Interleaved homework yields higher surprise criterial test scores than blocked homework in undergraduate physics, with larger effects in Stage 2¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr2·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i2 Interleaving yielded higher criterial test scores than blocking in Stage 1 (d = 0.40) and in Stage 2 (d = 0.91). → Joshua Samani and Steven C. Pan 2021
Evidence¶
Joshua Samani and Steven C. Pan 2021¶
Joshua Samani and Steven C. Pan. (2021). Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00110-x
q3 · i2 · causal · r2
Preregistered counterbalanced within-subjects classroom experiment in two lecture sections of an introductory physics course; 290 and 286 students completed all homework in Stages 1 and 2. The article reports "d = 0.40" in Stage 1 and "d = 0.91" in Stage 2, with interleaving improving median test scores over blocking by 50% and 125%.
"Interleaving yielded higher criterial test scores than blocking in Stage 1, d = 0.40, 95% CI [0.17, 0.65], t(288) = 3.41, p = 0.0008, and in Stage 2, d = 0.91, 95% CI [0.66, 1.20], t(284) = 7.68, p < 0.0001."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Students perform worse on interleaved homework than blocked homework and misjudge its learning value — reports the opposite
- Interleaving benefits on criterial tests cannot be attributed to increased study time — related
- Interleaving benefits were not detected on high-stakes midterm exams taken after cramming — related
- Interleaving improves both long-term memory for formulas and exact answer correctness on criterial tests, with a smaller benefit for correctness — related
- Interleaved practice yields better category learning than blocked practice, and students who choose interleaved practice outperform those who choose blocked practice on novel materials — related
- At a 1-day test delay, interleaved practice yields a moderate benefit over blocked practice (d = 0.42) — related
- When exemplars are already interleaved, larger temporal spacing between same-category exemplars yields better inductive learning than smaller spacing — related
- Interleaved practice produces higher mathematics test scores than blocked practice in a classroom experiment — related
- The experiment used a counterbalanced crossover design in which the same practice problems were rearranged into blocked and interleaved versions — related
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