Blocking Versus Interleaving
What is Interleaving?
What if I told you that repeated practice on one skill slows us down! However, if we practice by mixing related but distinct material during a study session, our knowledge of information will increase. This is a technique referred to as Interleaving - An Aid To Comprehension. The mixing of items, skills, or concepts during practice, over the long term, helps individuals see distinctions between them and helps achieve a clearer grasp of each one individually.
When learning a new technique, we will grasp the information better if we use it alongside information and techniques we already know. In the classroom, interleaving aids as a review. However, interleaving also helps the students (and teachers) to distinguish between different types of problems, moves, and or concepts.
What Is Interleaving Preparing Us For?
Interleaving helps prepare your brain for the unexpected or when something goes wrong.
How Can We Apply Interleaving Into The Classroom?
Interleaving is also referred to as Mixed (Varied) Practice because it is essentially frequent changes in task. It is very useful in math, it helps to mix up multiple topics and skills. Interleaving makes the students identify each type of problem and then match it to the appropriate kind of solution. When using interleaving, if you were teaching your students addition for the first time, you would teach them only addition the first week. The next week, you would introduce subtraction and teach mainly that but also still include some addition. On the third week, you would teach the students how to multiply, still teach them some subtraction, and then teach them even a little less addition. And in the fourth week, you would introduce division into the classroom. In this week, you would still teach multiplication, some subtraction, and very little addition. I think you get the point!
Classroom Application:
Interleaving also includes Spaced Learning which is a method where the students are given a break in between being taught. The first break gives the students time to recall the information. Break two gives the students the ability to apply the information learned to something. Transfer of learning is very important in a classroom. Transfer of Learning is the relocation of learning using information already known through a related task to a new task. To best do this, you must apply information in a new context which helps to deepen learning of a topic and helps to speed up training & improve the performance of students.
For more information visit:
https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/Interleaving
I really like that you wrote your blog informally, I thought it made it easier to read (as a none math lover). I was wondering if you have taught this in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, I had never heard of interleaving. It makes so much sense how it can be a helpful tool to increase student learning. I especially loved your math example. Have you experienced this in a classroom before as a student or a teacher?
ReplyDeleteWow this is super informational! Awesome job! I've seen interleaving in my internship, that's how my mentor teaches math, but I didn't know it had a name. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete