Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Physics Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Traditional "blocked" practice, where students focus on one topic at a time, is common in introductory physics.
• The effectiveness of "interleaved" practice, which involves alternating between different topics, is less understood in this domain.
• Student perceptions of learning do not always align with actual learning outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of interleaved practice versus blocked practice on learning and problem-solving in undergraduate physics.
• To compare student recall and problem-solving accuracy on novel tasks after different practice methods.
• To examine student perceptions of learning and the difficulty associated with interleaved practice.

Main Methods:

• Two lecture sections of an introductory physics course participated over 8 weeks.
• Students completed homework assignments using either interleaved or blocked practice methods.
• Performance was assessed via surprise criterial tests featuring novel and challenging problems.

Main Results:

• Students engaging in interleaved practice showed significantly greater recall and problem-solving success.
• Median improvements were 50% on the first test and 125% on the second test for the interleaved group.
• Students perceived interleaved practice as more difficult and believed they learned less, despite superior performance.

Conclusions:

• Interleaved practice enhances long-term and generalizable learning in physics problem-solving, outperforming blocked practice.
• Educational interventions should consider implementing interleaved practice, even if it is initially perceived as more challenging.
• Learner metacognition regarding practice effectiveness can be inaccurate, highlighting the need for evidence-based pedagogical strategies.