Interleaved practice yields lasting learning effects at delayed posttests in spelling and second-language grammar¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Interleaved practice improved spelling of trained and near-transfer words at an 8-week delayed test in elementary school children. → Katharina Scheiter 2026 q2 i? Interleaving benefits persisted at a 1-week delayed posttest across four experiments on Spanish verb conjugation and tense recognition. → Katharina Scheiter 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Katharina Scheiter 2026¶

Katharina Scheiter, Alexander Renkl. (2026). On the challenges of investigating lasting learning: A commentary. Learning and Instruction 105 (2026) 102417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2026.102417

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

The commentary reports a classroom study of elementary school children comparing interleaved with blocked spelling practice; the delayed test showed benefits for "words that they had previously studied during training as well as words not previously seen (near transfer problems)". No effect size is printed in this passage.

"Klimovich and Richter (2025) demonstrate a lasting learning effect in an 8-week delayed test: elementary school children were better able to correctly spell words that they had previously studied during training as well as words not previously seen (near transfer problems) after applying interleaved compared to blocked practice."

Katharina Scheiter 2026 (2)¶

Katharina Scheiter, Alexander Renkl. (2026). On the challenges of investigating lasting learning: A commentary. Learning and Instruction 105 (2026) 102417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2026.102417

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

The commentary summarizes four experiments on second-language grammar acquisition using a 1-week delayed posttest, described as "corroborating evidence for the interleaving effect". No effect size is printed in this passage.

"Pan et al. (2025), using a 1-week delayed posttest, found corroborating evidence for the interleaving effect in a second-language grammar acquisition task (Spanish verb conjugation, tense recognition) across four experiments."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Syntax — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Instructional approach interacts with prior knowledge for lasting learning, with benefits concentrated among stronger students — related
• Interleaved practice improves delayed posttest performance compared with blocked practice — a broader claim this one bears on
• Alternating example-practice pairs produce faster and more accurate near-transfer solutions than blocked presentation of examples followed by practice — related
• Interleaved practice produces higher mathematics test scores than blocked practice in a classroom experiment — related
• The interleaving benefit is not caused by spacing, and the benefit extends to delayed tests — a broader claim this one bears on
• Transfer to untrained words occurs for spelling but not for reading outcomes — related
• Training effects on flexibility and word problem solving are delayed, appearing at four-week follow-up but not directly after the training — a narrower finding that bears on this claim