Learning when to apply a skill benefits more from interleaved problem orders, while learning how to apply a skill benefits more from blocked problem orders¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r1 · q1
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? The study provides theoretical support for the claim that learning when to apply a skill benefits more from interleaved problem orders, and the authors argue learning how to apply a skill benefits more from blocked problem orders. → Nan Li 2013

Evidence¶

Nan Li 2013¶

Nan Li, William W. Cohen, Kenneth R. Koedinger. (2013). Problem Order Implications for Learning. Int J Artif Intell Educ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-013-0005-5

q1 · i? · causal · r1

Authors' interpretive summary of the simulation study: negative feedback in interleaved orders serves as negative training examples for when-learning, while the article conjectures that with memory limitations, how-learning would benefit more from blocked orders because blocked sequences keep same-type positive examples within a fixed memory window.

"In summary, the study provides theoretical support for the claim that learning when to apply a skill benefits more from interleaved problem orders."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• SimStudent given interleaved-ordering curricula received more negative feedback in stoichiometry and fraction addition, supporting more effective when-learning — related
• In SimStudent simulations across three math and science domains, interleaved-order curricula yielded as effective or more effective learning than blocked-order curricula — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In stoichiometry, SimStudent trained on interleaved-ordering curricula achieved significantly higher step scores than with blocked-ordering curricula — related
• Interleaving benefits low-skilled students more than high-skilled students when learning math problem categories — related
• Interleaving category examples improves inductive category learning for visual and mathematical materials, but not for expository texts or word categories — 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