As college students, we may believe that we know and use the most effective learning and studying strategies, but some of these practices are believed to be more beneficial than they are. Research provides evidence supporting the fact that the practice of interleaving is a highly rewarding learning strategy. This practice is an effective strategy in improving long-term retention, discrimination, and real-world application of information while creating desirable difficulties for the learner.
Interleaving is learning through “the practice of two or more subjects or skills” and is “a more potent alterative to massed practice” (Brown, Roediger, McDaniel, 2014). When learning information, it is more effective to switch between multiple ideas than it is to learn these ideas in massed clusters. This practice of partially learning one concept then proceeding to start learning another before attaining complete mastery is more beneficial because it spaces out the material, thus letting the memory of it fade. For example, when learning how to solve certain problems, it is more beneficial to practice these different problem types in a mixed sequence rather than in a clustered sequence (Brown, Roediger, McDaniel, 2014). One idea presents the idea of studying materials in a “1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3” order instead of a “1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3” order (Dobson, et. al, 2016).
This mix of spacing and ordering different material makes retrieval of the information more difficult, thus allowing for deeper thinking and understanding. This also improves discrimination of material because learners are able to notice and identify certain characteristics. Incorporating these aspects into the learning process results in better understanding and retention, leading to more improved long-term memory of the information; this is applicable to later tests and classes or even in a real-world setting.
If this learning strategy produces such successful results, why is it not performed or heard of more often? This may be because, although interleaving leads to better long-term retention, it “impedes performance during initial learning” (Brown, Roediger, McDaniel, 2014). Interleaving feels slower, disruptive, and even counterproductive to the learner and this is typically not how students are used to feeling when learning. However, this is because interleaving may require an increased amount of effort and “this effort creates desirable difficulties... which creates stronger pathways to where information is stored” (Dobson, et. al, 2016). Therefore, these feelings are just a result of effective storage of information into long-term memory which results in improved performance after initial learning is complete.
One example of how to use this study strategy are to alternate quizzing or testing oneself on different types of information at a time. One can also complete practice problems in a mixed sequence that are switched up. Also, as one’s understanding of information increases, decrease the frequency of practice, but do not completely stop. Occasionally, scatter this material throughout what is currently being learned, so that one can continually build connections and expand on what is learned. Finally, remember to allow enough time in advance to thoroughly and successfully perform this strategy.