Interleaving Learning Technique | Mix It Up To Boost Learning
In schools all over the world, subjects are being taught in the same way, one thing at a time. We take history one era at a time. The whole education system is structured around that one-at-a-time concept. We take 45 minutes of one class, then 90 minutes of another, and so on. We do the same when learning for work, when practicing instruments and sports, and everywhere else. But, an increasing number of studies suggests that this whole concept is wrong. The better alternative is studying a few things at a time, a process called Interleaving Learning Technique !
What is Interleaving Learning Technique ?
Interleaving is the process of mixing different topics and skills together while learning. Most often, it is either the mix of actually different topics, like math and chemistry, or the mix of old and new material. Instead of studying or reviewing things in a chronological order, you mix it up to improve retention of the topic. It’s basically a learning technique that involves mixing together different topics or forms of practice, in order to facilitate learning. For example, if a student uses interleaving while preparing for an exam, they can mix up different types of questions, rather than study only one type of question at a time.
The opposite of this technique is blocked practice . Blocked practice is when you practice one thing at a time, while ignoring everything else. Most often, the learner tends to practice that particular thing very thoroughly, before moving on to the next item.
Examples of Interleaving Technique
Overall, examples of interleaving appear in a variety of domains. Few of them are ;
Language learning : A simple example of interleaving appears in the case of language learning, where someone who’s learning new vocabulary words can mix together words pertaining to different topics instead of learning only words from a single topic at a time. For instance, if someone needs to learn words from topics such as animals, foods, and clothes for a class, then instead of learning all the words from one topic before moving on to words from the next one, they can mix words from the different topics as they study.
Study Courses learning : For example, instead of simply learning about the full history of each country at a time, you can interleave different parts of history from each country, based on a common theme, such as their actions during a specific time period. Mixing up the history of different countries
Sports learning : For instance, interleaving can help an athlete learn how to throw a ball more effectively by encouraging them to practice throws from different distances and directions in an alternating manner, as opposed to throwing the ball under the exact same conditions many times in a row. Instead of just practicing backhands in one session, you can interleave backhands, forehands, and volleys for better results.
Music learning : interleaving is beneficial when it comes to musical education, where it can help people learn how to play new musical pieces. One way in which interleaving can be used in this context is described in a study on the topic, which found a beneficial effect of interleaving. Refer the study here https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01251/full
Why Interleaving Works ? | Why is interleaving effective?
The first reason why interleaving works so well is that, by mixing up your learning, you make your brain understand the context better. When we spend too much time on the same thing, our brain tends to find the easy way out. It identifies patterns that emerge in the specific set of problems. And recalls these from short-term memory, instead of actually solving the problems. On the other hand, when you utilize interleaving, your brain is forced to apply knowledge to a variety of problems, and thus it builds stronger neural connections.
What may be even more important in the process of interleaving, is the intent of retrieval or recall necessary. As our brain constantly needs to employ different pieces of knowledge to solve the problems, it constantly needs to retrieve stuff from the long-term memory. Therefore, by using interleaving, you immensely improve the long-term retention of the information you learn.
Avoid common mistakes while Interleaving Learning Technique | When is interleaving NOT useful
The most common mistake people commit when practicing with interleaving is switching tasks too quickly. When you switch quickly, you transform interleaving to multitasking, and multitasking does not work. When you switch tasks and topics, risk of ‘task-switching cost’ is always there. If you don’t allow yourself some time to diffuse, part of your focus remains with the previous task. Therefore, instead of switching tasks too often, take few mins break to allow your brain to get into diffuse mode.
Another mistake is quitting because it feels challenging. Interleaving is quite unconventional to the way we’ve learned to study. And thus it may feel foreign to you when you start using this concept. Well, that is expected ! And, you need to push through until it becomes the natural way to learn.
Final Takeaway
Learning concepts in parallel is a surprisingly effective way to train your brain. In general, interleaving has been proven to be a great strategy for most mechanical skills like ; sports, music, video games etc. and problem-solving based subjects, like math. When deciding what kind of material to interleave, make sure that the items that you interleave aren’t too similar or too different. With practice switching back and forth between two different methodologies that have the potential to cause moderate confusion, you learn the crucial elements of each distinct methodology much faster. And that too with a greater and more lasting confidence !
Read also : How To Use The Pygmalion Effect | Proving Them Right | The Power Of Expectations https://thebrightdelights.com/how-to-use-the-pygmalion-effect-proving-them-right-the-power-of-expectations/
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