What is Interleaving?
Interleaving is a learning technique where you purposefully mix up the topics you are reviewing and practicing within one study session.
It is meant to replace blocked practice, where you only work on one topic for an extended period - such only practicing your multiplication tables while studying for math. Switching between different types of problems - doing multiplication and addition problems, for example - allows you to learn to identify what you are being asked to do for each task. Interleaved practice prepares you to be able to identify each problem and the strategies you need to solve it.
Why it Matters
- Doing interleaved practice helps you see the connections between different ideas, how they might be similar or different.
- Tests and exams typically do not follow the order in which the content was covered in the class.
- It strengthens your ability to look at a problem and determine what you need to solve it – for example when to use a formula or resource.
How It Works
Interleaving is best accomplished along with a retrieval practice schedule, with frequent and short study sessions spaced out over your week.
- Make a list of the topics and concepts that you are expected to know for the upcoming assessment. Use the schedule of past class sessions/lectures to help organize this.
- Arrange the topics randomly into the scheduled study sessions, – try allotting up to three per session.
- Don’t stick with one topic or concept for long in a study session. Try giving each topic or concept gets 20 minutes in each session.
- Change the order of topics and concepts to challenge your understanding. This will reveal whether your comprehension is dependent on the order in which you learned the concepts.
- Present the practice problems to yourself randomly. This forces you to identify what each problem is asking and what strategy you need to solve each one.
This process can seem slower and harder, but it will allow you to make the largest gains in your understanding.
