synap, you can practice thousands of questions from the Oxford Assess and Progress series. MDU student members can:

  • Access a free chapter from each title in the series.
  • Pick a free title from the series for each year of study (12 month access).
  • Purchase the series from Synap at an MDU exclusive rate of £15 per year.

What is spaced learning?

In this four minute video, Synap co-founder James Gupta explains how spaced learning could transform your revision habits.


Learn more in less time with Synap

Synap is a multiple choice quiz platform, with an algorithm developed following extensive research into neuroscience, memory and educational psychology. As you make your way through a quiz, questions you find difficult appear more frequently than questions you find easy – helping to identify and fill the gaps in your knowledge.

That means Synap manages the learning for you. All you need to do each day, is open the app and answer the questions that the algorithm determines you need to take.

Activate your free MDU voucher code for Synap.

This page was correct at publication on 18/03/2021. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.