Interleaving benefits transfer to novel items from a learned category, with effect sizes of up to 0.66¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r? · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Interleaved presentation improved learners' classification of novel items from learned categories more than blocking, consistent with the prediction that transfer benefits particularly. → Jonathan Firth 2021

Evidence¶

Jonathan Firth 2021¶

Jonathan Firth, Ian Rivers and James Boyle. (2021). A systematic review of interleaving as a concept learning strategy. Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3266

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r?

Meta-analytic subset of the systematic review comparing interleaved versus blocked schedules on transfer tasks presenting novel items from learned categories. The review reports "a benefit with effect sizes of up to 0.66" for transfer.

"transfer (as tested by presenting novel items from a learned category) a benefit with effect sizes of up to 0.66"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Encoding variability across varied example contexts produces decontextualization supporting transfer (review reports DiVesta and Peverly) — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Interleaving category examples improves inductive category learning for visual and mathematical materials, but not for expository texts or word categories — a broader claim this one bears on
• Interleaving during concept learning benefits memory of studied items, with effect sizes (Hedges' g) of up to 0.65 — related
• Interleaving is most useful when differences between items are subtle; blocking can be preferable when category members are diverse — related
• Interleaving Improves Discrimination — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Several candidate moderators show no reliable effects: retention interval, test type, presentation mode, and publication status — 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 — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Interleaving—presenting different concepts in alternation rather than repeating the same concept—improves students' discrimination among similar concepts, terms, and principles — related